Sinchon Taiwanese restaurant for eggplant rice bowl: Cheonghwaweon

I stopped by Sinchon after a long while and discovered a really solid Taiwanese restaurant. Sometimes I just crave something exotic, and I found a place called Cheonghwaweon that fit the bill perfectly.

Where is Cheonghwaweon and when is it open?

Cheonghwaweon is on the 1st floor of the U-PLEX building near Exit 3 of Sinchon Station, so it's very easy to find right by the station. You see it as soon as you come out onto the 1st floor of the building, which makes it a great route if you're shopping at Hyundai Department Store and heading over for lunch.

• Address: 10 Myeongmul-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1st floor Cheonghwaweon
• Hours: Daily 10:00–22:20 (last order 22:00)
• Features: group seating, takeout, delivery available

Inside Cheonghwaweon: interior and atmosphere

Walking into Cheonghwaweon, there were several tables ranging from 2-seaters to 4-seaters, and overall it felt quite spacious and comfortable. Even visiting on a weekday during meal time, it was packed with customers — seems like a genuinely popular spot.

There were quite a few people eating alone for a light meal, as well as friends and couples out for a meal together.

The free side dishes you keep reaching for

After sitting down and ordering, they brought out cabbage jjacai (pickled mustard) salad and salty peanuts as basic side dishes.

These side dishes, which have a distinctly Chinese vibe, really perk up your appetite. Those peanuts are so nutty that I kept picking at them even before the main dishes arrived.

Beef knife-cut noodles, 10,500 won: how is the broth?

First I ordered what could be called Cheonghwaweon's signature dish, the beef knife-cut noodles. It's ₩10,500, and the portion was quite generous. The spice aroma wasn't too strong, so the rich meat broth suited Korean tastes perfectly — really excellent.

Taking a sip of the broth, it felt familiar yet deep, with a slight gamjatang (pork bone soup) vibe, so I ate it very happily without any hesitation. The knife-cut noodles used instead of regular noodles had a really appealing chewy texture.

Even though the noodles were thick, the rich broth soaked in nicely, and there was a generous amount of tender, chunky meat, so it was great to chew on.

Cream shrimp, 19,800 won: still crisp on the outside

I ordered Cheonghwaweon's cream shrimp to go along with the beef noodles. It's ₩19,800, and the shrimp were plump with big meat, so the quality felt really good.

They served it freshly fried, so eating it warm made it taste even better.

A generous amount of sweet, smooth cream sauce is drizzled over the crispy batter. Even with the sauce on it, the crunch of the fried coating stayed intact, making it feel like a really upscale dish.

The shrimp were also plump and on the larger side, so it was a really filling dish.

Fish-fragrant eggplant rice bowl, 9,800 won: the best dish of the day

Lastly, I needed a rice dish, so I added the ₩9,800 fish-fragrant eggplant rice bowl. It already scored points for its looks — freshly fried eggplant piled high in a rich fish-fragrant sauce.

It was loaded with vegetables like wood ear mushroom, carrot, and bell pepper, so the texture was great and the sauce's savory depth just exploded.

Even people who don't usually like eggplant could fall for the appeal of this crispy fried version — it's a hearty, delicious dish. Personally, this was the tastiest thing I ate!!

A Sinchon restaurant that feels like a trip to Taiwan

Sometimes I really crave exotic food that's not the usual thing, and eating at Cheonghwaweon this time genuinely made me feel like I'd taken a culinary trip to Taiwan.

Even though the restaurant was packed and it was a really busy time, all the staff handled it quickly and kindly, so I felt well taken care of throughout the meal.

With both the food quality and the service this good, this is definitely a place I'll come back to whenever I'm in Sinchon.

The prices are reasonable too, and they're generous enough to give free rice refills, so next time I really want to try the other dim sum dishes and the fried rice.

If you're near Sinchon looking for a hearty, satisfying lunch course or a can't-fail Chinese restaurant, definitely stop by Cheonghwaweon — it nails both taste and value.