Seocho tteokbokki restaurant for soft garaetteok: Deokjane Bangatgan

Fresh-made garaetteok tteokbokki near Sinnonhyeon Station

Deokjane Bangatgan (덕자네방앗간) is a great tteokbokki spot near Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 7. They make their own garaetteok (long cylindrical rice cakes) every morning, so you can enjoy wonderfully chewy, delicious tteokbokki with whole rice cakes. It is affordable and generously portioned, making it good for eating alone or sharing a variety of dishes with a group. It was nearly full even on a weekday evening. The turnover was fast, so there was no wait.

It is a five-minute walk from Sinnonhyeon Station, on L1 of Gangnam Station 1st I'Park. The building is on a hill, so the floor numbering can be confusing, but there are stairs up behind the building. When you come up, you will see Gong cha, and Deokjane Bangatgan is right beside it.

I recently watched tvN's Uju Tteokjip, where they made food with garaetteok pressed fresh every day, and thought, wow, that must be so good... But by the time it aired, the place had already closed. What a shame, but I found out there was a place in Gangnam that makes rice cakes fresh every day too. It was Deokjane Bangatgan. I ran there immediately.

I arrived around 6:10 p.m. on a weekday, and there were so many customers. If it is this busy at dinner, there must be a wait at lunch. The turnover is incredibly fast, though, so even if there is a wait, a table should open up quickly.

Ordering at the kiosk and using the self-service bar

Here is the tteokbokki menu at this Sinnonhyeon Station restaurant. Grab a table first, then order at the kiosk right by the entrance. The signature dishes are garaetteok tteokbokki, mul-tteok (rice cakes in broth), and garaetteok with jocheong (rice syrup); there are also bibim mandu, gimbap, jjolmyeon, ramen, and more.

Inside, there were lots of tables for two and four, and plenty of people eating alone near Sinnonhyeon Station. As you would expect from a snack restaurant, turnover was very fast. They wiped each table down as soon as customers left, so it was clear they paid attention to cleanliness too.

Utensils, side dishes, sauces, and small plates are all at the self-service bar, so just take what you need.

The tteokbokki and potato salad combination

I ordered tteokbokki and fritters. At ₩6,000, I thought it would be one serving, but the portion was quite large. It comes with about four garaetteok rice cakes. Just two were filling, so two people could share it with one extra side dish.

I had planned to take it home, but there is something you can only have when dining in: potato salad. That is why I ate there, haha.

The spicy gochujang seasoning and potato salad went so well together. The potato salad also mellowed the heat. The sauce had no sweetness; it had a deep, true gochujang flavor. It paired well with the garaetteok and was perfect for dipping fritters, sundae, or gimbap side dishes. It is less spicy than Shin Ramyun.

The fritters were the assorted set (₩6,000): one fish cake, two gim-mari (seaweed rolls), two dumplings, and one squid. They were hot and crisp, delicious on their own or dipped in the tteokbokki sauce.

Garaetteok so soft it cuts at a touch

In the kitchen, they were making garaetteok tteokbokki. At Uju Tteokjip, they shaped the rice cakes into round coils, but here they cut them into pieces about 15 cm long.

This is Gangnam garaetteok tteokbokki. Even the feeling of picking it up with chopsticks was different. It was much softer than the rice cakes I normally eat. Places that press their own rice cakes every day really are different.

You can bring scissors from the self-service bar and cut the garaetteok into bite-size pieces, but has anyone ever tried cutting garaetteok with scissors?? Deokjane Bangatgan's rice cakes are so soft that they practically cut apart with just a touch. In English, tteok is called rice cake, and I never really understood that before—but this truly feels like cake.

They were seriously so soft.... and went down so easily. Garaetteok tteokbokki usually fills me up and makes my jaw ache, but I demolished all four in no time.

Taking home garaetteok with jocheong and trying it the next day

The rice cakes were so good that I wanted to taste them on their own. I took home five plain garaetteok with jocheong. I kept them at room temperature until the next morning, and they were still soft, chewy, and so delicious. They stay soft at room temperature for about two days! From day three, they become chewy and firm!! They are genuinely on another level from store-bought garaetteok!!! If you love rice cakes, you absolutely have to try them.

Naturally, the rice used to make the tteok is Korean-grown too. The owner made such a great impression and was very kind. Successful places really are different. The tteokbokki made with garaetteok pressed fresh every day was outstanding, and even the rice cakes alone were truly delicious. I am 100% coming back.