Yeouido IFC Mall instant tteokbokki with mandu included: Hyeonseonine

Visited Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch, a Hyundai Department Store-area instant tteokbokki spot that keeps coming up. This was the weekend of the Yeouido marathon. After the run, we were craving something spicy, so — Hyeonseonine!

How to reach Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch from Yeouido Station

We walked over from Yeouido Park and approached IFC Mall from above ground. I usually only go through the underground passages, so this might be the first time I've really seen the building itself, haha.

Hyeonseonine is on basement level 2, so you need to go down to L2. From there, head toward the subway direction — look for Napoleon, and once you reach the corridor leading to the subway, turn right.

Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch

• Basement level 2, IFC Mall, 10 Gukjegeumyung-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
• 258m from Yeouido Station Exit 3
• Mon-Fri 11:00-21:00
• Sat-Sun 12:00-21:00
• Last order 2:40
• Takeout and delivery

Found it! I've been to other Hyeonseonine branches too, and the tteokbokki here is genuinely delicious. It's spicy in the best way.

What is on the IFC Mall branch menu: beer set, combo sets, tteokbokki add-ons

Looking at the menu, I was surprised this location has a beer set. Instant tteokbokki with draft beer sounds great. The Yongsan branch has slushies, so each location seems to have its own twist.

The real original Hyeonseonine location is in Yongsan, and apparently they're only expanding through directly-run branches. Delicious, kind, and clean — that's the promise.

At Hyeonseonine you choose between a combo set or the instant tteokbokki. The combo has a lot of variety, and the instant tteokbokki lets you add toppings — cheese and ramyeon noodles seem to be popular choices.

There's also standalone ramyeon, fried chili peppers, and drinks including Coolpis and draft beer.

Is there a wait on a weekend afternoon, and what is at the self-serve bar?

It was well past the 12-1pm lunch rush, but somehow it got even busier. There was a line forming behind us after we arrived. On weekends you really don't know when it'll get crowded.

The self-serve bar has pickled radish, plus individually packaged salt for sundae (Korean blood sausage) and soy sauce for fried snacks — clean and hygienic.

Medium-spice instant tteokbokki with mandu in the pan from the start

The spread arrived. We'd had such a good instant tteokbokki experience recently that ordering it again was a no-brainer.

Really generous portions. Everything at Hyeonseonine is good, but the instant tteokbokki is genuinely the standout. The toppings are piled on thick.

At the Premium IFC Mall branch, mandu (dumplings) go in from the very start. The egg is big and the vegetables all look fresh. We chose medium spice.

Draft beer felt like a lot for daytime, so we went with Pepsi instead. But I do want to try the draft beer next time.

You need the pickled radish, haha. Crisp and refreshing, it cleans your palate nicely.

What cooks first: mandu, fried snacks and egg

I messed up the burner setting at first and was basically standing there waiting, but a staff member came over and adjusted it, and it started boiling right away, haha. Let it simmer a bit and the color deepens into just the right shade.

Mandu falls apart if you leave it too long, so it's best to eat it first. I like my fried snacks with some crunch left, so I ate those right away too.

And eat the egg before things get too spicy. Mashing the boiled egg into the tteokbokki broth is so good. The spice level was milder than expected, and we ate it happily — it even made me think about trying the spiciest option next time.

Chewy rice cakes and broth you keep spooning up

And then the chewy rice cakes!! The instant tteokbokki at the IFC Mall branch was just as good — the rice cakes stayed springy like they were freshly made, and none of it went soft, haha.

The broth is so good that you keep scooping it up with a spoon. The two of us ended up completely full. We'd thought about ordering gimbap (seaweed rice roll) too, but we wouldn't have been able to finish it. Before you go hunting for a Hyundai Department Store restaurant, go to Hyeonseonine first. It's that good — and it's available for takeout too.