Seomyeon bar for squid fritters and draft beer: 5 Budu Twigimjip

5 Budu Twigimjip (5부두튀긴집): an easy second-round pub near Seomyeon Station

5 Budu Twigimjip is a pub near Seomyeon Station where you can have a drink with tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and fried food as snacks. Attention, anyone looking for a second-round bar in Seomyeon!! I wanted a casual drink with really good snacks, so I came here, and I properly ate my way through tteokbokki, squid fritters, fries, draft beer and even a frozen Coolpis. When you're drinking, a fried food + tteokbokki combo is what you crave more than any fancy snack, I think.

When you look for a bar in Seomyeon, a lot of the options are meat or hot pot, so if you want a Seomyeon pub where you can eat light and have a drink, it's 5 Budu Twigimjip, no question!!

What's the atmosphere at 5 Budu Twigimjip like?

5 Budu Twigimjip has a retro snack bar concept with street-stall (pojangmacha) vibes. Starting with the door handle... it's unusual... great concept!

The moment I walked in, it felt like a nice place for a casual second round with a friend.

Every table is set with red-handled tongs full of street-stall feeling, and the whole place gives off a retro snack bar vibe,,

How to order and menu prices

You order on the tablet at your table.

There's no staff call bell, but you can press the staff-call button on the tablet and choose the option you want. Here's what I ordered this time.

• 5-minute tteokbokki ₩7,500
• Jagalchi squid fritters (2 pieces) ₩4,000
• Truffle cheese fries ₩10,000
• Frozen Juicy Cool ₩3,000
• Sapporo draft beer ₩9,000

Free snack Saewookkang and 4 sauces

The free snack, Saewookkang (shrimp-flavored crackers), doesn't come poured into a small dish; mini bags are simply left on each table. It felt clean and hygienic, a thoughtful touch that made me happy.

They offer four different sauces, so you can enjoy things to your own taste.

• Soy sauce with finely chopped onion and chili peppers
• Tartar sauce loaded with onion
• Curry powder
• Chipotle mayo with a smoky aroma

I ordered the must-have draft beer first. One sip of cold draft beer and this combo needs no explanation. 🍺

5-minute tteokbokki: how spicy and how good?

The 5-minute tteokbokki (₩7,500) at 5 Budu Twigimjip comes with 5 long, thick rice cakes piled on appetizingly. It looked mouthwatering and was great value.

Generous heaps of crunchy shredded carrot and fresh scallion strips sit on top of the glossy sweet-and-spicy sauce, which made the colorful look stand out even more.

The sweet and spicy sauce blends together nicely. It's bright red but not really spicy, just the right level of heat and not overpowering, which I liked. The sauce had soaked right into the rice cakes, so it was seriously insanely delicious!! The carrot and scallion strips add a crunchy texture and fresh flavor, and I was so happy with the size of the rice cakes and the sauce that I wanted to finish every bit.

Bite in and the chewy, springy rice cakes are full of sauce, and the deeper savory flavor builds the more you chew,,,

Jagalchi squid fritters, 2 pieces for ₩4,000

Order the Jagalchi squid fritters at 5 Budu Twigimjip and you get 2 crispy squid fritters plus nutty baby potato chips on the side. The chips are crispy and mild, and go well with the squid for a different texture.

The golden fried squid has a thin batter, so you really taste the squid itself. Crispy outside and moist inside, with a subtle savoriness that builds as you chew, and I was satisfied.

The squid is tasty on its own, but dip it in the various sauces or in the tteokbokki sauce and the crispy fritter meets the sweet-and-spicy flavor for a doubled savoriness and a different taste. Thanks to that, I never got tired of it and enjoyed it to the end.

Are the truffle fries good with beer?

The truffle fries at 5 Budu Twigimjip drew exclamations from me the second I saw how appetizing they looked,, fries really are hard to get wrong as a drinking snack. The salty seasoning and deep truffle flavor go together nicely, so they're great with beer or alongside various main dishes!

Seasoning powder is sprinkled evenly over the golden, crispy fries, so I could smell the nutty aroma before even eating, and crispy baby potato chips come alongside the fries too, making it a hearty portion.

Dip them in the ketchup that comes with them and the sweet-and-sour taste is added, bringing out even more of the potato flavor.

A frozen Coolpis on a hot day

It was so hot out that I went looking for something cold and ordered the frozen Coolpis (a sweet Korean yogurt-flavored drink)! It's frozen to a nice, easy-to-eat level of chill, so it suits a visit on a hot day.

When you're drinking and crave something sweet and cold in between, having the frozen Coolpis alongside was different and nice.

Nostalgic prize-draw event for writing a review

At 5 Budu Twigimjip, just writing a review gets you a chance to join a nostalgic prize-draw event. There are no blanks, so it's fun, and the first prize is a ₩100,000 gift voucher! 🤩

5 Budu Twigimjip in Seomyeon: when I'd recommend it

This time I ordered a bit of everything, from tteokbokki to squid fritters, fries, draft beer and a frozen Coolpis, and the menu overall suited my taste. I'd recommend 5 Budu Twigimjip on days you want beer with light snacks, or when you want a no-pressure drink with tasty fried snacks in Seomyeon. Next time I'll come back and try the other fried items one by one.