Hyehwa Chinese restaurant, ₩34,800 for two after a play: Cheonghwawon

The weather was so nice this weekend that I finally made it back to Daehangno in Hyehwa-dong. And when you think of Daehangno, you can't skip the plays, right? After catching a fun show, we got hungry. So today I'm writing about the Daehangno restaurant that made a perfect date course that day: Cheonghwawon near Hyehwa Station!

Where is Cheonghwawon? Hyehwa Station Exit 1, right after the play

Cheonghwawon is very close to Exit 1 of Hyehwa Station. It's on an alley packed with theaters, so it's a perfect stop before or after a show. We ran over right after the play we had booked ended.

Inside, lots of people were already eating, so I couldn't take many photos of the interior, but overall it felt pleasant! We picked a table and ordered on the kiosk at the table.

What did two people order, and how much was it?

The two of us ordered beef knife-shaved noodles, shumai, and a yuxiang eggplant rice bowl, plus two drinks, for ₩34,800 in total. We wanted to taste a bit of everything, so we mostly picked the best-sellers.

• Beef knife-shaved noodles (우육도삭면): ₩10,500
• Shumai (쇼마이): ₩9,500
• Yuxiang eggplant rice bowl (어향가지덮밥): ₩9,800
• Iced black tea (빙홍차): ₩3,000
• Coca-Cola Zero: ₩2,000

The total came to ₩34,800. For a Daehangno lunch, the price was reasonable and the spread was generous.

Free side dishes: roasted peanuts and zha cai

Once we ordered, they set out the side dishes first: stir-fried peanuts and zha cai (pickled mustard stem), the usual Chinese restaurant duo. The peanuts were nicely salty, perfect for popping one by one before the food arrived. The zha cai was crunchy and well seasoned, good for a palate cleanser in between bites.

We chatted for a bit, and the dishes started coming out one after another. They arrived almost all at once, so I got this great full-table shot! The look of it is amazing, right?

Shumai worthy of a dim sum spot

Cheonghwawon's shumai (steamed pork dumplings) is ₩9,500 and comes in a bamboo steamer. The first thing we reached for was the shumai with its charming yellow wrapper.

I'd heard Cheonghwawon is also known for dim sum, so my expectations were high. The moment we opened the bamboo steamer, steam billowed up, and the look alone was overwhelming!!

The round shumai were topped with orange flying fish roe, so the colors were really pretty. One bite and the roe popped, and inside were plump shrimp and minced meat packed full, so it was super juicy.

The signature: beef knife-shaved noodles

The beef knife-shaved noodles (daoxiao mian) are ₩10,500 and the restaurant's signature dish. I personally love knife-shaved noodles, so this was the one I was most looking forward to.

When you lift the noodles with chopsticks, you see the irregular, wide, flat strips typical of knife-shaved noodles. The texture is just so appealing, haha. They're chewy like sujebi (hand-torn dough soup) yet soft, and great to chew. The beef seemed to have been boiled for a long time, because it was tender enough to melt in my mouth, and with the noodles soaking up the broth, I enjoyed it so much.

The broth has a slight herbal-medicine aroma typical of Taiwanese beef noodle soup, but it was also quite spicy and refreshing, suited to Korean tastes.

I hadn't even been drinking the night before, but it felt like a hangover cure, haha!

The yuxiang eggplant rice bowl is a rice thief

The yuxiang eggplant rice bowl (stir-fried eggplant in a sweet, sour and savory sauce) is ₩9,800, and a generous portion of glossy stir-fried eggplant comes beside white rice.

I like eggplant anyway, but Cheonghwawon's was slightly crisp outside and moist and soft inside.

The sauce was sweet, sour and salty, and mixed into the rice it was a true 'rice thief' (a dish that makes you finish your rice)! I think even people who don't like eggplant could enjoy it.

Finishing with iced black tea, ₩3,000

After filling up on delicious Chinese food, you need a cold drink to finish. We ordered the Chinese iced black tea (bing hong cha). It tastes like cool, sweet iced tea, just right for cleaning up your mouth after greasy Chinese food. The canned cola was cold too, but the iced tea definitely suited the mood better.

Cheonghwawon as a play-date course: would I go again?

Cheonghwawon near Hyehwa Station was a Daehangno restaurant I was satisfied with in every way: taste, atmosphere and location. I don't think there's a better date spot after a play. If you're looking for a decent Daehangno lunch near Hyehwa Station, don't hesitate and head to Cheonghwawon! Chewy knife-shaved noodles and juicy dim sum are waiting for you. Next time I'm in Daehangno, I'd love to go back and try other dishes too.