Seomyeon bar for tteokbokki, fritters & somaek: 5 Budu Twigimjip

Today I just wanted a simple somaek (soju-beer mix), and while searching I heard that one of the bars near Seomyeon Station does amazing fritters. So I went to check it out. It's 5 Budu Twigimjip (5부두튀긴집)!

What kind of Seomyeon bar is 5 Budu Twigimjip?

5 Budu Twigimjip is a fritter and Korean snack bar inside an alley near Seomyeon Station. It was a weekday and customers kept streaming in. One bite and I totally got why!

Besides fritters there are lots of bunsik (Korean snack bar) dishes, and the prices are kind. Whenever I want a quick beer from now on, I'm definitely going to 5 Budu Twigimjip.

Is 5 Budu Twigimjip hard to find?

It's inside an alley, so it may be a little hard to find. When you spot the small sign from the street, just head straight down that alley.

Even the door handle was totally my taste, hahaha. Honestly, what a genius idea.

The inside of 5 Budu Twigimjip is pure retro vibes. You know places like this always taste better.

What did we order at 5 Budu Twigimjip?

We ordered tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) with mozzarella cheese chili fritters, fluffy egg roll fritters and charcoal croquettes. The menu has way more than what's listed on Naver, and honestly I wanted a bite of everything. Since we'd be eating fritters with the tteokbokki, we spent ages deciding what would go well.

Market-style tteokbokki and free side snacks

The tteokbokki came out first. Thick garaetteok (cylinder rice cakes) give it a bit of a market-stall tteokbokki look!! The saewookkang (shrimp crackers) are the free side snack, and next to it are all the fritter sauces.

Then the fritters arrived. Wow.. just the look of them made my mouth water. Is the chili fritter size crazy or what? I wonder if chili peppers this big even exist.

Dip the fluffy egg roll fritter in tteokbokki sauce

The fluffy egg roll fritter was what I was most looking forward to, and you absolutely have to dip it in the tteokbokki sauce.

Here's the cross-section. It's like the soft, sweet egg roll you find on top of egg sushi, but fried, so it feels like a fancy egg fritter. It was my number one pick. I wanted to order another but I was too full.

Mozzarella cheese chili fritter: soy sauce before it cools

The mozzarella cheese chili fritter was so big that we cut it up, and cheese came flooding out as we cut. See that? How could it not be good?? It was my boyfriend's top pick, haha. I recommend dipping the chili fritter in the soy sauce before it cools down.

Charcoal croquettes with the white sauce

The charcoal croquette has a potato croquette base with carrot and corn you can chew on inside. The croquette actually tasted better as it cooled. Definitely dip it in the white sauce!

How were the fritters as somaek snacks?

All the fritters at 5 Budu Twigimjip were so crunchy and delicious. My boyfriend and I ate with wide eyes🤣 Not-so-secret: they beat most fritter specialty restaurants. I also liked that the tteokbokki could be reheated so it never got cold. Honestly the best somaek snack ever...👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 The drinks just slid right down.

One more surprise! The fritter basket isn't just fritters, it's lined with shrimp chips.. Such a clever touch, right? Maybe because the drinks went down so easily, I was already full but still wanted to try another fritter, hahaha

Honey hotteok fritter for dessert, careful when cutting

So I ordered the honey hotteok (sweet filled pancake) fritter, which feels a bit like dessert, haha

Ta-da! A honey hotteok fritter, just thinking about it sounded delicious. Everyone, be careful when you cut the honey hotteok fritter. It's so full of honey that it runs out. I cut it without knowing and lost all the honey😭

Is 5 Budu Twigimjip worth recommending as a Seomyeon Station fritter bar?

This Seomyeon Station bar was delicious without a single miss. We're planning to become regulars at 5 Budu Twigimjip, haha. I totally recommend it to anyone looking for great fritters or bunsik dishes among Seomyeon Station bars. Think of it as a hearty meal or a light drink, it's a perfect fit either way❗️