Yeongdeungpo Korean snack restaurant for jjolmyeon: Hyeonseonine

If you're looking for instant tteokbokki at Yeouido IFC Mall

I was at The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido to browse the pop-ups with a friend, and while we were wondering what to eat, my friend said she was craving tteokbokki. So off we went for instant tteokbokki, which is surprisingly hard to find these days.

If you're looking for a delicious lunch near Yeouido IFC Mall or The Hyundai department store, I really want to recommend Hyeonseonine Tteokbokki's Hyeonseonine Premium.

Location and hours

It's on B2 of IFC Mall, 10 Gukjegeumyung-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Hours are 11:00–21:00 Monday through Friday and 12:00–21:00 on Saturdays and Sundays.

This place is difficult to find on a map, so my friend got a little lost on the way over, haha. It's on the route to Yeouido IFC and The Hyundai department store, but you need to walk quite a ways into the passageway. It stretches on like this.

It's also connected to the subway. Shops line the underground passageway, and this is one of them.

Saturday lunch atmosphere and ordering

The restaurant isn't especially large, and I visited at Saturday lunchtime. Every seat was really full, so we were only just able to take the last available table.

Ordering was convenient because you can use the kiosk inside. Even though it's a tteokbokki place, there were plenty of individual dishes as well as a wide range of sets, so choosing was fun.

Hyeonseonine Tteokbokki started as a Yongsan pojangmacha (street-food tent)... Apparently, it began as a street stall in 2004 and became famous as an iconic tteokbokki spot in Yongsan.

Keeping that reputation, it arrived at Yeouido IFC Mall as Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch, and I could see why it is such a beloved Korean snack spot near The Hyundai.

There was a self-service bar on one side of the restaurant, where we could help ourselves to water, tableware, danmuji (pickled radish), salt, tissues, and anything else we needed. That was really convenient and nice too.

Instant tteokbokki cooked on an induction hob

We ordered instant tteokbokki, fish cake skewers, and cola. The instant tteokbokki came with tteokbokki, fish cake, vegetables, jjolmyeon (chewy wheat noodles), yaki mandu (fried dumplings), and a boiled egg as standard, so it was really plentiful.

Best of all, we could keep it simmering on the induction hob and eat it piping hot.

As it cooks little by little, you need to give it a stir so the broth doesn't reduce too much. It looked seriously delicious.

Chewy wheat rice cakes and sauce-soaked jjolmyeon

Hyeonseonine Tteokbokki uses wheat rice cakes, and their chewy texture was outstanding. The cabbage in the tteokbokki was wonderfully crisp too, and there was quite a lot of jjolmyeon, which was perfect for a noodle lover like me. We also ordered mini gimbap (seaweed rice rolls) to dip in the sauce, haha.

The gimbap, fish-cake broth, and tteokbokki were an absolutely perfect combination! 😮 🩷I don't think Korean snack food ever gets tiring, no matter when I eat it~~🩷

Be careful: instant tteokbokki is hot

The jjolmyeon absorbed the sauce so well and was incredibly delicious. But because it's instant tteokbokki, it is extremely hot, so you need to eat carefully. I burned myself while eating that day, haha, and suffered for several days.

Once we had finished, it was such a filling and satisfying meal. Even as I write this, I keep thinking about that sweet-spicy tteokbokki from a few days ago—the one we ate while blowing on it because it was so hot, haha. I'm practically smacking my lips right now, haha.

If I'm in Yeouido to shop, I think I'll visit again. Next time, I need to try some of the other individual dishes too. I am 100% willing to return!