Ansan tteokbokki restaurant with peppery rice cakes: Yum Bbokki

While looking for a great tteokbokki spot in Ansan, I visited Yum Bbokki (얌볶이) in Gojan-dong. I already love tteokbokki, but the wheat-rice-cake tteokbokki here was seriously delicious. It was packed from the moment I arrived, which gave it that true local-favorite feeling and got my expectations up—and sure enough, there’s a reason busy places are busy.

Yum Bbokki location and hours

Yum Bbokki is at 61 Gwangdeokdong-ro, Danwon-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi-do. It is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., except on Mondays, its regular closing day. There is no break time, but the kitchen closes at 9:30 p.m., so be sure to order before then. These days, so many restaurants have break times that it can be inconvenient, so I liked being able to come here whenever.

The prices at Yum Bbokki are low and the set menu is well put together, so I ordered a set.

Chewy fresh wheat rice cakes and peppery sauce

For the tteokbokki, I chose wheat rice cakes and medium spice!

Yum Bbokki says it uses freshly made wheat rice cakes with no preservatives, and you could really taste that signature chewy texture. The rice cakes were soft yet pleasantly springy—so good. The sauce was delicious too. It had a fairly strong peppery aroma, which made it perfect for a hangover cure.

The sauce was so good that I dipped the side dishes generously in it too.

How spicy was the medium level?

I’m not very good with spicy food, but mild tteokbokki can be bland and disappointing at a lot of places. So I went with medium spice, and it was nicely spicy without being difficult to eat.

It is the kind of tteokbokki where the spice and peppery aroma come through together, and it was delicious to take a bite of rice cake with plenty of sauce.

With tteokbokki that is only sweet, I can get tired of it after a few bites. But Yum Bbokki’s medium level was spicy with a lively peppery aroma, so I kept reaching for more. I guess it really made me go yum yum, just like the name.

If you like spicy tteokbokki, or prefer a sharp, warming kick over sweet tteokbokki, I think it will suit your taste.

Easy-on-the-wallet tteokbokki prices

Yum Bbokki is affordable too. Basic tteokbokki is ₩3,900 for one serving and ₩10,900 for three servings, which feels unbelievably inexpensive considering prices these days. It is great for eating alone, or with friends, a partner, or family.

Since it is such good value, it is nice to order a range of side dishes along with it.

If I had a great-value local spot like this in my neighborhood, I think I would go every day. When I visited, there was a wide range of customers, from students to adults.

There are so many tteokbokki places these days, but sadly not many leave a lasting impression. This is somewhere I want to return to.

After trying it, I understood why it stays busy

Usually, a crowded restaurant has a good chance of being delicious, right? But every now and then, I have been disappointed by places that were simply packed because of good marketing.

So at first I was half doubtful, but after trying it myself, I could see why people keep coming back. The chewy texture of the fresh wheat rice cakes paired beautifully with a sauce that was spicy and distinctly peppery, and it was the kind of flavor that would come to mind again. It especially felt like a great hangover cure—the perfect thing for the day after drinking.

Every side dish was delicious, and the portions were generous too, so I left truly full and happy.

Free parking is available too, so it is easy for anyone driving to visit. For solo diners, anyone craving bunsik (Korean snack foods), or anyone wanting a hangover cure—Yum Bbokki is my recommendation!