IFC Mall tteokbokki restaurant, mild spice vs Yongsan: Hyeonseonine

I visited the IFC Mall branch of Hyeonseonine tteokbokki. It's easy to find — just take the moving walkway from Yeouido Station toward IFC Mall and The Hyundai. Hours are 11:00 AM to 8:40 PM, though it opens at 12:00 PM on weekends.

Is Hyeonseonine IFC Mall run by the Yongsan flagship?

Hyeonseonine's flagship is in Yongsan, and it's famous enough to be counted among Seoul's top three tteokbokki spots. There's a direct branch here at Yeouido's IFC Mall too — apparently they only expand through directly-run branches to protect the taste and quality, so I was curious whether it would measure up to the original.

The IFC Mall location wasn't as spacious as the flagship, but it still had plenty of tables — mostly 2-person and 4-person setups.

What comes in the ₩22,000 instant tteokbokki for two, and picking a spice level

You order at the kiosk near the entrance. I got the instant tteokbokki for two and a Pepsi Zero.

The instant tteokbokki for two costs ₩22,000 and comes packed with tteokbokki, eomuk (fish cake), vegetables, jjolmyeon noodles, fried dumplings, and even an egg. You can choose the spice level: mild, medium, or spicy 🌶 — last time I visited the Yongsan flagship, the medium spice turned out spicier than expected, so this time I deliberately went with mild.

What's at the self-serve bar at Hyeonseonine IFC Mall

While waiting for the tteokbokki, I grabbed pickled radish, a small plate, and utensils from the self-serve bar. The cups were paper, so drinking water was pleasant. Dipping soy sauce for fried snacks and salt for sundae were also available, but I skipped those since we weren't ordering fried snacks or sundae that day.

The instant tteokbokki finally arrived! 🤤 The pot was packed full of ingredients, and the golden-brown fried dumplings caught my eye first.

How mild is the mild tteokbokki at Hyeonseonine, really?

Ordering tteokbokki gets you a side of eomuk broth too. I sipped the refreshing broth quietly while waiting for the tteokbokki to start bubbling.

There was plenty of broth, so I ate it spoon-style, half broth and half rice cake, like a soup-style tteokbokki — and it disappeared in no time. The rice cakes were especially chewy and delicious, and the jjolmyeon noodles and cabbage had soaked up the sauce nicely too. Personally, I think Hyeonseonine's instant tteokbokki tastes better than their regular tteokbokki — just my own opinion!

That said, choosing mild spice meant it was less spicy than I expected, which was a bit disappointing. I'm a spice wimp, but I still prefer tteokbokki to have at least a hint of heat, so I think I'll order medium spice every time from now on.

Also, if you join the review event, you can get either fried tteok or a savory mayo rice ball, so writing a review is a good way to eat even more generously.

A quick stop while shopping IFC Mall and The Hyundai in Yeouido

Hyeonseonine IFC Mall Branch, a well-known Yeouido tteokbokki restaurant, is a great place to refuel on carbs when you get hungry wandering around The Hyundai and IFC Mall. It wasn't expensive and the portions were generous, so I left satisfied.