“I don’t know what this is. But it is amazing.”
That was the reaction standing in the basement food hall of Lotte Mall Myeongdong, looking at a display case full of stuffed tofu pouches topped with salmon, eel, snow cheese steak, wasabi, and mentaiko mayo.
We bought more than we were supposed to. That’s the whole review.
📍 delight SSAM — Lotte Mall Myeongdong, Basement Food Hall
💰 ₩2,900–₩4,200 per piece (~$2–3 each)
🏆 Best bets: Salmon Wasabi Mayo (₩4,200) · Snow Cheese Steak (₩3,200) · Eel Teriyaki (₩3,900)
📦 Pack options: Summer Edition ₩11,900 · Keto Fresh Roll Pack ₩15,000
✅ Worth it: Yes — you will buy more than planned
What Is Yubu-chobap?
유부초밥 (yubu-chobap) is seasoned rice stuffed into fried tofu pouches — the Korean version of Japanese inari sushi. The tofu pouch is sweet and savory, slightly chewy on the outside, crisp at the edges. The rice inside is seasoned with vinegar and sesame.
It’s been a Korean convenience food for decades. What delight SSAM does is take that base and run it through a modern creative filter: salmon wasabi mayo, snow cheese steak, teriyaki eel, spicy kimchi pork, mentaiko (pollock roe) mayo. Flavors that have no business being inside a tofu pouch, and somehow work completely.
What to Order
Salmon Wasabi Mayo (연어툭와사비 유부초밥) — ₩4,200
The one to try first. Fresh diced salmon over rice in the tofu pouch, topped with wasabi and green onion. The NEW label is recent — it’s earning it.
Snow Cheese Steak (눈꽃치즈스테이크 유부초밥) — ₩3,200
Sounds over the top. It is, in the best way — drizzled cheese sauce, red peppercorns, herbs. Korean comfort food in two bites.
Eel Teriyaki (장어 유부초밥) — ₩3,900
Classic Japanese-Korean combination done well. Rich, slightly sweet, pairs with the tofu pouch better than you’d expect.
Tuna Mayo (참치마요 유부초밥) — ₩3,200
The safe entry point. Also the most popular. ₩3,200 well spent.
Beyond the Yubu-chobap
delight SSAM also runs seaweed rice rolls (감태 라이스롤) at ₩3,500 — clean, light, the right thing to order alongside the richer yubu-chobap. And Bun Cha spring rolls (분짜 스프링롤) for ₩3,500 — Vietnamese-Korean hybrid that works.
Pack options for eating on the move: Summer Edition pack at ₩11,900, Keto Fresh Roll Pack at ₩15,000. Both designed to travel.
The Bottom Line
₩3,200–₩4,200 per piece. Basement of Lotte Mall Myeongdong. No queue, no reservation, no English needed — just point at what you want.
The “No.1 K-Street Food” badge on the signage sounds like marketing. After eating three pieces too many, it feels like a fact.
📍 delight SSAM — Lotte Mall Myeongdong, Basement Food Hall · Myeongdong, Seoul
Visited May 2026 · Menu and prices may change seasonally
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→ The Food Discovery in the Lotte Basement (you are here)