Gwangju Chinese restaurant with ₩1,000 tangsuyuk and beer: Mayway

This Chuseok I came down to my hometown of Gwangju early for the holiday. My mom loves Chinese food especially, so I took her to Mayway, a place known as a hotspot in the Cheomdan area — and it turned out to be more satisfying than I expected, so here's my review.

Mayway Gwangju Cheomdan: address, hours and menu basics

• Name: Mayway
• Hours: 11:00–22:00 (break time 15:00–17:00)
• Signature menu: Hot stone jjajang, 1-person seafood nurungji soup, jjukkumi jjaengban jjajang

What the Cheomdan Mayway dining room looks like

Mayway is a Chinese restaurant on Cheomdan-gangbyeon-ro in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, and as soon as I arrived, the red circular logo and sleek-font signage caught my eye. The entrance's glass door had the hours and break time clearly posted, which was handy to check before I even walked in.

Inside, every table had a built-in burner for cooking dishes tableside. At the table next to us, hot stone jjajang was sizzling away, noodles and sauce stir-frying right on the burner — so that's what those burners are for, I thought. Comfortable leather bench seating combined with wood-tone interiors made for a cozy atmosphere.

On the wall, the characters for "beautiful" (美) and "taste" (味) were displayed in large lettering, with the store's logo placed between them. The interior made the meaning behind the name "Mayway" click instantly.

On another wall, there was a poster explaining their hand-pulled noodle process, so I knew right away this place makes its own noodles in-house. A line about their bold, flavorful cooking style caught my eye too.

There was a self-serve corner on one side where you could help yourself to pickled radish, onion, and side dishes, plus a coffee machine nearby. Rice was also available to take as much as you wanted. Gwangju hospitality is still generous, it seems, haha.

Every table had a QR code where you could order and leave a review all in one scan — a system well set up for current trends, I thought. I also ordered easily via the QR code.

There was a serving robot parked on one side of the restaurant, resting since it wasn't busy when I visited. I could feel the effort put into running a large space efficiently, all around.

How Mayway carries on the Daeheung Restaurant recipes from 1950

Inside Mayway there was a plaque introducing the restaurant's history, and reading it, I realized this wasn't just a new brand — it carries on the deep-rooted history of Gwangju's Chinese cuisine.

In 1950, Daeheung Restaurant opened in Chungjang-ro 5-ga in Dong-gu, Gwangju, becoming a symbolic old-school Chinese restaurant that helped lay the foundation for Gwangju's Chinese food history. By 1955 it had become a central pillar of Chungjang-ro's Chinese restaurant row, and from the 1960s through the 1990s, alongside the Chungjang-ro 5-ga printing district and Honam-dong commercial area, it became a beloved destination for Gwangju locals as well as regional political and business figures.

Sometime between the 1990s and 2000s, the restaurant moved from Chungjang-ro to the Juwol-dong and Bongseon-dong neighborhoods in Nam-gu and reopened there, carrying over the old-school ganjjajang and samseon fried rice recipes with their signature smoky wok flavor that had made it famous in the Chungjang-ro days, building a loyal local following. From the 2010s until 2023, it settled in as a beloved neighborhood Chinese restaurant serving delivery and dine-in customers around Bongseon-dong, Juwol-dong, and Bangnim-dong, staying true to old-school flavor and authentic ganjjajang rather than chasing a flashy, large-scale format.

Then on July 15, 2026, Daeheung Restaurant, which had preserved Gwangju's Chinese food history, rebranded and reopened under the new name Mayway. The plaque also had this line written on it, and reading it made every dish I ate that day feel a little more special.

It's thanks to your unwavering visits over the years that Mayway exists today. The name has changed, but the care and skill poured into every bowl of old-school ganjjajang will never be compromised.

The free fried dumplings at Mayway

As soon as we sat down at Mayway, warm fried dumplings came out as a free service item. Free stuff is love, right? Three golden, crispy dumplings arrived, and the wait for our ordered dishes was never boring. Starting the meal off with such generous service put me in a great mood.

Sharing seafood nurungji soup, ganjjajang and yusanseul-bap between three

Since my mom loves Chinese food, I ordered Mayway's 1-person seafood nurungji soup (crispy rice soup) for her. It arrived in a piping hot bowl, packed with enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, shrimp, and carrots, and the broth was rich and deep. The crispy rice slowly softening in the broth was fun to eat too — I could see why this dish is considered the restaurant's signature.

The ganjjajang we ordered alongside it also had a chewy texture, probably thanks to the house-made noodles, and paired well with the smoky, wok-flavored black bean sauce. The portion was generous enough for the three of us to share easily.

We also ordered yusanseul-bap (mixed rice with vegetables and seafood), which came piled high with shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, shrimp, and assorted vegetables stir-fried in a light sauce over rice. It wasn't overly seasoned but still had deep savory flavor, making it easy for the three of us to share evenly.

Grapefruit cream shrimp, the dish the staff recommend

On a staff member's recommendation, we also ordered the grapefruit cream shrimp. Crispy fried shrimp topped with a smooth cream sauce and a refreshing hint of grapefruit made what could easily be a heavy cream sauce feel light and bright. The combination of crunchy fried texture and creamy sauce was memorable — a dish I'd want to order again.

Two draft beers get you tangsuyuk for ₩1,000

Mayway was running an event where ordering two draft beers let you add tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) for just ₩1,000. We'd already ordered Hanmac draft beer alongside our food, and when the staff member told us about the event, and since we were about to order two beers anyway, we happily added the tangsuyuk right away. The batter was fried crisp, topped with fresh julienned vegetables, and it made a perfect beer snack. It wasn't until we were leaving after the meal that I noticed the big event banner hanging outside the store, confirming this was indeed a real ongoing promotion.

Hot stone jjajang, Mayway's signature dish for next time

I learned from a large sign posted outside the restaurant that Mayway's signature dish is hot stone jjajang. The description of piping-hot jjajang with a smoky wok flavor served on a heated stone plate, staying hot until the very last bite, was intriguing. Along with the 1-person seafood nurungji soup and jjukkumi jjaengban jjajang (spicy octopus platter noodles), these three make up Mayway's signature trio — this time I only tried the nurungji soup, so next visit I definitely want to try the hot stone jjajang.

I snapped a photo of the whole spread before we dug in — the seafood nurungji soup, grapefruit cream shrimp, and yusanseul-bap filled the table with a truly generous spread.

Even for the three of us, the portions were plenty, and the staff even packed up the leftovers for us to take home.

Is Mayway worth a family dinner in Gwangju?

This outing with my mom to Mayway, a hotspot restaurant in Cheomdan, exceeded my expectations. Beyond just being a delicious Chinese restaurant, once I learned the history — starting from Daeheung Restaurant in Chungjang-ro in 1950, through Bongseon-dong, to today's Mayway — every single dish felt more special. From the free fried dumplings to the seafood nurungji soup, yusanseul-bap, grapefruit cream shrimp, and the tangsuyuk we got through the promotion, everything was satisfying, and above all, the portions were so generous the three of us couldn't finish it all, plus they thoughtfully packed up the leftovers. Next time, I plan to come back to try this place's true signatures — the hot stone jjajang and jjukkumi jjaengban jjajang.