Ansan tteokbokki restaurant with customizable servings: Yum Bbokki

I love tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), but these days one order can be such a huge portion that I hesitate even when I want to try a few things. It is especially like that when eating with children. The kids want rose, I want original, and someone else wants another flavor—but at places where you have to order one big pot, we end up having to compromise.

But there is a place in my neighborhood where I can eat tteokbokki without worrying about any of that: Yum Bbokki (얌볶이) in Gojan-dong, Ansan. It is a beloved neighborhood tteokbokki spot that I visit now and then, and this time our family of four, including the kids and my husband, went around 1 p.m. on a Saturday. We walked there, but parking is available too, so please refer to the photo below if you are driving.

Yum Bbokki on a Saturday lunchtime

Maybe because it was Saturday lunchtime, the dining room was already full of customers. Luckily, a table had just finished and left as we came in, so we were able to sit down right away without waiting long.

I notice it every time I visit: the restaurant is kept very clean overall, and the orange accents give it a fresh feel.

This time, I spotted some news right at the entrance: they have introduced rice-cake tteok! You can enjoy it by selecting the rice-cake option when ordering. For a tteokbokki lover, having one more type of rice cake to choose from is wonderful news. I will definitely try it on my next visit.

Ordering tteokbokki by flavor, spice level, and add-ons

The biggest reason I like Yum Bbokki is that I can choose exactly the tteokbokki I want, the way I want it. You can choose from original tteokbokki, rose, jjajang (black bean sauce), and cream, then choose a spice level to suit your taste too.

There is also a really wide selection of add-ons. You can add whatever you want, including noodles, wide glass noodles, egg, and cheese, so even at the same tteokbokki restaurant, it is fun for everyone to eat something different. Even with sundae (Korean blood sausage), you do not simply order sundae—you can choose the ratio of sundae to offal. I love that even these little details can reflect your preferences.

What our family of four ordered

• Silsok Yum Set
• Mild rose tteokbokki with extra cheese
• Sweet Cheese Boneless Chicken

The Silsok Yum Set is perfect when you want to sample several things, since it includes tteokbokki, sundae, and fried snacks. Dipping sundae or fried snacks into tteokbokki sauce—this combination really needs no explanation. The kids also ate so well, dipping their sundae and fried snacks into the sauce.

The mild rose tteokbokki the kids ate

Rose tteokbokki is always the kids' favorite, so of course they chose rose again that day! We ordered the mild level, but it was still just a little spicy for elementary-school-aged children. It seemed to be a delicious kind of spicy, though, because they ate it very well with Coolpis.

My younger child tried original tteokbokki for the first time this visit. We even added ramyeon noodles, and seeing my child eat it so well made me oddly proud. Ramyeon noodles with tteokbokki really are unbeatable.

As my older child ordered, we added cheese on top of the rose tteokbokki! The cheese topping, served almost like a fried egg, was so cute. My child polished off a whole bowl alone.

We ordered the Sweet Cheese Chicken at my husband's pick, and it tastes exactly as you would imagine. It reminded me of Bburinkle chicken.

These days, many places sell only sundae without offal, but Yum Bbokki has a good variety of offal and even lets you choose its ratio to the sundae. I am impressed by such thoughtful ordering options.

Dipping sundae or fried snacks into tteokbokki sauce—this combination really needs no explanation. The kids also ate so well, dipping their sundae and fried snacks into the sauce.

Why it is great for families with different tastes

Yum Bbokki's greatest strength is definitely that you can order the flavor you want in individual portions. These days, many tteokbokki places focus on large dishes to share, but at Yum Bbokki, everyone can choose their own flavor and spice level, which is especially convenient when visiting with several people with varied tastes. The kids can have rose, I can have original, and family members with different preferences can order another flavor.

I recommend it to anyone who loves tteokbokki but has found it hard to eat with children because of the spice level. And I completely recommend this great tteokbokki spot in Gojan-dong, Ansan to anyone who wants to enjoy tteokbokki alone, too. Above all, I also love that it is not a chain—it is a neighborhood tteokbokki restaurant you can find in Ansan. This kind of flavor should spread far and wide nationwide! If you are looking for great tteokbokki in Gojan-dong, or a tteokbokki place in Ansan to visit with children, I would recommend Yum Bbokki.