KOREAN RESTAURANT FIELD NOTES
Korean Menu Spice Levels and Extra Options
By Jeremy (제레미) · · 3 min read
Choosing the dish is only half the decision. The next screen may ask about spice or extras. Read the option labels before adding the food to your basket.
Original learning examples from MenuNori’s fictional shop. Restaurant screens, recipes and prices vary. How we make these guides.
Four useful option words
| Word | Meaning | Use in our shop |
|---|---|---|
| 맵기 | Spice level | Heading above the spice choices |
| 순한맛 | Mild flavor | Less spicy than the regular option |
| 보통맛 | Regular flavor | Our default spice choice |
| 추가 | Add / extra | An optional additional ingredient |
Mild does not mean no heat
Our mild tteokbokki and ramyeon still contain some spice. A restaurant’s mild option can also be hotter than you expect. A level name is relative to that restaurant and dish; there is no universal scale that guarantees your comfort.
A request does not guarantee that the recipe can be changed. Some sauces or packaged broths are already prepared. If staff say it cannot be made less spicy, choose another dish instead of assuming your request removes the heat.
An extra and a separate dish are different
Mission 2 asks for 떡볶이 with 치즈 추가. Selecting the separate 치즈떡볶이 dish does not satisfy this exercise, even though both totals can be ₩5,500. The mission teaches you to find and use the extra option, rather than selecting a different menu entry.
In this rehearsal, the basic tteokbokki is ₩4,500 and extra cheese is ₩1,000 per portion. Cheese tteokbokki has cheese included in its listed price. Read the item name and the option line together in the basket.
Do not turn spice labels into dietary advice
“Not spicy” describes the heat level of our fictional recipe. It says nothing about allergens, meat, fish, or animal ingredients. Our gimbap includes egg and ham; fish cake soup contains fish; dumpling fillings vary in real restaurants. If you have an allergy or dietary requirement, verify the actual ingredients and preparation with staff.
Check your options before confirming
Open 떡볶이, choose 순한맛, then select 치즈 추가. Add one portion and look for both choices underneath the dish in your basket. If you used the wrong option, remove that configured item and add it again with the right choices. Mission 2 only passes when the mode, dish, quantity, spice, and extra all match.
MenuNori does not provide ingredient verification or allergy guarantees. Use this game to learn labels, and rely on the real restaurant for information about the food it serves.
What happens when you order two portions?
In MenuNori, options belong to a configured item. Two mild tteokbokki portions with extra cheese cost 2 × (₩4,500 + ₩1,000) = ₩11,000. It would be an error to calculate 2 × ₩4,500 + ₩1,000, which adds cheese to only one portion. At a real restaurant, follow the option quantity and total shown on its screen.
If two people want different spice levels, add two separate lines: one mild portion and one regular portion. Changing the quantity of a mild line to two gives you two mild portions. This is why an option label matters as much as the quantity.
A request and an available option are different
Our game always lets you choose its listed options. A restaurant may have a fixed recipe, a sold-out extra, or a required set choice. If there is no mild option, asking staff is reasonable; inventing an option by selecting a different topping will not change the sauce. Use the game to recognize the choice when it exists.
Quick check: is mild tteokbokki the same as a non-spicy dish?
No. In this practice shop it still contains heat. Mission 1 asks for non-spicy choices; mission 2 asks you to change the spice option on a spicy dish.