Jung-gu Chinese restaurant for pepper oil beef noodles: Huhugwan
In short
Huhugwan is a Chinese restaurant on the second floor at 2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil in Jung-gu, Seoul, a short walk from City Hall Station Exit 10, serving meals by day and drinking food at night. Before a walk around Deoksugung Palace, the writer ordered eggplant fritters and beef noodle soup with the spice level raised and extra Sichuan pepper oil, and the thick-cut eggplant was evenly cooked and softly tender while the spicy broth cut the richness of the fritters. With the Seoul Museum of Art and City Hall Station both under 5 minutes away, Huhugwan is an easy lunch pick in central Seoul.
Good to know
- Address
- 2F, 2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
- Hours
- Weekdays 11:00–23:00
- Break time
- 16:00–17:00
- Last order
- 22:30
- Ordering
- QR code on the side of the table
- Seating
- Tables plus bar-style counter seats
- Getting there
- Walk from City Hall Station Exit 10; under 5 minutes from the Seoul Museum of Art
as written by the visitor on Sep 18, 2026
Jung-gu / City Hall / Deoksugung / Seoul Museum of Art / Chinese food
Deoksugung Palace and other heritage sites? Free admission for those turning 24 this year is running out soon, so... I went on a Deoksugung outing after class for the first time in ages haha. Well-fed, well-seen, as they say, so since my lecture ended at 1, I decided to eat first and sightsee after. For lunch that day I wanted my beloved Chinese food, so I went to Huhugwan, a Chinese restaurant near City Hall Station.
Where is Huhugwan, and what are its hours?
Huhugwan is on the 2nd floor at 2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul. It's open weekdays 11:00–23:00, with a break time from 16:00–17:00, and last order is at 22:30.
How to reach Huhugwan from City Hall Station Exit 10
Walk out of City Hall Station Exit 10 and keep going straight — a sign with a flame logo appears!! Follow the sign and you'll reach a building entrance with the Huhugwan logo engraved in gold on a black wall.
There's also a discount event at a bar in the same building linked with the restaurant, so if you're planning a second round after dinner, handling it all in one building seems like a good option!
Inside Huhugwan: baijiu bottles, a projector, and a Hong Kong movie mood
Walking in, there's a pretty waiting area with a red base first! Back when I worked part-time at a Chinese restaurant, the owner used to decorate with empty baijiu (Chinese liquor) bottles too — and here they've displayed similarly colored liquor bottles on a shelf, giving off such a charming feel~ On the side wall, a projector was playing footage. Maybe that's why it felt somehow classy and Hong Kong movie-like.
You order through a QR code printed on the side of the table, which was convenient — good. I debated between beef noodle soup and mala chaofan (spicy stir-fried rice), but since the beef noodles also had a spice-level option and could take extra pepper oil, I went with the beef noodles!
True to a restaurant that's meal-focused by day and drinking-food-focused by night, the interior had a good mix of table seats and bar-style dachi seats. Overall it was full of red decor evoking China, and just like at the entrance, the neatly arranged liquor bottles added even more of that China feel, I think?
Next to the table, paper cups, small dishes, utensils, water, and tissues were all neatly laid out.
What we ordered at Huhugwan: eggplant fritters and spicy beef noodle soup
That day I ordered my beloved eggplant fritters and the beef noodle soup I always end up eating like it's a hot soup with rice!! Actually, I don't think I even like eggplant that much, but I do love eggplant fritters or grilled eggplant... The tricky thing with eggplant dishes is that if it's not cooked enough, hard spots form and it totally kills the taste, right? But true to a great Chinese restaurant near City Hall Station, Huhugwan's eggplant fritters were sliced really thick and long, and yet every part cooked evenly — genuinely delicious... That soft, collapsing texture unique to cooked eggplant was so good... The sauce was Huhugwan's own sweet-and-sour sauce, so it never got tiring and I kept going back for more.
Right when the fritters started feeling heavy, eating the spicy beef noodles wiped out the greasiness completely, so I could seriously eat forever. If you like mala flavors, definitely raise the spice level and add the pepper oil...
Look at all that meat topping piled on top and the noodles soaked in broth...
Scooping up noodles, meat, bok choy, and broth all together in one spoonful is just impossibly delicious... There was so much meat that I honestly couldn't finish it all — I left a little of the fatty part... T_T
Is Huhugwan worth a return visit for dinner?
Such a satisfying meal at Huhugwan, a Chinese restaurant near City Hall Station, on a rare outing to that area!! Great accessibility too (seriously under 5 minutes from Seoul Museum of Art and City Hall Station), and the food is great too, so I highly recommend it!! The menu changes at dinner (they have mala hot pot, and even braised pork belly in limited quantities), so I want to come back and visit during dinner hours next time haha.
Where it is
2F, 2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea서울특별시 중구 서소문로11길 2 2층
