Yongsan tteokbokki & beer, last seat on packed Saturday: Hyeonseonine

Why Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch on a sweltering summer day?

Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch (현선이네 용산본점) is a Yongsan tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) snack bar often called a holy land for tteokbokki fanatics. It's always buzzing with energy, and I finally made it there.

The weather lately is so hot it takes your breath away, right? On days like this your appetite vanishes, yet for some reason tteokbokki keeps popping into my head. So today I headed to Yongsan for a proper snack-food party.

How does the wait work at Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch?

Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch runs its waitlist through Catchtable. Even though I came around 2:30pm on a Saturday, it was full, and I barely got the last seat.

That's the kind of popularity you'd expect from a Yongsan favorite. If you're planning a visit, I'd check seat availability beforehand.

Ordering: kiosk, pay first

Ordering at Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch is done at a kiosk. It's pay-first: pick your menu, pay, and then sit down.

Menu

The moment I walked in, the delicious smell hit me and my mouth started watering! The kiosk menu has plenty of single items, but the set menus are very well put together for snack-food maniacs like me who want to taste a bit of everything. Our pick was the Hyeonseonine Combo Set!

Hyeonseonine Combo Set: how big is it, and is it good value?

When the Hyeonseonine Combo Set first arrived, I was amazed at how generous it was... For the price, the variety was great and the portions were huge.

Considering restaurant prices these days, and Yongsan prices especially... this lineup at this price felt like a real bargain.

Hyeonseonine tteokbokki: chewy wheat cakes soaked in sauce

Of everything in the combo set, the tteokbokki was by far the tastiest. One bite and I understood why so many people call Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch the best tteokbokki spot in Yongsan.

The rice cakes seemed to be wheat-based (miltteok). I'm team wheat cakes, so I was thrilled! The sauce had soaked right in, making them chewy, and it was spicy with an addictive savory depth that I couldn't stop eating.

How to eat tteokbokki with fry powder sprinkled on top

What makes Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch special is that fry powder is served separately. Sprinkle plenty into the tteokbokki sauce and scoop it up with the rice cakes by the spoonful, or dip sauce-coated rice cakes into the fry powder. Either way it's just plain "jonmat" (insanely delicious)!

The crunchy texture mixed with spicy, chewy tteokbokki makes your mouth go off like fireworks. Whoever discovered this combo deserves a prize. Thanks to the fry powder, I never got tired of it and enjoyed a different texture all the way to the end.

Tteokbokki and draft beer (tteokmaek) at Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch

Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch sells beer, so you can enjoy tteokmaek (tteokbokki + beer). Snack bars usually only sell soda, but this place sells bottled beer and even draft beer, which was the best.

On a hot summer day like this, take a bite of spicy tteokbokki in a blasting air-conditioned shop, then gulp down a sip of freezing-cold draft beer. Ahh, in that moment all your built-up fatigue and heat just fly away.

The refreshing, ice-cold draft beer neatly cut the spiciness of the tteokbokki, and I got to experience the magic of beer and snacks going down effortlessly. It was a top-tier snack pairing that holds its own as drinking food.

Who I'd recommend Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch to

With the great-value Hyeonseonine Combo Set I cleared gimbap (seaweed rice rolls), fritters, sundae (Korean blood sausage) and fish cake, then topped it off with crunchy fry powder on tteokbokki and ice-cold draft beer. A perfect summer meal.

If you're near Yongsan and want tasty snack food with a cold drink, or you're hunting for a proper tteokbokki spot, I'd absolutely recommend Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch. I'll probably be back soon, because I'll be craving this tteokmaek combo!