Jongno Chinese restaurant dinner with guobaorou: Cheonghwawon

Today, I heard there was a great beef noodle spot in Daehangno, Hyehwa-dong, so I went to check it out. I went for dinner with a colleague after work. My colleague loved it too, saying it really felt like eating in Taiwan. I also had some delicious guobaorou (sweet-and-sour fried pork) with my meal.

What is Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch like?

Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch is a Taiwanese beef noodle restaurant where local Taiwanese chefs cook directly. Every dish is made fresh as soon as it is ordered. With Taiwanese-style dishes unlike those at a typical Chinese restaurant in Korea, including dim sum and beef noodles, it captures the flavors of the homeland.

It has two floors. The first floor is mainly for cooking, while the second has a spacious dining area. Even the atmosphere feels Taiwanese, and it is well known as a date spot where young couples can stop by after seeing a play. Apparently, plenty of nearby office workers also come for drinks alongside the excellent food.

• Address: 1F–2F, 36 Daemyeong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea (서울 종로구 대명길 36 1층, 2층)
• Hours: Daily 11:00–22:00

How to get to Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch from Hyehwa Station

Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch, a good restaurant in Hyehwa-dong, is about 166 m straight ahead from Exit 4 of Hyehwa Station on Subway Line 4. Just keep coming along the road toward CGV. Parking is unavailable, so using a nearby public parking lot is convenient.

An atmosphere for solo meals or group dinners

When you enter the first floor, there is a bar table for solo dining. It is nice for eating while looking out at the Daehangno alley. Dim sum was being steamed continuously. Since this is a great dim sum spot, be sure to try it.

Most meals are served on the second floor. The neat atmosphere was just right for dining.

There are all kinds of tables. It can accommodate anything from a small party to a group, and there were so many couples thanks to the tidy, almost coffee-shop-like mood.

There is a self-service bar, where you can have zhacai (pickled mustard stem) and peanuts.

The menu, from beef knife-cut noodles to dishes

True to a place centered on Taiwanese beef noodles, its signature dish is beef knife-cut noodles. A lot of people are unfamiliar with knife-cut noodles: it is a Chinese method of making noodles by shaving dough with a knife. The noodle texture is especially good. Guobaorou, beef fried rice, and yuringi (fried chicken with scallion sauce) are popular too. If it is your first visit, choose from rice bowls, noodles, and dishes according to your taste. They also have alcohol, so it is a nice place when you want a drink.

Beef knife-cut noodles, guobaorou, and beef fried rice

Once we sat down, the table was set. Zhacai and peanuts came as side dishes. You know what naturally comes to mind when we see peanuts, right?

We did not order it because we wanted to drink—just because, well... we were thirsty.. hahaha

These are the beef knife-cut noodles my colleague ordered. They had that familiar aroma I remembered from Taiwan. Since they were knife-cut noodles, they were wonderfully springy too. The meat pieces were huge, making them especially satisfying to eat.

There is nothing better than this with beer. The guobaorou is fried in a glutinous-rice batter, and its crisp-outside, tender-inside texture is superb. The pieces are big, so you need to cut them with the scissors provided. It was fried beautifully. The fragrant sauce on top really whetted my appetite.

See that thick layer of glutinous rice batter beside the meat? That is where the dangerously addictive texture comes from. Haha. This guobaorou was sweet-as-honey delicious.

This is the beef fried rice I ordered because I wanted a filling meal. It was less greasy and more nutty than ordinary Chinese restaurant fried rice. It felt refined.

There was really a lot of beef in it. The texture was great too. The flavor was definitely different.

It is an impossible-to-stop-eating kind of flavor. I think I will have it again next time.

Crab porridge comes with the meal. It is good as an appetizer before the meal, or simply spooned up like soup.

It was a hearty meal. It would be perfect as a spread for drinks too.^^

What stayed with me as a Daehangno date meal

Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch feels very Korean while also carrying a Taiwanese sensibility. Since all the cooks are locals, you can enjoy authentic Taiwanese beef soup in Daehangno without going all the way to Taiwan. It is on a completely different level from a Korean Chinese restaurant. Stop by on a special day, especially if you are in Daehangno for a date. The prices were reasonable, so it was a restaurant that gave you both an upscale feeling and good value.