Three fish cake skewers in a mild Yongsan bunsik combo: Hyeonseonine

Hyeonseonine is the place that comes to mind whenever I want simple bunsik (Korean street food) in Yongsan~! Hyeonseonine started as a street cart in 2004 and now runs 8 directly operated branches. As a bunsik restaurant that's been loved for a long time, you can enjoy everything from spicy-sweet tteokbokki to fritters, sundae, and mini gimbap all at once, so I went and tried it out!

Where is Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch, and what are its hours?

• 🚇 Location: 2-13 Hangang-daero 39-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• 🕐 Hours: Daily 11:00-24:00 (Monday break time 14:30-16:00), last order 22:40
• 🅿️ Bareum Gihoek parking lot (paid)
• Group reservations available, takeout available

Inside Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch and its self-serve bar

Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch has a spacious interior with relatively generous table spacing, so it looked good for dining with a group too.

As a representative bunsik spot in Yongsan, plenty of people were seated even in the evening! It really had that neighborhood favorite feel haha! It seemed like a good fit whether you want simple bunsik or want to share several dishes~

There's a self-serve bar set up in one corner of the restaurant where you can grab aprons, pickled radish, and small plates yourself!

What comes in the Hyeonseonine combo set?

Hyeonseonine sells a variety of bunsik menu items alongside their signature tteokbokki. In particular, they have set menus where you can enjoy several dishes at once, which is great when you can't be bothered choosing!

What I ordered was the Hyeonseonine combo set! It comes with tteokbokki, mixed fritters, mini gimbap, sundae (Korean blood sausage), and 3 skewers of squiggly fish cake, making it perfect for when you really want a hearty bunsik feast. You can choose the spice level for the tteokbokki, so I went with mild to eat without any pressure~

How did the mild tteokbokki taste?

The food really comes out fast! It's varied and the portions are truly generous!

Hyeonseonine's tteokbokki is known for being spicy-sweet, but eating the mild version, instead of a strong spice kick, I first noticed the sweet sauce flavor haha

The sauce had soaked well into the rice cakes, so a sweet-spicy sauce spread in my mouth with every bite. If you want to enjoy the savory depth of tteokbokki without the spice burden, the mild version was plenty delicious too. It seemed like a flavor that would especially suit people who prefer sweet tteokbokki over an intense spicy one~!

Mixed fritters in the combo set

And the mixed fritters, which can't be missed alongside tteokbokki, came together too. There was a mix of vegetable fritters, gimmari (seaweed-wrapped glass noodle rolls), mandu (dumplings), sweet potato, and more, so it was fun to pick and choose!

Fritters really taste best when you dip them lightly in the tteokbokki sauce~ The crispy batter combined with the sweet tteokbokki sauce made for a savory, salty, and sweet combination that worked really well. With so many varieties, it was better than eating just one flavor the whole time — good for switching things up in between!

Mini gimbap (bite-size seaweed rice rolls)

The mini gimbap (seaweed rice rolls) were a good bite-sized size to go with the tteokbokki. Dipping the gimbap lightly in the tteokbokki sauce added the savory flavor of seaweed to the sweet sauce, making it the perfect bunsik combination~ haha

Sundae (Korean blood sausage)

Sundae (Korean blood sausage) couldn't be missed either. It came with chewy sundae along with liver, so you could pick and choose one at a time depending on your taste.

Pairing the mild, plain flavor of the sundae with the tteokbokki sauce let me enjoy yet another combination haha

Three squiggly fish cake skewers with water rice cake

Lastly, the 3-skewer squiggly fish cake came out too. It's shaped in a fun squiggly way, and eating it with the broth was warm and light, making it a good bite to have between tteokbokki and fritters.

There's just something extra satisfying about sipping a bit of fish cake broth at a bunsik place~! Plus, there was even water rice cake stuffed inside — perfect haha. I really recommend this squiggly fish cake haha

Who should eat at Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch?

Above all, I liked that ordering just one combo set let me taste a variety of dishes evenly — tteokbokki, fritters, gimbap, sundae, and fish cake. It was a good composition for visiting with several people to share, or for when you want to eat a wide variety of dishes.

Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch was a good place to visit when you want to enjoy tteokbokki and various bunsik dishes all at once in Yongsan~! Especially if you want to enjoy spicy-sweet tteokbokki along with fritters, sundae, gimbap, and fish cake, I recommend ordering the combo set!! If you're looking for a great bunsik spot in Yongsan, be sure to visit!