Yeouido Korean snack restaurant weekday date: Hyeonseonine Premium

Hyeonseonine Premium in IFC Mall’s basement food court in Yeouido

There are days when I get off work early, and on those days, a weekday daytime date with my husband is such a lovely little treat, hehe. This time, we visited Hyeonseonine tteokbokki, which we spotted at Yeouido IFC Mall!!

The main branch is over in Yongsan, and I had always only passed by it, so it was a place I was curious about!!! Hyeonseonine is on the basement food-court line near the entrance to Yeouido IFC Mall. It is also close to The Hyundai Seoul, so it is an easy stop when coming over from there!! The sign at the entrance stands out right away, so you will not have to wander around looking for it.

A large sign on the wall said it is a tteokbokki restaurant that began as a street stall and has carried on for 20 years. I thought it was simply a franchise, but it actually has its own story.

Kiosk ordering and the Hyeonseoni Set

You order at the kiosk, where you can choose English, Chinese, or Japanese as well as Korean. Just tap dine in or takeout and you are done, so it was not difficult. I thought, maybe they get foreign visitors fairly often. May global K-snacks spread far and wide!!!

The menu had quite a range, from individual items to sets. There were the Hyeonseoni Beer Set, Hyeonseoni Combo Set, Hyeonseoni Set, Sunny Set, and Baby Set, and we ordered the ₩23,000 Hyeonseoni Set. We also added a drink to share.

The restaurant at 3 p.m. on a weekday

Inside, the tables are nicely spaced and there are quite a lot of seats. We visited around 3 p.m. on a weekday, and since lunch had passed, it was not crowded, so we could eat comfortably. It is known as a popular IFC lunch spot in Yeouido, so I imagine there could be a wait around noonㅠ

Using the self-service station

Water, cutlery, and cups are available at a self-service station on one side of the restaurant, so just take what you need. There is a GS25 right next door, which is perfect for a post-meal ice cream, haha. I am not a pig!

Medium-spicy soup tteokbokki and the Hyeonseoni Set

Finally, the long-awaited food!

I like spicy food, so I chose the medium spice level, and it had just the right pleasant kick.

But if you cannot handle spice, medium is absolutely not for you—you should order one level lower. Even my husband, haha, looked like he found it a little spicy while eating? The tteokbokki came with a modest amount of broth, and the rice cakes were chewy with the sauce soaked deeply into them. What more can I say? Sooo good!!!

Rather than regular gimbap (seaweed rice rolls), these were mini gimbap rolled into bite-size pieces. A sprinkling of sesame seeds doubled the nutty flavor. Dipping them lightly into the tteokbokki broth made the pairing such a winner. A must—the classic rule!

I am an offal person when it comes to sundae (Korean blood sausage), so I loved that they did not give us only sundae—they included the offal too...

You know you dip it in the tteokbokki broth, right... sob sob.

An assorted platter of fritters for everyone

Now for the assorted fritters!!! The platter had a nice variety, including squid, sweet potato, and gim-mari (fried seaweed rolls), so everyone can happily share without having to fight over anything, haha.

The fritters made me crave a beer... and that is as far as I will go. You know dipping fried gim-mari in the broth is the classic rule too, rightㅠ sob. And although I do not have a proper photo of it, the mild fish-cake broth that comes with the set was also the kind of flavor that kept me reaching for moreㅠㅠ Taking a sip whenever the tteokbokki got spicy made the balance just right. The combination was very, very good!!!! There is a reason they put their name on this set!!

Overall, this was one of the more satisfying tteokbokki spots in Yeouido. The atmosphere was clean, ordering by kiosk was convenient, and above all, the food was reliably good, so I think I will stop by again next time I am in Yeouido. I highly, highly recommend it, so if you are deciding where to have lunch at IFC Mall in Yeouido, it could be worth a visit!