Euljiro snack bar, bolder than Sindang-dong tteokbokki: Hyeonseoni-ne

Today I'm reviewing the instant tteokbokki (tteokbokki you cook at the table, called "jeuktteok" for short) at Hyeonseoni-ne Cheonggye Instant Branch (현선이네 청계즉석점), an old-school-feeling snack bar near Euljiro-ipgu Station that's perfect after work.

Where is Hyeonseoni-ne Cheonggye Instant Branch in Euljiro?

Hyeonseoni-ne Cheonggye Instant Branch is a 2-minute walk from Euljiro-ipgu Station Exit 3, at 112 Namdaemun-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, on the first floor next to Mega Coffee. It is open 10:40–21:00 on weekdays, closed on weekends, and has no parking.

I'd recently been to the Hyeonseoni-ne main branch in Yongsan and loved it, and since there's one near my office too, I came back~ Access is great, and you enter the shop by going to the right of that kiosk, haha.

Atmosphere and wait times at Hyeonseoni-ne Cheonggye Instant Branch

Unlike the Yongsan main branch, this shop isn't very big..! There are tables and seats for 2 and 4 people, and even though I came a little before dinnertime, only one seat was left and a line formed right away.

The whole place is open to the outside, so you really feel that old-school vibe. I think it would be even nicer on a cool, pleasant day.

You order at the kiosk first and then come in, haha.

Hyeonseoni-ne Cheonggye Instant Branch menu and prices

The menu has single items, sets and instant (cook-it-yourself) dishes. Last time I had the regular tteokbokki in a set and loved it, so this time I ordered something different: the instant tteokbokki.

• Instant tteokbokki ₩22,000
• Busan fish cake skewers (2) ₩3,000

If you join the review event you can get a rice ball or tteok tempura (fried rice cakes), which sounds great to share!

I grabbed pickled radish and cutlery from the self-serve bar and got ready to eat, haha. I like thin pickled radish, and Hyeonseoni-ne slices it thin, which made me even happier.

What comes in Hyeonseoni-ne's instant tteokbokki for 2?

The instant tteokbokki for 2 came with rice cakes, jjolmyeon (chewy wheat noodles), eggs, fish cake and yaki mandu (fried dumplings), haha. It had been a while since I last had instant tteokbokki, so I was really curious how it would taste.

I didn't add any extra noodles, and the portion was generous, which was great. I live near Sindang-dong and often eat Sindang-dong tteokbokki, so comparing the two was fun too. There's no set recipe: just cook it until it's boiling nicely and eat~

Hyeonseoni-ne vs Sindang-dong tteokbokki: how does the taste differ?

If Sindang-dong tteokbokki tends to be mildly seasoned and not too intense, the instant tteokbokki here had a very spicy, slightly sweet, punchy sauce. There were really a lot of milled wheat rice cakes.

Maybe because they use wheat rice cakes, the shape holds up, and the starch they release thickens the broth, so the longer it boils the better it gets!! The sauce was punchy and delicious too, haha. For me, snack-bar food is a bit... about flavor over health, so I enjoyed this a lot.

Fried dumplings (yaki mandu) simmered in the tteokbokki sauce

I simmered the yaki mandu in the broth until soft before eating. They were packed with filling, nutty, and soaked up the tteokbokki sauce really well, so delicious.

Jjolmyeon (chewy noodles) included instead of ramen

I always add ramen noodles, but this time I tried jjolmyeon, and the texture is great and it has more charm than I expected~~ At Hyeonseoni-ne the instant tteokbokki comes with jjolmyeon as standard, so you can skip the ramen add-on.

Fish cake with no fishy taste

The fish cake was good quality too, so instead of a fishy taste it was clean and blended well with the sauce. Really good.

The boiled egg saved for last

With 2 servings you get 2 eggs, and since I eat the egg last, I kept it in the pot until the end, haha.

I cut the egg up and drizzled the sweet-spicy sauce over it...! and nearly burned my whole mouth.... It had been sitting in the hot broth, so it was scorching. Ouch, lesson learned, T_T

How were the Busan fish cake skewers with the spicy tteokbokki?

The Busan fish cake skewers (2 for ₩3,000) had a rich broth and really good savory depth. I remembered it being very spicy last time, so I ordered these to calm the heat.

The portion is generous and the fish cake really tastes good, so ordering it as a side to share was very satisfying.

Is Hyeonseoni-ne's instant tteokbokki worth a return visit?

I often ate Sindang-dong instant tteokbokki but never remembered it being that tasty, so I didn't think much of it. After eating at Hyeonseoni-ne Cheonggye Instant Branch, my opinion changed..! Punchy, savory and generous, I was very satisfied~

They sell alcohol too, so this old-school-feeling snack bar near Euljiro-ipgu Station seems great for stopping by after work, in an area full of offices, for a drink with your food.