Mala beef noodles at Cheonghwawon, a Daehangno Taiwanese restaurant

Lots of you must be stuck on what to eat for lunch in Daehangno, right? While looking for somewhere to eat before or after a play near Hyehwa Station, I ended up at Cheonghwawon, known for good dim sum and beef stir-fried noodles among other Chinese dishes haha.

How to walk to Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch from Hyehwa Station, and where to park

Cheonghwawon, a Daehangno Chinese restaurant, sits about a 2-minute walk from Exit 4 of Hyehwa Station, and it's mostly Taiwanese/Chinese food. It's on a busy nightlife street so parking is difficult, but access by bus or subway is good.

The first-floor sofa seat we took with a baby

It's a spacious two-floor restaurant, and since we came with a baby, they seated us at a comfortable first-floor sofa spot. There were lots of different seat types, so it seemed good for solo dining as well as groups.

Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch menu and kiosk ordering

Here's the menu for Cheonghwawon, a good spot for lunch in Daehangno. Lots of dishes had great value for money, and since each table orders through a kiosk, you could browse comfortably. Noodles, dim sum, rice bowls, stir-fries — so many kinds it was hard to decide haha.

On one side, dim sum was being steamed nonstop haha.

That day we ordered four dishes: beef stir-fried noodles (₩12,800), beef knife-cut noodles (₩10,500), crystal moon dumplings (₩9,500), and shrimp fried rice (₩9,500). We wanted to try guobaorou (sweet and sour pork) or fried eggplant too, but none of the three of us were that hungry, so we kept it simple.

Beef knife-cut noodles, the signature dish: is the aroma strong?

Cheonghwawon's signature beef knife-cut noodles (₩10,500) are all about the thick noodle strands. I usually can't handle beef noodles because the aroma is too strong, but this Daehangno Chinese restaurant's version wasn't overpowering and tasted great.

The noodles were thick but chewy — really appealing. I polished off a whole bowl in no time 🤣

Top pick: beef stir-fried noodles in mala sauce, 12,800 won

My favorite at Cheonghwawon was the beef stir-fried noodles (₩12,800) 💖 I was expecting soy-sauce noodles, but it came out stir-fried in a red sauce — turns out it was mala sauce! They stir-fried thick noodles with wood ear mushroom, bell pepper, chives, and onion, and the crunchy texture really came through.

I can't really handle spicy food or mala flavors well, but this had just a slight numbing mala kick that made it delicious. My husband, who dislikes mala, kept eating it too, saying it was good! If you come for Chinese food in Daehangno, you have to order this!! I'm craving it again just writing this hahaha.

Crystal moon dumplings: six pieces of dim sum for 9,500 won

The crystal moon dumplings (₩9,500) are half-moon-shaped dim sum with plump shrimp and chives inside. Isn't the translucent dumpling skin kind of fascinating?

The shrimp and chives paired well together and I ate these happily. Dim sum can be pretty pricey at restaurants, but at Cheonghwawon you get 6 pieces for around ₩9,000 — quite reasonable 👍🏼

Shrimp fried rice, my husband's favorite dish at Cheonghwawon

The shrimp fried rice (₩9,500) had springy shrimp, green onion, and egg stir-fried until fluffy — and I wondered if it would even taste good without a sauce...? But my husband kept saying it was one of the best fried rices he's ever had, asking 'what is this?' over and over lol. It was clean and light without feeling greasy.

The crunchy bite and aroma of the green onion were great too — it tasted like the textbook version of Chinese fried rice. A bite of shrimp fried rice, then a bite of beef stir-fried noodles — that combo was pretty great lol.

Is Cheonghwawon a good lunch before or after a Daehangno play?

All four dishes were clean and mild, not overpowering, so it made for an easy lunch in Daehangno. The beef stir-fried noodles, beef knife-cut noodles, crystal moon dumplings, and shrimp fried rice were all delicious, so next time I'd like to try dish-style items like guobaorou or fried eggplant along with more dim sum.

If you want a light lunch before or after seeing a play, give Cheonghwawon a try :) The prices were kind relative to the quality, so it felt fine to order several things at once!