Gangnam tteokbokki restaurant with whole garaetteok: Deokjane

I wanted tteokbokki (spicy rice cake stew) in Gangnam, so I finally made it back to Deokjane Bangatgan (덕자네방앗간) after a long while. I'd been meaning to check this place out as a tteokbokki spot for ages, and since I had an appointment in Gangnam anyway, I figured I'd swing by haha.

Deokjane Bangatgan is especially known for its tteokbokki made with whole rice cake logs, so anyone who loves rice cakes would probably be curious about this place. I went all in this time and ordered tteokbokki, fish cake, and tuna gimbap too haha. So here's my review of this Gangnam spot, Deokjane Bangatgan!

Where Deokjane Bangatgan is and what the restaurant feels like

Deokjane Bangatgan is about a 5-minute walk from Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 7. It's a pretty accessible spot if you're already meeting someone in Gangnam and want tteokbokki. The neighborhood is busy and crowded, but the restaurant itself felt cleaner than I expected.

Inside, there are tables for two up to seats for bigger groups, so it seemed fine to visit with friends too. I also saw solo diners, so it didn't feel awkward as a solo dining spot near Gangnam or Sinnonhyeon Station haha.

Ordering is done through a kiosk, so choosing your menu and paying was easy. Dishware and side dishes are self-serve, which made the whole thing feel convenient!

Three dishes ordered at Deokjane Bangatgan

I ordered three things: tteokbokki, fish cake, and tuna gimbap! Just tteokbokki alone felt like it wouldn't be enough, so I added gimbap and fish cake too haha. When you're at a Korean snack restaurant, you can't just stop at tteokbokki, right?

The tteokbokki at Deokjane Bangatgan stood out right away because you could see the whole rice cake logs in there — definitely a different look from regular tteokbokki. Once I saw that visual, there was no way I wasn't ordering it!

How does the whole garaetteok tteokbokki taste and chew?

Tteokbokki was the dish I was most excited about haha. Deokjane Bangatgan is famous for its whole rice cake log tteokbokki, and seeing it in person, the long uncut rice cake logs really did feel different from the usual bite-sized tteokbokki.

I cut them into easy bite-sized pieces with scissors and tried one — the texture was genuinely chewy. Soft on the outside and chewy when you bite into it, so people who love rice cakes will probably love this texture too haha. Best of all, the rice cake itself wasn't too hard or mushy — it had a nice, soft bite.

The sauce was a gochujang-based sweet and spicy flavor. It wasn't overwhelmingly spicy — more like the sauce soaked well into the rice cake, the kind of flavor that keeps you eating haha. Taking a bite of rice cake with the sauce together, the chewy rice cake and spicy sauce worked really well together.

There was also fish cake mixed into the tteokbokki, and alternating between that and the rice cake gave a nice change of flavor. Personally, the tteokbokki sauce also went really well with the gimbap haha. Dipping gimbap in it added a spicy kick that made it taste way better than gimbap on its own.

Spicy tteokbokki with fish cake broth

Next up, the fish cake! When you're eating tteokbokki at a snack restaurant, you inevitably start craving fish cake broth haha. Eating warm fish cake with the broth in between bites of spicy tteokbokki was a nice way to reset your palate.

The fish cake had a nice bouncy texture, and the broth was clean-tasting, so it was easy to keep eating without feeling weighed down. Especially since the tteokbokki was spicy, a sip of fish cake broth would make you crave the tteokbokki again haha. Tteokbokki and fish cake really do need to be eaten together.

Tuna gimbap dipped in the tteokbokki sauce

I personally like eating gimbap alongside tteokbokki, so I went with tuna gimbap. The fillings inside were generous. The savory tuna along with rice, egg, and pickled radish all came together for an overall solid, reliable flavor.

Tuna gimbap is fine on its own, but dipping it lightly into the tteokbokki sauce made for an even better combo haha. Adding the spicy tteokbokki sauce to the savory tuna gimbap made the flavor feel richer. Tteokbokki really can't be complete without gimbap on the side haha.

Would I go back to Deokjane Bangatgan?

The whole rice cake log tteokbokki was what stuck with me most about Deokjane Bangatgan. It's noticeably chewier and softer than regular tteokbokki rice cakes, so anyone who loves rice cakes should give it a try at least once.

Next time I visit, I'd like to try some other menu items too haha. If you're in Gangnam looking for chewy whole rice cake log tteokbokki, Deokjane Bangatgan is worth stopping by!