Cycle 13 – Item 297

29 (Sat) October 2022

Original Topokki

3.0

at Mobum Topokki

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with IZ

Mobum Topokki (모범떡볶이) is a Korean restaurant franchise chain.  Specializes in ddeokbokki aka topokki (see generally 4.045 Topokki).  According to the website, the original restaurant was founded in Seoul in 1976 by an old woman hailing from the northern province of Hamgyeong-do, where she had developed her signature style of ddeokbokki by adding rice cakes to various stews – whatever.  Anyway, the current chain has 9 locations across the country.

Waiting for Louis Le Pieux to finish his spa treatment, IZ and I grabbed a late afternoon snack.

Jeukseok Ddeokbokki (즉석 떡볶이) is a Korean dish.  In contrast to street-style ddedokbokki, where the dish is pre-cooked and left to simmer in a vat of sauce, doled out upon order (see most recently 13.003 Ddeokbokki), the jeukseok version assembles the uncooked ingredients in a pot and cooks the dish on a burner at the table – the term “jeukseok” means “on the spot” or “right away.”  Beyond rice cakes, the components are usually more varied, including noodles and vegetables, than in simple street concoctions.  As street food heads towards extinction in the increasingly regulated food scene of Korea, ddeokbooki is increasingly becoming more readily available in sit-down restaurants, especially in jeukseok form.

The ddeokbokki was pretty good.  The sauce was sweetish, not too spicy, just right for younger diners.  The components, including rice cakes + ramyeon noodles + glass noodles + fish cakes + white cabbage + perilla leaves, were fresh and tasty.  A respectable late afternoon snack.

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)

(See also HANSIK)