Yeouido tteokbokki restaurant with chicken mayo rice: Hyeonseonine

A coworker told me Hyeonseonine's tteokbokki was really famous and delicious in Yongsan, and I'd been meaning to go for a while — then I found out there's a branch at IFC Mall in Yeouido too.

So this time, on a Friday after work, I talked Jjanyang into coming with me.

Where is Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch and how do you get there?

Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch is on basement level 2 of IFC Mall. I took subway line 9, and since the subway connects directly to IFC Mall, I just walked through the underground passage.

Head toward Exit 3 and follow the IFC Mall signs. It's not a long walk at all.

Hyeonseonine Tteokbokki sits along the underground corridor of shops that connects all the way to The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido, on the IFC Mall side. There's a GS25 convenience store right next door, so looking for the GS25 sign is a handy tip when you're trying to find it.

How long is the wait at 7pm on a Friday?

I got there a little past 7pm right after work, and the place was already full, with people already waiting.

Both the indoor and outdoor tables were completely full, but luckily a table opened up quickly and I only had to wait under 5 minutes before getting seated indoors.

I really wanted instant tteokbokki, so I was worried I might get seated outside instead — but thankfully I got an indoor table right away. Outdoor tables don't have burners, so instant tteokbokki seems hard to manage there, while indoor tables can handle both instant and regular tteokbokki.

There were also a lot of people waiting for takeout.

Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall opening hours

Weekdays 11:00 ~ 20:40

Weekends, holidays 12:00 ~ 20:40

In one corner of the restaurant there was salt for dipping the pickled radish and sundae (blood sausage), plus a water dispenser and utensils.

This is the table we sat at.

Ordering instant tteokbokki for two at medium spice, plus bong-eomuk

After debating for a while over what to order, we went with the instant tteokbokki for two.

They asked us to pick a spice level, and when I chose spicy, the staff member warned me it would really! be very spicy — that scared me into going with medium instead. We also ordered bong-eomuk (skewered fish cake) since I wanted some broth to drink.

They warned us in advance it might take a bit longer since it was crowded, but it came out in under 5 minutes, which surprised me. The service here was genuinely good.

Since this place is known for its spicy tteokbokki, I'm now curious just how spicy the spicy option actually is.

These are photos of the inside and outside of the restaurant taken as we left after finishing our meal. Even with plenty of seating, the place was still completely full — you can tell how popular it is.

How spicy is medium, and how do you boil it at the table?

Our order arrived. The pot was absolutely packed with ingredients — such a generous serving!

They turned on the burner for us and told us to keep stirring since the jjolmyeon (chewy wheat noodles) tend to stick to the bottom, so I kept stirring away.

Once it had boiled for a while, we scooped out the noodles and rice cake sari (add-ins) and dug in. The medium spice level was just spicy enough and really tasty, which made me curious about the spicy option too. I think I'll try the spicy version next time I visit.

Do you get extra broth when you add ramen noodles?

We were enjoying the meal when Jjanyang said it felt a bit short and suggested adding ramen noodles.

When we added the ramen sari, they brought us more broth so we could pour it in and simmer before adding the noodles. This is exactly what instant tteokbokki is all about — you can keep adding more and more to the pot endlessly!

Mixing the chicken mayo rice bowl into the tteokbokki pot

I wanted a chicken mayo rice bowl, so I ordered one more dish.

The rice bowl was already delicious on its own, but then Jjanyang dumped the rice straight into the pot and mixed it all together, and that turned out to be an absolute game-changer. Even though we were already stuffed, we couldn't stop reaching for more.

Jjanyang had tteokbokki the night before, at lunch, and again at dinner this day — and said Hyeonseonine's was the best of them all.

We were so full that we practically passed out the moment we got home. Next time I'm at IFC Mall in Yeouido, I think I'll just get it to go.