When the wind is cold these days, if you walk around the streets, you can find tasty snacks such as taiyaki, fish cake, and tteokbokki. Among them, “hotteok†is known as the signature winter snack due to its combination of sweet beef and chewy dough. From hotteok with a chewy dough that makes chewing fun to hotteok, to hotteok that has a light flavor without being greasy, to hotteok baked on top of a cauldron lid! Here are 5 of the best hotteok restaurants in Japan that are masters of life.
1. The moment you take a bite, the sweetness flutters, and Yongdang-dong, Mokpo, 'Ugly'
Image source: j_hyemin_v's Instagram
Image source: Yongilryang's Instagram
[Shikigami Tip]
â–²Location: 145-1 Yongdang-ro, Mokpo, Jeollanam-do
▲Opening hours: 14:00 every day — closed when supplies run out, closed on Saturdays
â–²Price: Honey hotteok 1,000 won, red bean hotteok 1,000 won
â–²Review (shikigin snevcjf9): Originally, it was a place I visited in Mokpo because it was quite a well-known food stall. I was surprised that there was a queue even though it was a weekday. Hotteok is definitely the main dish, but there are so many customers that they can only buy 3 pieces per person. I bought all three types of honey, red beans, and ink honey hotteok. The ingredients were good, of course, delicious, similar to seed hotteok, yet delicious.
2. “Market Wonjo Hoteok†baked in Dongmun-dong, Seosan, baked in a cauldron lid
Image source: cow_hee's Instagram
Image source: cow_hee's Instagram
[Shikigami Tip]
â–²Location: 4-13, Seosan Market 1-ro, Chungnam
▲Opening hours: 09:00 — 18:00 every day
â–²Price: Hotteok (2 pieces) 1,000 won, red bean soup 5,000 won
â–²Review (Jinu Jinu Woo, Shikigin): I went to Dongbu Market after seeing a guide to Dongbu Market~ I think they also sell steamed bread, dumplings, sundae, and red bean paste, but when I went there, they sold red bean paste and sundae together. I was hungry for red bean paste, so I bought it with hotteok~ There were about four tables to sit and eat! When I ordered red bean soup, they gave me water kimchi and radish kimchi together, but it was nice that it had fresh eggs and wasn't sweet! The hotteok looked like a Chinese hotteok, but it was different, but the real dough took over! There's also a lot of honey in it… I split it in half, rolled it up and ate it, and it was great value for money and very tasty!
3. Jeonju Taepyeong-dong 'Joongang Rice Hoteok' with an attractive chewy texture
Image source: hj_u._ on Instagram
Image source: image4864 on Instagram
[Shikigami Tip]
â–²Location: 49 Taepyeong 5-gil, Wansan-gu, Jeonju, Jeonbuk
▲Opening hours: 09:00 — 19:00 every day, closed on Sundays
â–²Price: Glutinous rice cake 1,000 won, oden 1,500 won
â–²Testimonial (Shikigin Myungyul 87): I came a few times, closed the door, and finally succeeded… I ordered two bowls of kamaboko and hotteok. I put a boiled egg in the fish paste, so it was kind of hearty… The soup wasn't salty either, so I ate it together the whole time I ate hotteok. They even cut the hotteok, but it had a slightly different texture than the hotteok I've eaten before. I want to buy it again next time.
4. 'Old-fashioned bakery' in Dongmun-dong, Seosan, with a light flavor
Image source: seoki2222 on Instagram
Image source: hyeji911's Instagram
[Shikigami Tip]
â–²Location: C-dong, 12-6, Seosan Market 3-gil, Chungnam
▲Opening hours: 11:00 — 18:00 every day
â–²Price: Hotteok 500 won, steamed bread (2 pieces) 1,000 won
â–²Testimonial (Green Scrubber): There's a long line, so you can find them in no time! I thought it was something like a Chinese-style gongal hotteok, but it's a regular hotteok! It costs 500 per piece, but it's really light, chewy, and sweet… I don't feel like I can eat three or four if I'm not hungry! The Dongbu Market is also famous for its Chinese restaurants, and there are plenty of things to eat, so check it out.
5. Hongseong Daigyori's “Hongseong Hotteokâ€, a flavor steeped in 50 years of experience
Image source: freejia_s Instagram
Image source: freejia_s Instagram
[Shikigami Tip]
â–²Location: 242, Hongseongcheon-gil, Hongseong-eup, Hongseong-gun, Chungcheongnam-do
â–²Business hours: 8:00 to 17:00 on market days, 10:30 to 17:00 on non-market days, flexible on holidays
â–²Price: Hotteok 1,000 won, steamed bread (6 pieces) 3,000 won
â–²Review (Flower of Death): A hotteok shop open during the day at Hongcheong Traditional Market! There are lots of good customer friends! They sell gyoza and steamed bread hotteok, but I only ate hotteok! Is there a hotteok machine that's a little different from other houses? They are made of the same thing, but the characteristic is that the inside is moist and fluffy! It wasn't greasy and light, and now that I think about it, I think I'll try gyoza too!!!