Hidden Authentic Korean Rice Cake Shop With Mugwort Injeolmi In Everton Park

Songyu Goh

4 years ago

Hodunamu is an authentic Korean rice cake shop situated in Everton Park that has been here since 2010. We’re not talking about Tteokbokki, but traditional Korean rice cakes such as Injeolmi and Songpyeon.

Hodunamu: Authentic Korean Rice Cake Shop in Singapore

Mugwort Injeolmi and Rainbow Rice Cake from Hodunamu

Hodunamu, which means Walnut Tree in Korean, has called Everton Park home since 2010. The owner was a royal court food researcher and underwent several food speciality courses pertaining to rice cakes and royal court food.

While Hodunamu used to have a cafe area where customers could get hearty Korean fare such as Kimbap, Ramyeon and homemade Korean beverages, Hodunamu mainly does catering now. Good news is, you can still walk-in and get some traditional Korean rice cakes.

Traditional Korean Rice Cakes

Hodunamu has a menu of rice cakes but what is available daily depends on their catered orders. The rice cakes tend to rotate around but they offer a wider range of selections on Sundays.

Mugwort Injeolmi

Known as 쑥인절미 (Ssuk-Injeolmi) in Korean, this version of the ever-popular Injeolmi is dark green in colour and lesser-seen in Singapore.

The rice cake is infused with mugwort, which produces a herbal and slightly minty taste. There is also some red bean filling in the rice cake for some extra texture. Be careful as it is generously topped with Injeolmi (roasted soybean) powder, you don’t want to accidentally inhale the powder and choke on it.

Rainbow Rice Cake

The 무지개떡 (Mujigae-tteok) or Rainbow Rice Cake is a popular traditional rice cake and popular among kids because of its resemblance to a rainbow.

There’s not much to this rice cake, as it’s basically steamed sweetened non-glutinous rice flour. However, we did get a slight cinnamon taste from the rice cake, which we did not expect.

White Steamed Rice Cake with Honey

백설기 (Baekseolgi) is a simple rice cake made using rice flour. It is also commonly eaten when celebrating a baby’s first hundred days.

There are also other variations to this rice cake, such as the one we tried with honey, and more modern ones such as Oreo Baekseolgi.

The flavour of the rice cake is similar to those childhood steamed coloured rice cakes but with a slightly denser texture.

Injeolmi

A popular “flavour” among Koreans and Singaporeans, the 인절미 (Injeolmi) flavour originated from the Korean rice cake dish, resulting in items like Injeolmi bread and Injeolmi Bingsu.

The original Injeolmi is made using glutinous rice flour and topped with roasted soybean powder. While it bears resemblance to our local muah chee, Injeolmi is less sweet.

Mugwort Rice Cake

Anything with mugwort catches our attention as it’s not a common ingredient used in Singapore. The 쑥절편 (Ssuk-jeolpyeon) is a rice cake that is steamed and pounded before being shaped.

It can be mistaken as a savoury snack as the exterior is slightly brushed with sesame oil which gives it a nice nutty scent.

Fresh Korean Traditional Rice Cakes

As the rice cakes from Hodunamu are freshly made each morning, they cannot be kept for long. If you’re unable to finish them, you can store the rice cakes in the freezer for 1-2 days and reheat by placing them in a steamer.

Do note that they taste best on the day of purchase.

All the packaged rice cakes you see upon walk-in usually range from $5 to $6.

You can also check their Instagram as they update what rice cakes are for sale on the day itself. The best way to know more is to check with them via Kakaotalk.

Hidden Korean Rice Cake Shop in Singapore

If you want a taste of Korea in Singapore, why not try some traditional snacks from Korea? If not you can always check out some of these Korean cafes and restaurants:

Hodunamu
Blk 2, Everton Park, #01-55, Singapore 081002
Mon-Sat, 10am-5pm, Sun, 10am-3pm
Closed on either Tuesdays or Wednesdays

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