Sinchon noodle restaurant: Taiwanese beef noodle soup at Cheonghwaweon

Today I went to eat in Sinchon, and I stopped by Cheonghwaweon (청화원)! This place specializes in authentic Taiwanese-style beef noodles and Hong Kong-style dim sum. I've always liked dao xiao mian (knife-cut noodles), so I'd been wanting to try this place haha

Where is Cheonghwaweon in Sinchon, and when is it open?

• 📍 Address: 1F, 10 Myeongmul-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• 🚇 Location: About 260m from Sinchon Station Exit 3 — just head right past U-PLEX and you're there quick!
• ⏰ Hours: Daily 11:00 - 22:20 (last order 22:00)
• 👥 Group seating available

It was close to Sinchon Station so it wasn't hard to find at all haha

It's at 1F, 10 Myeongmul-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, right in the middle of Sinchon, so it was convenient to find for a meal. Big Chinese characters on the sign catch your eye from outside as you're passing by. The exterior really has that authentic Chinese restaurant vibe haha

Inside Cheonghwaweon: watching the dim sum made by hand

Walking into Cheonghwaweon, the space was bigger and cleaner than I expected. And what surprised me most was watching the dim sum being made right there! Apparently Cheonghwaweon has a dim sum chef from Guangdong who hand-minces the shrimp and meat to make dim sum from scratch. Seeing it made right in front of me made me want to try it even more. Next time I'll definitely order dim sum too...

Cheonghwaweon's menu and what the table ordered

Ordering at Cheonghwaweon was easy with a tablet right at the table. The menu was seriously varied — beef knife-cut noodles, dim sum, fried rice, all kinds of Chinese dishes. It looked like a great spot for two people to order a bunch of different things.

After some deliberation, we ordered beef knife-cut noodles for ₩10,500, cream shrimp for ₩19,800, and egg tiger fried rice!

Before the food arrived, they set out the basic side dishes first. When you're eating Chinese food, having pickled mustard greens like this means you keep picking at them one by one in between bites haha. Waiting for the mains to arrive...

Beef knife-cut noodle soup, 10,500 won: the noodles and the beef shank

And the beef knife-cut noodles I'd been waiting for arrived first! There were big chunks of meat piled on top, so for ₩10,500 it felt pretty generous! Cheonghwaweon apparently makes the dough for their dao xiao mian from scratch. It's not just kneaded once and done — the dough is shaped over four separate rounds, then rested for a full day to make Cheonghwaweon's own version of the noodles.

When you lift them up like this, you can see the noodles aren't uniform in thickness or width. That's actually the charm of dao xiao mian! Some parts are thin, some are thick, so every bite had a slightly different chewy texture. I really love noodles like this... The name dao xiao mian also comes from the fact that the noodles aren't cut with a knife but shaved off the dough with a special tool. Apparently this style of noodle originated in Shanxi province after knife use was restricted during the Yuan dynasty.

The broth is apparently made by simmering various vegetables together with ox bones. Just looking at the color, you'd think it would be really heavy, but it went well with the noodles. Slurping up the noodles with the broth clinging to their wide surface was seriously satisfying!

And the meat! At Cheonghwaweon, they say they remove the fat by hand from whole cuts of beef shank, select the good parts, and simmer them in a special sauce for 4 hours. Maybe that's why the meat was thick yet tender. Bite of noodles, bite of meat — I got why it's the signature dish.

Egg tiger fried rice, eaten in rotation with the beef broth

And the egg tiger fried rice we ordered alongside! The name alone sounded intense so I was curious and ordered it haha. Noodles alone can feel a bit lacking, so you really need fried rice with Chinese food...

With egg in it, it was savory, and the rice grains were properly fried like good fried rice should be.

It was fine on its own, but eating it in rotation with the beef noodle broth made the combination even better. Some noodles, then rice, then a sip of broth again... very busy eating.

Cream shrimp, 19,800 won: how it pairs with the noodle soup

And the cream shrimp I'd been looking forward to, ₩19,800! It passed the visual test the moment it arrived... crispy fried shrimp piled with plenty of cream sauce, topped with sliced almonds — it came out looking prettier than I expected.

I picked up one shrimp and it was pretty large in size. Crispy on the outside from the batter, plump and springy shrimp on the inside! And with the sweet, smooth cream sauce coating it all, this is a combination that's hard to make taste bad haha

The cream sauce especially paired really well with the shrimp. Sweet and savory, the kind of flavor that keeps your hand reaching for more! Ordering it alongside a broth dish like the beef noodles meant I could keep grabbing a piece of cream shrimp in between bites.

How Cheonghwaweon cooks, and what to order next visit

Cheonghwaweon says they don't use pre-prepared or ready-made dishes — everything is prepped by hand and cooked to order. Even the fried dishes are only battered and fried after the order comes in, so food can come out a bit slower during busy hours. Still, personally I'd rather wait a bit for something cooked fresh than get something pre-made out quickly haha

If you've been looking for Taiwanese-style beef knife-cut noodles or Hong Kong-style dim sum in Sinchon, give Cheonghwaweon a try 🙂 Next time I come, I want to order the handmade dim sum I missed this time too!