Solo dinner near Jongak Station: Sichuan beef noodles, kkanpunggi

This is Yoon Maknae, thinking about tomorrow's lunch on the way home from work. Near Gwanghwamun or Jongak Station, I always want a proper meal for weekday lunch or after work, but it's hard to find somewhere with easy parking. Cheonghwa Uyuk Dosakmyeon (청화 우육도삭면) has free parking and is comfortable enough to eat alone without feeling awkward.

Quick summary: Cheonghwa Uyuk Dosakmyeon in Jongno

• Hours: Daily 10:30–22:00 / last order 21:40
• Location: 19 Jongno, 118-1ho, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Parking: available at Le Meilleur building basement, first 120 minutes free, then ₩6,000 per 60 minutes, max ₩100,000
• Shared building restroom, separated by gender
• No reservation system

I visited after work on a weekday — it was close to my building, so I walked. But it's basically located between Gwanghwamun and Jongak stations, so it's also easy to get to by public transportation.

Storefront and interior: solo-dining seats?

The restaurant has two floors. Once you walk in, staff seat you — I ate on both the 1st and 2nd floors. Both felt clean and comfortable, so I could eat at ease.

There was a good mix of two-seat and four-seat tables, which made solo dining easy. Quite a few other solo diners were there the day I visited too. I went once on a weekday lunch and once on a weekday evening, and the evening was definitely more relaxed and comfortable to eat in.

Menu and ordering

The menu had a wide variety — noodles, rice, dim sum, cold appetizers, fried dishes, and stir-fries.

• Uyuk Dosakmyeon (beef knife-cut noodles) ₩11,000
• Sichuan-style beef noodles ₩11,000
• Shumai ₩9,800
• Eggplant rice bowl (yuxiang style) ₩10,800

These are made in the traditional dosakmyeon style, with the dough hand-cut using a knife, giving a chewier texture. So I picked the Sichuan-style beef noodles.

You can't skip fried dishes when it comes to Chinese food, so I picked kkanpunggi.

• Quabaorou (sweet and sour pork) ₩19,000
• Yurinji (crispy chicken with scallion sauce) ₩19,900
• Kkanpunggi (spicy sweet fried chicken) ₩19,900
• Mala tofu ₩10,800
• Stir-fried tomato and egg ₩10,800

I usually prefer quabaorou over kkanpunggi, but I found quite a few reviews praising the kkanpunggi here, so I went with that. Spoiler: the kkanpunggi was genuinely delicious. If you're planning a visit to this beef noodle spot near Gwanghwamun, I'd recommend getting the kkanpunggi.

I filmed a video while eating the Sichuan-style beef noodles and kkanpunggi — the glossy shine of the kkanpunggi was hard to capture in photos, but you can see it sparkle in the video.

Sichuan-style beef noodles: how was the dosakmyeon texture?

The basic side dishes came out, and I snacked on the peanuts while waiting for the food, since I was hungry.

The Sichuan-style beef noodles arrived, and I could smell the rich mala spice immediately. Inside were dosakmyeon noodles, hand-cut with a knife right in the kitchen.

I tried the broth first — it had a numbing, tingling flavor, perfect for shaking off a day's stress. The beef was savory and tender.

Unlike regular machine-cut noodles, the thickness was irregular, and with every bite I could feel a chewy, springy texture. The thin parts carried a strong, spicy broth flavor, while the thick parts felt almost like dumpling dough (sujebi), giving it a varied appeal. Since I personally prefer sujebi over kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup), the thicker parts were especially satisfying to me.

Putting the thick beef, chewy noodles, and numbing broth together in one bite, I could tell it was a perfectly balanced flavor.

Kkanpunggi: crispy outside, juicy inside, straight from the fryer

Just as I was pleasantly tingling from the beef noodles, the kkanpunggi arrived to go alongside it. Freshly fried, it was a textbook example of crispy outside, juicy inside — coated in sauce and chili oil, it had a glossy shine.

The batter trapped the heat inside, so it was still piping hot when I took a bite, which felt great. Even though it's Chinese food, I definitely think dishes like this taste better eaten fresh at the restaurant than delivered.

The sauce was spicy and sweet, sticking thickly to the batter. It paired really well with the chicken, making it hard to stop eating.

You might think two spicy dishes together wouldn't be a great combo, but I enjoyed both. The Sichuan beef noodles had that mala flavor, while the kkanpunggi had a spicy-sweet flavor, so alternating between the two made it impossible to put my chopsticks down.

If the spice level feels like too much, I'd suggest going for the regular uyuk dosakmyeon instead of the Sichuan version.

And honestly, you can't give up either the crispy-juicy kkanpunggi or the chewy, springy dosakmyeon, so I hope you'll order both together.

Final thoughts

I enjoyed the chewy dosakmyeon, the stress-relieving numbing broth, and the crispy, spicy-sweet kkanpunggi. Right in the middle of busy Gwanghwamun, with two hours of free parking to boot, it was a healing solo-dining spot near Jongak Station. I hope this post helps you have a satisfying meal. Enjoy your food!