Mannyeon-dong Chinese restaurant set plus jjamppong: Macheonchwi

Every time I go for Chinese food in Daejeon, I end up in the same dilemma — ordering just one bowl of jjajangmyeon or jjamppong feels like not enough, but ordering a bunch of dishes gets pricey and heavy fast.

Macheonchwi, the Chinese restaurant I visited in Mannyeon-dong, Daejeon, solves that with its Modern Simple Set, which lets you try several Chinese dishes at once without the worry. For 18,000 won per person you get ryu sansul (stir-fried mixed seafood and vegetables), chili prawns, Beijing sweet and sour pork, a noodle dish, and dessert — perfect for us since we love trying a bit of everything haha.

Partway through, I got such a craving for broth that we added a samseon jjamppong (seafood spicy noodle soup) too, and it turned out to be exactly right. If you're looking for a clean, well-kept Chinese restaurant or a good jjamppong spot in Mannyeon-dong, let me introduce this place :)

Where is Macheonchwi, and where do you park? (near the Daejeon Arts Center, Mannyeon-dong)

Macheonchwi is located on the 1st floor at 18 Dunsandaero 117beon-gil, Seo-gu, Daejeon, near the Daejeon Arts Center in Mannyeon-dong. If you're driving, parking is probably your first question.

The building has free 24-hour underground parking, and the mechanical parking is free as well. Also, there's no parking enforcement in front of the restaurant from 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM, which is handy if you're visiting for lunch, and the Daejeon Arts Center parking lot behind the restaurant is free for 3 hours too.

Inside Macheonchwi: the dining room and the private room

As soon as we walked in, it was a bit different from the typical neighborhood Chinese restaurant I had in mind. The whole space felt clean and calm, and the tables weren't crammed together, so it was comfortable to eat — there were regular seats as well as seating good for larger groups.

There's also a separate private room, which looked great for family meals or dining with parents. Chinese food is meant to be shared among a group, ordering various dishes to split around the table haha.

It's a good spot to swing by for a casual bowl of jjajangmyeon or jjamppong, but it also felt like the kind of Daejeon Chinese restaurant with a private room that works for family gatherings or company dinners that call for something a bit more polished.

What the Modern Simple Set costs: 18,000 won per person, plus 13,000-won samseon jjamppong

Macheonchwi serves everything from basic staples like jjajangmyeon and jjamppong to sweet and sour pork, prawn dishes, ryu sansul, and other Chinese dishes.

What caught our eye right away was the Modern Simple Set. These days, ordering just one dish at a Chinese restaurant can already cost quite a bit. But for 18,000 won per person, you get to try several kinds of Chinese dishes almost like a course meal, which felt like a great, low-pressure option for the two of us.

And partway through eating, I got such a craving for a spicy broth haha, so we added a samseon jjamppong (13,000 won) mid-meal!

The Modern Simple Set course by course: ryusansul, chili prawns, Beijing sweet and sour pork

First course: ryusansul

The first dish out was ryu sansul! I usually order sweet and sour pork or jjamppong at Chinese restaurants, and almost never ryu sansul on its own. So having it included in a set like this was actually a nice surprise.

A variety of ingredients came together smoothly in a thick sauce that wasn't too strong, but mild and clean-tasting — a great first dish. Each ingredient had a different texture, so there was fun in that too, and starting off light rather than greasy or intense meant it flowed naturally into the next dish.

Second course: chili prawns

Next was one of my favorites, chili prawns! This one passed the visual test the moment it arrived haha. Plump prawns were coated generously in chili sauce — sweet with a slight kick of spice at the end — so I kept reaching for more.

Coming right after the mild ryu sansul, the bold flavor of the chili prawns hit even better. And I liked that the prawns weren't tiny — they had a firm, springy bite that didn't get lost under the sauce.

Third course: Beijing sweet and sour pork

Third was Beijing sweet and sour pork, which you can't skip! It'd feel like something's missing if you go to a Chinese restaurant without sweet and sour pork haha. We'd already had two dishes, but when this arrived, it felt like starting all over again...

The batter wasn't too thick or hard, so it was easy to eat without feeling heavy, and the sweet and tangy sauce paired well with the crisp texture.

When you eat a lot of Chinese dishes in a row, things can start to feel greasy midway through, but each dish here had a different flavor and texture, so it didn't get tiring the way I expected.

I liked the chili prawn sauce so much I ended up dipping the sweet and sour pork in it too haha.

The mid-meal add-on: samseon jjamppong for 13,000 won

And this is where I couldn't hold back and ordered samseon jjamppong, 13,000 won! Between the ryu sansul, chili prawns, and sweet and sour pork, I suddenly, desperately wanted a hot, spicy broth haha.

In the end, adding a jjamppong turned out to be a great call. The seafood gave the broth a clean, refreshing edge along with the spiciness, and it paired really well with everything we'd already eaten.

Sipping the jjamppong broth in between dishes felt like a palate reset each time, and it honestly ended up being one of the most memorable things we ate that day. If you're after a good jjamppong in Mannyeon-dong, give this one a try too!

Finishing with jjajangmyeon and melon ice cream

For the final course, we went with jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles). We'd already had three dishes plus the jjamppong, so we were pretty full, but once the jjajangmyeon showed up, our chopsticks came out again anyway haha.

After all those different dishes, finishing with a familiar, rich jjajangmyeon made the meal feel like a proper Chinese food outing.

And the true finale: melon ice cream! A spoonful after all that Chinese food cleared the palate completely, rounding off the dessert perfectly haha.

We'd ordered the 18,000-won set thinking we'd just sample lightly, but once we finished, it felt like we'd had a proper full course meal.

Is the Macheonchwi set enough for two? Our verdict

In the past, whenever we visited a Chinese restaurant together, we'd usually just order one sweet and sour pork plus jjajangmyeon or jjamppong. It was always tasty, but we kept ending up with the same kind of order. This time, we got to try ryu sansul, chili prawns, and Beijing sweet and sour pork — dishes we rarely order individually — all at once, which was great.

The Modern Simple Set being 18,000 won per person made it far less of a commitment than ordering each dish separately, and switching between different flavors kept things from getting tiring all the way through. And for anyone who can't resist broth like us, I'd recommend adding a samseon jjamppong to share — the spicy, refreshing broth paired well with the dishes as we went along 🫶

The interior is clean and there's even a private room, so it looked useful for anything from a regular meal to a family gathering or a group dinner. For anyone in Mannyeon-dong who's felt like just one bowl of jjajangmyeon or jjamppong isn't enough, or who wants to enjoy a variety of Chinese dishes at once, Macheonchwi was a solid find :)

Do you need a reservation at Macheonchwi?

If you're planning to visit for a family gathering or as a group, it's easier to book ahead. Especially if you want to use the private room, I'd recommend checking availability for your preferred date and party size before heading over.