Daehangno Chinese restaurant, lemon cream shrimp for 4: Cheonghwawon

There's a place I often go to when I want to share a tasty, not-so-everyday meal with people in Daehangno! It's Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch (청화원 대학로점)~! It's good before or after a show, and the food is all delicious, so I keep coming back!

Where is Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch, and what are its hours?

Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch is on floors 1 and 2 at 36 Daemyeong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and it's open every day from 11:00 to 22:20 (last order 22:00). Come out of exit 4 of Hyehwa Station and walk a little way down Sonamu-gil (Pine Tree Road) and you'll find it.

Atmosphere and seating at Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch

The sign says "Taiwanese beef noodles" (대만우육면). It's famous for good beef noodles, and it even has a 2nd floor, so it's really spacious.

The 1st floor was so packed.... lol so we headed straight up to the 2nd floor. Clean staircase.. and it wasn't even mealtime yet, but there were already lots of people...

The 2nd floor has partitioned tables like this, plus group seating! Personally I love the 2nd-floor tables because they're so comfortable, hehe.. Every table has its own kiosk, and the seats are roomy, which I like!

What the four of us ordered at Cheonghwawon

Here's the menu!! It's a lineup that's really great for ordering one of each kind and sharing. There were four of us, so we got lemon cream shrimp, crystal dumplings (수정달만두), shrimp fried rice and beef stir-fried noodles!!! I'd recommend ordering one dim sum item~~ It's perfect for picking at!

The side dish!! The salted peanuts are so good! If you start grabbing them when you're hungry, you can't stop....

Lemon cream shrimp: the dish we always order at Cheonghwawon

The lemon cream shrimp came out first! It's the dish I always order when I come to Cheonghwawon.. First off, the shrimp are huge! And the lemon cream goes really well with the batter. It's not greasy at all, and the zesty sauce is the kicker!

Shrimp fried rice: if you need a rice dish

And we tried the shrimp fried rice because we wanted some rice! It's loaded with shrimp on top, and the green onion, carrot and egg are all nice and fluffy.

The grains of rice are so plump. The seasoning wasn't salty or bland, just right! I think it'd go well with the beef noodles or the beef stir-fried noodles we ordered. Recommended for anyone who insists on having a rice dish..

Beef stir-fried noodles: a hidden signature that's easy for mala beginners

And the beef stir-fried noodles, which I think of as Cheonghwawon's hidden signature! It's a beef noodle specialist, but this dish is really good too.. The noodles are the same knife-cut noodles (dosakmyeon, 도삭면) as in the beef noodle soup, but this one is stir-fried and leaves a subtle mala (numbing-spicy) flavor... The mala is mild enough for beginners to eat without any pressure, so it's worth a try!

The noodles are chewy, and there's tons of other stuff in it too: beef, onion, wood ear mushrooms, bell pepper and more! Eating the ingredients together with the noodles is just right~~ It's not that spicy and it's easy to share with other dishes, so it's one of the things I always order when I come to Cheonghwawon..

Crystal dumplings: if you pick just one dim sum

And another one I always order at Cheonghwawon is the crystal dumplings... Of all the dim sum, I like these the best, hehe. The filling is packed inside a see-through wrapper, the wrapper is chewy, and when you eat them warm the juices come out, which I think is the real deal~

I'd already eaten a bit of the fried rice, haha.. but here's our spread, coming out in order.....

I think the crystal dumplings are a great appetizer-style dish... The wrapper seems to be potato-based..? I like chewy textures, so I order them often!

What's the texture of Cheonghwawon's knife-cut noodles like?

And then there are the knife-cut noodles (dosakmyeon), shaved off the dough with a knife! I don't like noodles that taste too much of flour, but Cheonghwawon's knife-cut noodles don't taste floury and have a nicely chewy texture, which I like haha

Is Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch good for group meetups?

Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch is a good place for a get-together or to meet up in Daehangno. There are quite a lot of people every time I go, and I can see why~! I recommend it as a Daehangno restaurant!