Euljiro Chinese bar with mala skewer hot pot: Baegyeonhonghwa

Looking for somewhere to eat dinner and have a drink in Euljiro, I ended up at Baegyeonhonghwa! Unlike your typical Chinese restaurant, they had menu items like mala kkochi jeongol (mala skewer hot pot) and mapa cream pasta that give Chinese food a fresh spin. Since there were plenty of dishes that worked great as drinking snacks, I wanted to introduce this spot as a solid find when you're looking for a Euljiro3-ga restaurant-bar.

What is Baegyeonhonghwa? A fusion Chinese bar in Euljiro3-ga, Seoul

I met up with a close friend after a while and, while figuring out where to go, we ended up at Baegyeonhonghwa in Euljiro3-ga! Euljiro3-ga is a neighborhood where the old-school alley vibe mixes with more modern-feeling shops, so it's a place I often end up at for after-work dinners or dates.

Baegyeonhonghwa also had the kind of atmosphere where, rather than just eating a meal, you order a few good dishes and enjoy some drinks alongside them. The interior felt more casual than your typical Chinese restaurant too, so it worked well for two people or for a dinner gathering with friends!

Above all, since it's a Euljiro Chinese restaurant where you can try something a bit different from plain jjajangmyeon or jjamppong, it also seemed like a nice place to visit on a special occasion!

Naver booking, the candy basket and roasted gopchang gim as the free snack

We had booked ahead through Naver Reservation, and once we sat down, they brought over a basket of candy.

You got to pick out one candy of your choice, and even though it's such a small thing, it made for a fun little start +_+

As a basic side dish (?), we got grilled gonggchi gim, which was nice and savory to nibble on before the main food arrived!

Mala kkochi jeongol: how the mala skewer hot pot tasted with drinks

The first dish we ordered was mala kkochi jeongol! As the name suggests, it's a variety of skewers cooked in mala broth, and the moment it hit the table, the visual alone screamed 'perfect drinking food' haha.

There was fun in picking out each skewer one by one from the rich, numbing mala broth, and since there was broth to spare, it was perfect for sipping between drinks too.

It felt similar to a regular mala tang but with a different twist thanks to the skewer-hot-pot style!

It also worked well to share in the middle of the table when visiting with a group, so it was a good main pick if you're heading to a Euljiro3-ga bar with friends who love mala flavors.

If you leave a Naver review, you get free shabu-shabu meat, so definitely try it out if you order the mala kkochi jeongol!

Mapo cream pasta: does mapo sauce work with cream?

The second thing we ordered was the mapa cream pasta, which I was curious about just from the name. Mapa and cream pasta together — I couldn't quite picture the taste at first, but once I tried it, the Chinese-style mapa sauce combined with soft cream turned out to be a surprisingly good pairing!

The rich, distinct flavor of mapa sauce was still there, but the cream made it feel a bit softer. Especially since the mala kkochi jeongol we ordered alongside it was numbing and broth-heavy, the mapa cream pasta felt thick and creamy in contrast, so it was great to alternate between the two. Since I generally love fusion Chinese food, this was a dish I personally had a lot of fun eating.

It was a day I was looking for something more unusual than a typical Chinese menu, so I really liked the menu choices! A quiet tip — if you order Chinese glass noodles for the hot pot, cook them in the broth and then mix them into this sauce, it's seriously, seriously delicious .. 😀

Is Baegyeonhonghwa worth a visit in Euljiro?

From mala kkochi jeongol to mapa cream pasta, Baegyeonhonghwa was a great Euljiro3-ga restaurant-bar for enjoying a drink while eating uncommon Chinese dishes.

The atmosphere had a distinctive feel too, good for gatherings and good for dates, so I already thought I'd want to come back with my spouse next time!

In particular, visiting after a Naver reservation came with the small fun of picking a candy, plus we got free shabu-shabu meat, which was satisfying — and on the way out, they even gave us a charm sticker supposedly written by a monk(?), which was fun to compare with my friend! Baegyeonhonghwa is the kind of place I'll think of again on a day I want a bit of a different Euljiro Chinese food and drinks experience :)