Yeonnam-dong restaurant with bamboo window seats: Ttasijia Yeonnam

I wanted to try something a bit different in Yeonnam-dong, so I headed to Ttasijia's flagship branch. Instead of the usual Korean food or pasta places, this spot centers on Singaporean-style shrimp noodles, which had me curious. The sign out front described it as the first official Korean branch of a Singapore restaurant that's made the Michelin Guide four years running.

More than anything, the vibe was unique from the entrance onward.

Where is Ttasijia Yeonnam, and when does it open?

• 📍 Ttasijia flagship branch · 13-1 Donggyo-ro 38-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1st floor
• About 7 minutes on foot from Hongik University Station Exit 3
• ⏰ Opens at 11:30 AM
• ※ Closed Sept 24–25 for the Chuseok holiday

Finding the Ttasijia Yeonnam storefront from Hongik University Station

A slice of Singapore suddenly appears in a Yeonnam-dong alley. When I first found this Yeonnam-dong date-night spot, the entrance caught my eye immediately. Orange walls, a blue floor, and bamboo lining both sides — it felt like stepping into another country in the middle of a Seoul back alley.

They say it's the first official Korean branch of '大食家,' which has made the Michelin Guide in Singapore for four straight years.

Ttasijia Yeonnam is about a 7-minute walk from Hongik University Station Exit 3, right in the main alley of Yeonnam-dong. Reservations are available on Naver Reservation and Catch Table for parties of 2 or more, but solo diners can just walk in.

The path leading from the entrance to the restaurant was pretty enough to photograph on its own. Yeonnam-dong has plenty of pretty restaurants these days, but this place felt distinct from the usual aesthetic-interior crowd.

'大食家' reads as 'Ttasijia' in Chinese and roughly means 'big eater' in Korean — literally, a house for people who really eat. The name alone makes you feel like you should come hungry, haha. In Singapore, prawn mee — noodles in a rich shrimp broth — is famous, and Ttasijia's signature dishes are the shrimp noodles and fried noodles piled with whole prawns.

Inside Ttasijia Yeonnam: bamboo views from the full-height window seats

Walk inside, and the exotic atmosphere from the exterior carries straight through. Overall it felt like a mix of a vintage Southeast Asian eatery and Yeonnam-dong's hip sensibility.

The first thing that catches your eye is the orange metal chairs and stainless steel tables. Add teal walls and warm orange lighting, and the palette is quite bold — but rather than feeling overdone, it builds a look that's distinctly Ttasijia's own.

One wall is packed with posters of shrimp and food illustrations in retro typography. It didn't feel like a simply decorated restaurant so much as a modern reinterpretation of an actual Singaporean eatery.

I've been to Singapore before, and yeah, that's exactly the vibe..

What I especially loved was the bamboo visible through the big window. Right in the middle of Yeonnam-dong, and yet you look out to green bamboo — it didn't feel cramped at all, and the window seats had a really nice atmosphere. When the sunlight hit, the bamboo looked even sharper, great for photos too.

There are separate lockers for bags and belongings.

Taken all together — the bold colors, bamboo, retro posters, and stainless steel tables — it's an exotic vibe clearly different from Yeonnam-dong's usual café aesthetic or the clean, trendy new-restaurant look. Food aside, the space itself was memorable.

What we ordered: tableware and table setting

Seating wasn't too tightly packed, and each table had a tablet, which made ordering easy.

Even the dishes matched the vibe. The first thing I noticed was the tableware — blue-patterned bowls and plates that suited the colors of the food. Even the chopstick sleeves had the Ttasijia logo and a shrimp illustration. Everything from the plates to the spoons felt cohesive, like being in Singapore for real!

The table was set with spoons, chopsticks, small plates, plus chili oil, pepper, and sambal sauce. I first enjoyed the plain shrimp broth flavor, then added a bit of sambal when I wanted more kick — a totally different flavor experience.

Shrimp broth fried noodles with jumbo prawn, 16,500 won

First up, the most visually striking dish: shrimp broth fried noodles. A whole jumbo prawn sits right on top, so it grabs your attention the moment it arrives.

The noodles are very thin, and this isn't a completely dry stir-fry — there's a shallow pool of broth underneath, so you mix it while it stays moist.

Cutting up the big prawn and eating it with the noodles felt distinctly different from a regular fried noodle dish. The shrimp and seafood flavor comes through strong, so it's especially good for shrimp lovers. My sister, who came with me, clearly loved it too.

Shrimp gukbap with jumbo prawn, 16,500 won

Shrimp gukbap (rice soup) had an intriguing name from the start. I wondered at first how you'd even make gukbap with shrimp, but it turned out to be rice, meat, and a rich shrimp broth all together.

This one also comes with a hefty jumbo prawn. You scoop up the rice and broth together with a spoon, so it feels much heartier than the fried noodles.

If you prefer rice over noodles, or just love a warm soupy dish, this is a solid choice. Ordering one of each — the fried noodles and the gukbap — to share was a great way to try both.

Adding sambal sauce to taste

Sambal sauce was also on the table. If you want extra heat, you can drizzle a little onto the shrimp noodles. It's better to add it gradually rather than pouring in a lot right away.

The shrimp noodles taste noticeably different with and without the sambal, so it's a nice way to switch things up partway through.

Chili clams with fried mantou, 16,000 won

We also ordered chili clams that day. The portion of clams was generous, so it made a strong visual impression when it arrived. It's a dish of clams and egg in a thick red chili sauce, served with fried mantou (Chinese steamed bun) on the side. Unlike the usual plain white steamed mantou, this one comes fried until golden brown.

You dip the mantou generously in the chili sauce and eat it together. It tastes completely different from the shrimp noodles, so if you're dining with three or more people, adding this dish to share is worth it. There was plenty of sauce, which made it easy to pair with the mantou. The fried mantou here is delicious.

Outdoor seats and the verdict on Ttasijia Yeonnam

On the way out after eating, I stopped by the outdoor seats for a photo. Sit here on a cool day and, exaggerating just a little, you might not even need to go to Singapore, haha.

A Yeonnam-dong restaurant where you can enjoy Singaporean-style shrimp noodles piled with whole prawns alongside an exotic atmosphere.