Spicy combo set takeout with beer at Hyeonseoni-ne in Euljiro

If you're looking for old-school snack bar vibes in Euljiro, Hyeonseoni-ne Cheonggye Instant Branch is a pretty good pick. It's in a good spot for a stop while walking along Cheonggyecheon stream, and it's tucked into an alley with a street-cart feel that really captures the Euljiro atmosphere. You can choose your tteokbokki (stir-fried rice cakes) in mild, medium, or spicy.

The spicy option I ordered was quite a bit spicier than I expected, so those who can't handle spicy food should keep that in mind. The combination of dipping the fried snacks into the thick, rich tteokbokki sauce was especially memorable.

The Hyeonseoni Combo Set I took out this time included tteokbokki, fried snacks, sundae (Korean blood sausage), gimbap (seaweed rice roll), and fish cakes — a great combination for enjoying a variety of snacks at once. Even though it's a snack bar, they also sell alcohol, so it looked like a good spot to pair a casual soju or beer with your meal.

There were actually customers at the shop enjoying snacks along with drinks, so it really let me feel that old-school Euljiro snack bar atmosphere.

After a workout, a walk along Cheonggyecheon, and a street cart tucked in an alley

Hi, this is Jimmy. Today after finishing my workout I came to Cheonggyecheon.

Now that the weather's warming up, it really makes you want to walk around. After strolling a bit, I stopped by Hyeonseoni-ne Cheonggye Instant Branch, an old-school tteokbokki shop in Euljiro.

The shop was set up like this, street-cart style, tucked into an alley — and honestly the vibe was better than I expected. Ordering is done through a kiosk.

Today I decided to get the Hyeonseoni Combo Set to go. Next time I'd like to try eating in the shop too. It was such an appealing spot — even though it's a snack bar, they sell alcohol including soju.

There were actually quite a few office workers in their 40s and up visiting. It looked like every table had a pot of tteokbokki and a glass of soju, people chatting about work — and honestly, it looked pretty cool.

My tteokbokki was ready. The walk home was a pleasant one. I opened it up as soon as I got there — it was packed carefully and well.

The Hyeonseoni Combo Set lineup and how spicy the spicy option really is

The Hyeonseoni Combo Set comes with tteokbokki, fried snacks, sundae, gimbap, and fish cakes — basically the snack bar Avengers assembled. Even just looking at it, the tteokbokki looked incredibly thick and rich.

You can choose mild, medium, or spicy — I went with spicy.

Wow... it was quite a bit spicier than expected. Looks like I still need more training. Still, I ate it all the way through, huffing and puffing but enjoying every bite. Next up, the fried snacks.

Fried snacks dipped in tteokbokki sauce were the highlight

There was a nice variety — glass noodle rolls, squid, and more — so it was fun picking and choosing.

Especially the fried snacks dipped in the tteokbokki sauce. I think this is what I was craving.

That was truly today's highlight. Next, the sundae.

The beer came out once the sundae showed up

This was the item I had the lowest expectations for, but it had a good variety of organ pieces mixed in, and the texture was nice and moist.

This snack food definitely makes you want a drink.

I'd planned to skip it today, but right around the sundae I ended up pulling a can of beer out of the fridge. And the last piece was the fish cake — consider it my hangover cure too.

It's been so long since I had fish cakes, it kind of hit me with some childhood nostalgia. (Sipping a beer-and-soju mix) The mini gimbap was delicious too, with a fragrant sesame oil aroma.

As someone who works out, I guess I'd had some bias against snack food, but I think I'll be coming back to it often from now on.

Anyway, another delicious meal today. Hope you all eat well too and have a happy day.

Hyeonseoni-ne Cheonggye Instant Branch visitor info

• Address: 112 Namdaemun-ro, 1st floor, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• About 68m from Exit 3 of Euljiro-1(il)-ga Station
• Hours: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri 10:40–21:00
• Closed every Saturday and Sunday
• Takeout and delivery available
• Alcohol sold
• Street-cart-style shop tucked in an alley