Mapo Original Tteokbokki: Cheap & Spicy Seoul Eats
I headed out to grab lunch with a friend who is currently between jobs. Since Gongdeok Station (in central Seoul) was our halfway point, we looked for good places to eat in the Mapo area. We decided to visit a restaurant that was featured on "Baek Jong-won's Top 3 Chef King," a TV show that's highly trusted when it comes to everyday comfort food.
As we got closer, the crowd made it instantly obvious which place was ours. One look at the tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) shop, and you could tell it had been in business for a very long time. Even at a glance, there were barely any tables inside. Whether it was because of the cramped space or the many nearby offices, most people were getting takeout. Still, they don't separate dine-in and takeout orders; they just take them in the order people arrive.
We sat down and looked at the menu, and the prices were unbelievably cheap. We completely lost our minds over how affordable it was and ordered two portions of tteokbokki, one gimbap (seaweed rice roll), two eomuk (fish cakes), and one sundae (blood sausage). While eating, we even added a portion of twigim (fried snacks)... We had met up talking about going on a diet, but the prices made us lose all self-control.
Since it's a family-run shop in a tiny space, mostly everything is self-service. You have to wait to order until they tell you to, and you have to fetch your own danmuji (pickled radish). While waiting for the food, you can even watch the mother—who seems to be the owner—and her son bickering. It's a classic neighborhood spot packed with a warm, familiar vibe.
The food doesn't all come out at once, but the wait between dishes isn't long either. The tteokbokki, gimbap, and eomuk came out first, so I tried the tteokbokki right away. The color was so dark I thought it would be incredibly spicy. But since even a spice-wimp like me could eat it while finding it spicy, it probably wouldn't be too hot for the average Korean. If it were just spicy, it would have been boring, but a strong sweetness hits you in the aftertaste—like they poured a whole lot of sugar into it. Just like they described on TV, it's a deliciously spicy and sweet flavor.
I didn't think the gimbap or eomuk were particularly special. But the sundae was a different story. Because the turnover rate is so high here, the sundae was incredibly soft. It felt freshly steamed, rather than having sat in the steamer for a long time. Not just the sundae, but none of the food felt like it had been sitting around. That's the advantage of a busy restaurant.
Even though we ordered a massive amount of food, it came out to just over 6,000 KRW per person. At this price, you really can't complain whether it tastes good or not. These days, you have to pay around 15,000 KRW just to get tteokbokki delivered, but the two of us ate for less than that. Looking around, I saw plenty of people eating just a single portion of tteokbokki. It's amazing to find a place this cheap where you can order just one portion, and it actually tastes great too. I definitely found a good spot.