“ The food here is amazing! Large portions, larger than mine and my boyfriend's heads. The flavors are great, super spicy although we got extra-mild (thank you to the server who recommended it to us), and there was a great amount of toppings. The pork bulgogi was good as well, sweet, salty, and spicy. Then we got the mayo-spam (OMG? So good?!) which was also pretty large! On top of all this, the server was so sweet and attentive and never left us hanging. The inside is a nice interior, small, and cozy. Be careful when you go at night around this time, it's freezing and other guests tend to leave the door wide open. ”

“ What I ordered: - Yup DDUK with boiled eggs, mini sausages, and ramen noodles My go-to spot for tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), a popular Korean street food. Although you're able to adjust the spice level of your tteokbokki. I HIGHLY SUGGEST ordering extra mild (ranges from extra mild to challenge), anything beyond that is not really enjoyable to eat. Typical order is the Yup DDUK which comes with more rice cakes than fish cakes, also comes with boiled cabbage simmered in a sweet and savory gochujang sauce with a swirl of gooey mozzarella on top. The side of yellow pickled radish provides freshness and relief from the heat. Recommended add-ons include boiled eggs, mini sausages, and ramen noodles (soak up the gochujang nicely). Portion size is really big so I suggest bringing 3-4 people or you'll have leftovers! ”

“ Located in the Albertsons plaza by cornell housing and UCI. Oh my! Oh my! There are four spicy levels, the extra mild (which I haven't tried yet) but I'm guessing extra mild is 7/10 spicy Asian levels. The mild (I ordered this) and it's 8/10 spicy level easily building up to a 9, you will sweat, and feel your heart beat faster. The Original spicy level (I didn't get) but can imagine it's easily a 10/10 spicy. The challenge level, do you want to feel pain? Want it to hurt so good? I can't imagine how spicy it is 15/10? After this, I will definitely get extra mild next time knowing it will be spicy like level 7. People who can't eat spicy, don't come. You will most definitely die. Anyone I orders the yup dduk bowl of ttteobokki is $27, which says it serves 2-3 but I can easily make 4 portions out of it. The chewiness of the rice cakes are impressive. The mozzarella cheese was nice too although I normally don't like it on tteobokki. The fish cake cooled my tongue and the cabbage was nice. I wish there are more than 3 sausages. They sell Korean beer too! Taking home and keeling it in the fridge. Because it was spicy, I split it into 6 meals. It's impressive that the rice cakes didn't harden but kept its chewy consistency for a week or more. Comparing this to Jaws ttekbokki in Rancho Cucamonga, I may like jaws a little more. But if I'm in Irvine or OC, I will come again to yup dduk! ”

“ My wife and I came here for dinner and had an amazing meal! We ordered the signature Yupdduk, a Korean street food with rice cakes, fish cakes, sausages, cabbage, with a side of fried dumplings in a spicy red sauce. We got extra mild which would extra spicy virtually anywhere else. If you really into spicy food you can get up to "challenge" level which is 10,500 Scoville heat units. That's hot! The food was delicious, spicy and a very large portion. We ordered one dish and took leftovers home. Our waitress was super friendly and helpful with suggestions. The restaurant has a great buzzy ambiance and is filled with UCI students. (The pickles served with the meal are great too: crunchy and flavorful.) ”

“ Fun place to challenge yourself how hot you can go! It's definitely a shared experience so my husband and I had Yup Dduk, extra mild. Even with extra mild we were glad we had enough water to keep the spice tone down. The dish was pretty good but full of carbs. The sauce was red hot and sweet. Service was amiable. Will definitely come back for their bulgogi! ”

“ Food is amazing as always! The mild is HOT so be careful. It is equivalent to buldak fire noodle spicy level. It's good but makes your nose runny haha. The location is very small and quiet. It's tucked into the corner of the plaza. Because it's small, there are only 2 employees so service is a little slow, so you'll have to be patient. Instagram: @jessgoeat ”

“ Food: 10/10 Service: 8/10 Ambiance: 7/10 Such Korean soul food. I go each time I crave it even though I'm not from the area. It hurts my wallet a little bit because I know the price in Korea, but whateverrrrr my cravings are satisfied. Just know that one entre of yupdduk is more like 2-4 people so please don't get one each! Love. Yup. DDUK. ”

“ Something new, something different, and something seriously spicy! The "extra mild" option was already pretty spicy, but it was delicious. I considered going for the mild level, but after reading reviews and chatting with the staff, I decided to play it safe--and I'm glad I did. Angela recommended their signature rice cakes in the Yup Dduk. I went with Set B, which includes Yup Dduk Fries, a Boiled Egg, and a Rice Ball. The cost was $30, and for the price, you get a huge bowl, typically shared between 2-4 people. The restaurant also offers Yup O, similar to Yup Dduk but with more fish than rice cakes. Each order is boiled with rice cakes, fish cakes, three mini-sausages, cabbage, green onion, and topped with a light layer of mozzarella cheese. (Yes, cheese!) I have to admit, this was a first for me. Cheese isn't common in many Asian dishes, much like Hawaiian cuisine, where it's not a typical ingredient either. (And no, Hawaiian pizza doesn't count!) It was a unique twist. I enjoyed it, even though it was on the "halang" (spicy) side. Next time, I might try the Yup O with more fish cakes than rice and maybe even dare to go for the mild spice level. Keep in mind, this was the "extra mild" version, and it still packed a fair amount of heat. The Korean mini-sausages and onion rings paired nicely with the spicy bowl, but I wish there had been more of them--just three sausages and two onion rings in this huge bowl of broth and rice cakes. It was like seeing three overboard victims floating in an ocean of soup with only two onion rings as life preservers. For a $30 bowl, more than three mini-sausages and two onion rings would have been nice. I tried to order more onion rings because two felt like a sample rather than a serving. If this bowl is meant to be shared between 2 or 3 people, how do they decide who gets the onion ring? And what about the mini-sausages? "One for you, one for you, and one for me!" It's a bit silly. They need to balance out the bowl with more of the other ingredients, not just vegetables, rice cakes, and broth. After all, most of what you're paying for is water, with red pepper powder used to make the broth. Do they flip a coin for the single boiled egg in the order? Overall, the food was very good, and the customer service was excellent. Angela was instrumental in making my first visit to Yup Dduk a good one. She was helpful, friendly, and patient with my usual barrage of "first time here" questions. Mahalo Angela & Eunice! Great first visit; very good! Food: 4 Ambiance: 3 Service: 5 Value: 3 ”