Yeouido IFC Mall snack spot with chewy squid fritters: Hyeonseonine

My office in Yeouido is right by IFC Mall, so I'd always just walked past Hyeonseonine Tteokbokki on my commute — but I finally tried it and it was way better than expected, so I really want to recommend it!

Every time I passed through the underground moving walkway in Yeouido I wondered, does a tteokbokki place actually do well in an area with such expensive real estate? Why are there always so many people in there? I finally got my answer by visiting Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch.

Is there a wait at Hyeonseonine at 4pm?

I went to Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch around 4pm. There were a fair number of people inside already, but thankfully I got seated right away with no wait.

This is a spot I'd seen every time I passed The Hyundai Seoul and IFC Mall, but I never expected to actually eat here — I only went because everyone said it was good.

I didn't know this before, but apparently the original location is in Yongsan, and it's actually a fairly well-known tteokbokki restaurant with quite a bit of history?! I'd underestimated it completely, haha.

There's a self-serve station near the side door with chopsticks, spoons, pickled radish, water and so on, so make sure to grab your own setup before eating.

Is the 23,000-won Hyeonseoni Set enough for two?

For the two of us at Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch we ordered the Hyeonseoni Set, ₩23,000. It comes with tteokbokki, sundae (Korean blood sausage), fried snacks, and mini gimbap (seaweed rice roll) all together — I picked it mostly because I was too lazy to choose individual dishes, but for two people's lunch this felt like a reasonable price.

The portion was bigger than expected, so it was almost too much for the two of us. It seemed like it could easily feed three women.

And most of all, the food came out incredibly fast. I felt like I didn't wait even 5 minutes, which is perfect if you're the impatient type.

At first I thought the set portion would just be moderate, but once the food arrived there was so much to pick through that the two of us ended up completely full.

Hyeonseonine's tteokbokki: wheat rice cakes in a sweet broth

Hyeonseonine's tteokbokki is the broth-style version made with wheat rice cakes, with a generous amount of sauce. This was the first thing I tried from the set.

I went with medium spice, and personally it wasn't as spicy as I expected — if you're hoping for a real kick, it might be a bit underwhelming. Instead it's sweet and savory, and I kept dipping everything into the broth, haha.

Especially dipping the mini gimbap or fried snacks into the tteokbokki broth worked really well together, so definitely get the set!!

Juicy sundae (blood sausage) with no gamey smell

The sundae was also really delicious!!

Overall the sundae was juicy, and it came with organ meats like liver and lung too — but there was almost no fishy or gamey off-taste, so dipping them in salt made them wonderfully nutty and savory.

Eating it plain with salt was fine, but personally I thought dipping it lightly in the tteokbokki broth was even better.

But what part is this?! It was so chewy and tasted like the meat in sundae soup... totally delicious.

Mini gimbap dipped in the tteokbokki broth

The mini gimbap included in the Hyeonseoni Set wasn't as small as I expected, and the filling was more generous than I thought — it made me go, oh, not bad!

The seasoning wasn't overpowering, just right, so it was fine eaten plain too — but of course dipping it in the tteokbokki broth made it even better... is the broth just that good?! If you like eating gimbap alongside your tteokbokki, definitely order the mini gimbap.

The fritter platter: squid, vegetable and more to choose from

The fried snacks in the Hyeonseoni Set included squid, sweet potato, vegetable, kimmari (seaweed-wrapped glass noodle roll), and yakimandu (pan-fried dumplings).

Everything was fried nice and crispy overall, and having several types made it fun to pick based on what I was in the mood for.

The one that stuck with me most was the squid fritter!! Unlike a typical squid fritter, this one had a glutinous-rice-batter feel, so the texture was a bit unique — crispy yet chewy, and I personally really enjoyed it.

It was also nice that fish cake broth was served alongside to sip on in between bites — great touch from the owner!! When you keep eating tteokbokki and fried snacks you start craving something warm and brothy, and the warm fish cake broth hit that spot perfectly.

Is Hyeonseonine worth it for a Yeouido lunch?

This was my first time trying Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch after wondering about it every time I passed by, and the set turned out to be more generous than I expected — plenty for two people.

The medium-spice tteokbokki wasn't very spicy and leaned sweet and brothy, so even people who can't handle spicy food shouldn't have much trouble with it.

Above all, the food came out fast after ordering, making it a great spot when you want a quick, simple plate of Korean street food. If you've ever passed by in Yeouido and wondered about it, it's worth trying at least once! (Next time I need to try the instant tteokbokki!)