Euljiro tteokbokki restaurant for pre-show dinner: Hyeonseoni-ne
In short
Hyeonseoni-ne Cheonggye Instant Branch is a long-running instant tteokbokki (rice cakes in sweet-spicy sauce) spot a two-minute walk from Exit 3 of Euljiro 1-ga Station in Jung-gu, Seoul. With time to spare before a show in Euljiro, two of us ordered instant tteokbokki for two plus curly fish cakes at medium spice and cleared the pan in 15 minutes; four yaki-mandu (fried dumplings), jjolmyeon noodles, egg and cabbage came in the pan, so no extra sides were needed. For mild, old-fashioned sweet-spicy tteokbokki rather than the fiery modern kind, Hyeonseoni-ne Cheonggye Instant Branch is the answer.
Good to know
- Location
- 2-minute walk from Euljiro 1-ga Station Exit 3
- What we ordered
- Instant tteokbokki for two, fish cakes
- What comes in the tteokbokki
- Yaki-mandu (4 pieces), jjolmyeon noodles, egg, rice cakes, fish cake, cabbage
- Spice level
- Medium
- How to order
- Kiosk outside the restaurant, or order directly with staff
- Self-serve
- Aprons and tableware
- Review perk
- Leave a receipt review for free fried rice cakes or a savory mayo rice ball
- Tables
- Every table has a built-in square burner
as written by the visitor on Sep 6, 2026
An old-school Euljiro tteokbokki (rice cake in spicy sauce) place with sweet, old-fashioned instant tteokbokki — Hyeonseoni-ne Cheonggye Instant Branch. I'd gone to see a show in Euljiro and had an awkward chunk of time left over, so I was looking for somewhere to grab a simple, tasty meal. And it turned out my favorite kind of instant-tteokbokki spot, the famous Hyeonseoni-ne Cheonggye Instant Branch, was right nearby!
Where is Hyeonseoni-ne Cheonggye Instant Branch, and how do you order?
This old-school Euljiro tteokbokki spot, Hyeonseoni-ne Cheonggye Instant Branch, is a two-minute walk from Euljiro 1(il)-ga Station Exit 3. A snack bar this close to the station is honestly precious haha 🥹
Both dine-in and takeout orders could easily be placed at the kiosk set up outside the store. Of course, you can also order directly with a staff member inside if you prefer.
Inside Hyeonseoni-ne: burner-topped tables in a tidy old-school shop
Every table has its own square burner for boiling the instant tteokbokki, and the spacing between tables was comfortable enough to eat without feeling cramped.
I loved the cozy old-school vibe. (It's an old-school place through and through, but the interior is so tidy and clean it might be the top-tier version of that vibe haha.)
The order: instant tteokbokki for two plus curly fish cakes
This old-school Euljiro tteokbokki place is apparently tasty even in its basic pre-cooked form, but today somehow both of us were in the mood for instant tteokbokki, so we ordered instant tteokbokki for two plus fish cakes.
Aprons and tableware are self-serve — just grab them yourself.
Haha, I don't know why, but I always end up eating red-sauce food on the exact day I'm wearing a white top? What would I have done if the store didn't have aprons~~
Leave a receipt review and you get free fried rice cakes or savory mayo rice balls, so if you're interested, give it a try!
How do the curly fish cakes taste?
The curly fish cakes came out first, already cut into bite-sized pieces. I tried the warm broth first, and it was just the right level of salty with good depth of flavor — delicious!
The fish cake itself was springy yet soft, holding its shape without going mushy, so there was a nice chew to it.
Soon after, the old-school Euljiro tteokbokki for two arrived too.
What's in the tteokbokki for two, and how does it taste?
Hyeonseoni-ne's instant tteokbokki came with yaki-mandu (fried dumplings), jjolmyeon noodles, egg, rice cakes, fish cake and cabbage. It was so generous that we didn't need to add any extra sides or noodles — plenty for two to eat until full.
Following the friendly staff member's advice, I stirred it well so the jjolmyeon noodles wouldn't stick to the bottom of the pan while it cooked.
Once the rice cakes went soft, I turned the heat down and tried it. It wasn't the punchy, intense tteokbokki you see everywhere these days — it was the nostalgic old-style tteokbokki from childhood snack bars, and eating that sweet-spicy flavor again after so long was seriously delicious!!
Neither of us handles spicy food especially well, so we played it safe and ordered medium spice — and it was pleasantly spicy in a way anyone could enjoy without stress.
The yaki-mandu, crisp outside and soft and moist inside, was next-level good once dipped in the tteokbokki broth ⭐️⭐️ It would've been a shame if there were only two, but there were four — so happy about that.
As it simmered, the soft chewy rice cakes, savory fish cake and springy jjolmyeon noodles soaked up the sweet-spicy sauce more and more, getting better with every minute — we practically inhaled the whole thing in about 15 minutes.
Why we never got to the fried rice finish
We'd originally seen the table next to us order fried rice and planned to order some too once we finished the tteokbokki. But by the time we finished, we felt like we were about to burst, so we gave up on it. A bit of a shame, but the fried rice will have to wait for next time.
Hyeonseoni-ne Cheonggye Instant Branch feels like the number-one instant tteokbokki spot around right now, so I'll probably be back soon! If you love humble but delicious sweet-spicy tteokbokki, this place is well worth a visit 🩷
Where it is
112 Namdaemun-ro, 1st floor (next to Mega Coffee), Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea서울특별시 중구 남대문로 112 1층 (메가커피 옆)
