Seoul Chinese restaurant for solo whole fried eggplant lunch: Huhugwan

I had some errands near Deoksugung and stopped by Huhugwan, a City Hall Station spot near Deoksugung, for a solo meal. It's on the 2nd floor above Menzuru Ramen. Outside was blazing hot, but the moment I stepped into Huhugwan I thought, is this Hong Kong or Korea? The vibe was so unique, totally my taste.

Where is Huhugwan, and how to pair it with a Deoksugung exhibition

Huhugwan is right in front of City Hall Station Exit 10, so it was super easy to find. There's an exhibition I've wanted to see at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Deoksugung for a while now, but I never have time and a trip into Seoul is a whole ordeal, so I hadn't gone. I highly recommend pairing the Deoksugung exhibition with the Seoul Museum of Art exhibition and then eating at Huhugwan. I'd already seen the Seoul Museum of Art show, and Deoksugung is currently showing Lee Dae-won's 'Nothing Makes You Sad,' a chance to see over 120 works!!!

Booking lunch at Huhugwan after the main rush

Deoksugung admission is ₩1,000, and the museum exhibition fee is ₩2,000, but on Wednesdays and Saturdays after 6pm the night viewing exhibitions are free, so keep that in mind if you want to see the show and grab a good meal. I had made a reservation at Huhugwan ahead of time and my name was still on the waiting list when I arrived. There are a lot of offices nearby, so going during the main lunch rush can mean a wait — I booked a bit after lunchtime instead. I really hate waiting haha, so if you're impatient like me, I recommend this trick.

At Huhugwan near City Hall Station and Deoksugung, both the staff and the owner looked young, and maybe that's why the ordering system was so distinctive — you order via a QR code at the table :)

Bar seats for solo diners and what Huhugwan costs

Huhugwan had a proper bar table setup that made solo dining feel completely natural, and honestly, given it's right by City Hall Station, the prices relative to food quality were beautiful!!!!! They could easily charge high teens of thousands of won and still get plenty of customers, but the meal prices were so reasonable that even after ordering a bunch of dishes, the total came out lower than I expected. Nice.

Waiting for the food, I had fun looking around the place. I used to travel to Hong Kong often, and the memories came flooding back all warm and fuzzy. I highly recommend traveling around and taking things in while you're young enough to still get around easily.

They said if you join the review event you get a free drink or water dumplings as a service, but I'd already ordered so much food that I didn't bother joining. If you're visiting Huhugwan after reading this review, definitely join the review event and get one more thing to eat!!

Pepper stir-fry rice, 13,000 won: the smoky wok flavor is the point

I ordered the pepper stir-fry rice and the eggplant fritter at Huhugwan, and it was an excellent choice. The pepper stir-fry rice wasn't jjapchae noodles but rather a generous amount of steamed meat and vegetables, which made the ₩13,000 price feel like a real bargain. If you like that smoky wok-hei flavor and a spicy kick, this dish is a must!!!!

Huhugwan's eggplant, deep-fried whole

Fried eggplant is originally my all-time favorite, so I ordered it with high expectations, and it exceeded them. Other places tend to slice the eggplant before frying, but at Huhugwan near City Hall Station and Deoksugung, they fry the whole eggplant large, and the crispiness was a work of art!!!! It's a dish you can never make at home because of the oil-splatter worry, so I always make sure to order it whenever I'm at a restaurant like this.

Egg soup came out too, which paired well with the spicy main dishes.

I'm normally a big eater, and the portions were generous, so I ended up patting my full belly while eating. If you like beer, ordering a draft beer alongside this spread would probably make you gasp with delight.

Standing at the boundary between the scorching summer and cooling autumn, I want to spend the rest of 2026 living a little more meaningfully, loving more, visiting lots of good restaurants, and staying healthy. I'd definitely revisit Huhugwan.