Fish-fragrant pork lunch at Sinchon Chinese restaurant Cheonghwaweon

Where is Cheonghwaweon? 5 minutes on foot from Sinchon Station

Cheonghwaweon, a well-known Sinchon restaurant, is a Chinese restaurant just a 5-minute walk from Sinchon Station on Line 2, right in the middle of Sinchon's Yonsei-ro. Being right in the center of Yonsei-ro makes it easy to spot, and it's close enough to the station that access is pretty convenient.

There's a Hyundai Department Store nearby along with plenty of cafés, so it's a great Sinchon Station restaurant to combine with other stops for a full day out. I actually stopped by the Hyundai Department Store's Haengboksa pop-up the same day, and it worked out nicely to window-shop first and eat here after.

Cheonghwaweon at weekday lunch: atmosphere and seating

On a nice weekday, even though it was a bit past lunchtime, Cheonghwaweon was still full of customers! Next to the chef hand-pinching dim sum, steamers were puffing away with clouds of steam. With the timer going off constantly, it looked like there were plenty of in-house orders too.

Inside, there were somewhat separated tables as well as plenty of seating in the center of the restaurant. It was too busy for me to photograph, but with a mix of 2-tops and 4-tops, it seemed like a good spot for all kinds of gatherings or eating solo.

Cheonghwaweon menu and prices

The menu was quite varied.

• Beef knife-cut noodles ₩9,000
• Shumai ₩8,000
• Cream shrimp ₩19,800
• Mala tofu ₩10,500

Along with plenty of other noodle and rice dishes, there was a huge variety of options.

Pickled mustard greens (jjajai), roasted peanuts, and a clean-looking water bottle were the first things set on the table. Ordering was simple via a kiosk. We decided to try the daoxiao noodles (knife-cut noodles) we'd been curious about, and picked the soup version of the beef daoxiao noodles!

They also had fish-fragrant pork (yuxiang rousi), a dish I ate often while studying abroad, so I happily ordered it too.

Crystal chive dumplings with a potato-rice-cake wrapper

The crystal chive dumplings had a chewy wrapper and plump filling that were both delicious. The wrapper had a texture like potato rice cake (gamja-tteok), which was a fun twist, and with chives and shrimp packed in, the texture was great too!

How does Cheonghwaweon's beef knife-cut noodle soup taste?

Since daoxiao noodles were new to both of us, we were both excited. The noodles were soft and thin but had a knife-cut dumpling (kaljebi)-like feel, which made it hard to stop eating!

The broth had a hint of tomato, giving it a goulash- or tomato stew-like feel, while still carrying that savory Chinese-food flavor. Cheonghwaweon's broth is simmered for 7 hours, so it had extra depth! The meat was tender and cooked without any off smell, pairing really well with the broth!

Shumai topped with flying fish roe

And I ordered one shumai too! This place ranks highly on Kakao Map as a dim sum spot, so I really wanted to try two dishes haha. Thanks to my friend for going along with my menu picks.

The shumai was packed with shrimp for a great texture, and topped with flying fish roe that popped in a way that tied the whole bite together nicely!

Taiwanese beef noodles and Hong Kong dim sum in one Sinchon restaurant

One of the best things about Cheonghwaweon, a Sinchon Station favorite, is that you can get both Taiwanese-style beef noodles and Hong Kong-style dim sum in one place. It seemed like a great spot to stop by when you feel like an after-party mood following a trip abroad.

They also had dishes like an upgraded mala-style pork slice dish, and Korean alcohol like soju and beer, so it was a good spot to pair with drinks! Not many people know the fish-fragrant pork dish, but my friend, trying it for the first time, said it was the best thing we ate! It's the kind of dish I'd order again on a repeat visit. Highly recommend it haha.

That's my review of Cheonghwaweon, a Chinese restaurant worth visiting in Seoul when you want a taste of Hong Kong or Taiwan.