Gojan-dong tteokbokki restaurant with noodle toppings: Yum Bbokki

When a tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) craving hits, what I really want is a generous pile of chewy rice cakes in sweet-spicy sauce. This time I visited Yum Bbokki in Ansan and ordered tteokbokki along with a few side dishes. The prices aren't intimidating either, so it's a good spot for a simple meal or any day you're craving tteokbokki!

What kind of tteokbokki restaurant is Yum Bbokki?

Yum Bbokki got its name by combining "yam" and the "bokki" from tteokbokki. They use fresh wheat rice cakes with no preservatives to keep that chewy texture, and blend selected chili powder into a secret sauce developed through repeated research and testing.

Yum Bbokki menu prices: tteokbokki and sides

Here are the menu prices for reference! Yum Bbokki's signature tteokbokki is ₩3,900 for one serving and ₩10,900 for three servings.

• Signature tteokbokki (1 serving) ₩3,900
• Signature rosé tteokbokki (1 serving) ₩4,900
• Signature tteokbokki (3 servings) ₩10,900
• Signature rosé tteokbokki (3 servings) ₩13,900
• Jjajang tteokbokki (1 serving) ₩4,000
• Cream tteokbokki (1 serving) ₩5,000
• Jjajang tteokbokki (3 servings) ₩10,900
• Cream tteokbokki (3 servings) ₩13,900

• Signature fried snack set (small) ₩3,900
• Signature sweet cheese fries ₩4,500
• Signature sweet cheese chicken ₩6,500
• Signature sundae ₩4,500
• Fried fish cake (3pc) ₩1,400
• Kimmari (2pc) ₩1,500
• Squid (1pc) ₩1,600

Inside Yum Bbokki and its spot in the Gojan-dong cram-school district

There are aprons at the entrance if you need one, and the store had a cute vibe with plenty of table space, which I liked.

It's especially well located near the school district, perfect for students grabbing a meal after class.

After ordering, be sure to grab what you need yourself from the self-serve bar — radish broth, pickled radish, plates, and so on!

Silsogi Yam Set 1 with bunmoja glass noodles and Chinese vermicelli

What I ordered was the Silsogi Yam Set 1 with added glass noodle (bunmoja) and Chinese vermicelli toppings, plus a small sweet cheese boneless fried chicken on the side.

First off, the tteokbokki has that springy, chewy texture unique to wheat rice cakes. These aren't rice cakes that go mushy and fall apart — they have bounce when you bite in, which makes eating them with the sauce more fun. The sauce soaks in well, so you taste it from the first bite, and as you keep eating, the chewiness and sauce flavor keep building — I think tteokbokki lovers will really enjoy it.

Ordering the sundae on its own at Yum Bbokki

I ordered the sundae (Korean blood sausage) plain, but you can also order it mixed with liver or other organs, so eat it your way!

Sweet cheese boneless chicken with Yum Bbokki tteokbokki

The sweet cheese boneless chicken I ordered alongside paired well with the tteokbokki too. Eating tteokbokki alone means constant spiciness, but adding chicken in between brings in a savory, sweet flavor that lets you switch things up. Being boneless made it easy to eat, and it went well even with a bit of tteokbokki sauce drizzled on top.

Best fritter at Yum Bbokki: the fried squid

The basic fried items were also really delicious. Personally, the squid fritters were so crispy and tasty I wanted more.

Bunmoja vs Chinese vermicelli: how do the textures differ?

Personally, when eating tteokbokki, I like adding various toppings for different textures rather than just eating rice cakes the whole time. The glass noodle (bunmoja) has a soft yet chewy texture, different from the rice cake, and it went great once loaded with sauce; the Chinese vermicelli is wide and springy, so you really taste the sauce it soaks up. Even with the same tteokbokki sauce, the rice cake, glass noodle, and vermicelli each have different textures, so switching between them kept things interesting and never got boring!

I also liked that the prices are reasonable. Adding whatever toppings you want to the base tteokbokki plus a side dish still doesn't add up to much, making it a great spot to visit on a day you're craving casual snack food. If you're looking for a great tteokbokki spot in Gojan-dong, be sure to stop by Yum Bbokki~~