Hyehwa Chinese restaurant after friendship rings: Cheonghwawon

Why we came to Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch after making friendship rings

It was a rare day out in Daehangno with my friend of 36 years. We made friendship rings at a ring workshop, then headed to Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch (청화원 대학로점) for lunch. All that meaningful ring-making and artsy activity got us hungry pretty fast. While we were wondering what to eat, my friend said she was craving Chinese food, and that's how we ended up here.

Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch location and opening hours

Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch is at 36 Daemyeong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 166 m from Hyehwa Station Exit 4, and it's open daily 11:00–22:20. The storefront already had a very local feel, so my expectations went up. It has a 1st floor and a 2nd floor.

Chinese heard on the 2nd floor: a local-favorite sign

We went up to the 2nd floor and sat down, and I could hear Chinese being spoken all around us. Ooh~~ I thought, this must be a genuinely authentic Chinese place that lots of Chinese locals visit, and that really made me trust it.

The complimentary side dishes were peanuts and zhacai (pickled mustard stem). I don't know the exact name, but the peanuts were nutty and tasty, and the zhacai... is that right? It was tangy and delicious.

Cheonghwawon beef noodle soup: how are the knife-cut noodles?

The two of us ordered the beef noodle soup, yuxiang eggplant rice bowl and shumai. If more people had come, I'd have wanted to try a bit of everything on the menu. The beef noodle soup caught my eye first. Cheonghwawon is also known for using knife-cut noodles (dosakmyeon) instead of ordinary noodles.

Knife-cut noodles are a traditional Chinese noodle dish made by shaving wheat dough with a knife straight into boiling water. The thickness isn't uniform, so every bite has texture, and the noodles are chewy yet springy.

Eating them for real, they were definitely different from the usual Chinese-style noodles we eat. Like each strand had its own life, you know? They soak up the broth, so the more I chewed, the more nutty flavor I tasted.

The beef noodle broth that won over a friend who hates strong aromas

The broth was rich yet clean. It wasn't overly intense, so it was easy to eat without feeling heavy. My friend, who dislikes strong aromas, was worried at first, but after one spoonful she raved that it wasn't salty, wasn't spicy, wasn't overpowering, just really mild and clean.

Yuxiang eggplant rice bowl: the flavor that called for a daytime beer

The dish I was really looking forward to at Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch was the yuxiang eggplant rice bowl (eggplant in sweet-spicy garlic sauce over rice). I don't cook eggplant much at home, but for some reason yuxiang eggplant at a Chinese restaurant is one of those things I randomly crave. It came piled with eggplant tossed in glossy sauce, and from the first bite it was the kind of flavor that makes you want more rice. The tender eggplant was soaked in sauce and moist, and the sweet, slightly spicy yuxiang sauce made it really delicious.

It was such a beer-calling flavor that I ordered a bottle of beer in the middle of the day. I think even people who normally don't like eggplant could give this dish a try.

Shumai dim sum as a side at Cheonghwawon

I usually love dim sum, so I ordered the Cheonghwawon shumai as a side, and it was satisfying too. They were bite-sized and easy to eat, packed full inside with a great chew. The juiciness was just right, and eating them with the beef noodle soup was so good. I wanted to order other dim sum too, but we were already full, which was a shame.

That day we got a Daehangno outing with a friend after ages, made friendship rings, and had a tasty meal, so it felt like a really full day.

A free-spirited mom's date in Daehangno: Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch in one line

We moms need to blow off some stress with a little "free woman" day like this now and then. ^^ If you're looking for a good place to eat in Daehangno, do try the beef noodle soup at Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch, with the charm of its chewy knife-cut noodles. It felt like I'd finally found a satisfying Daehangno restaurant in a long while, so it was a happy day.