Daehangno Chinese restaurant with tablet ordering: Cheonghwawon

What kind of Chinese restaurant is Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch?

I visited Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch, a Daehangno spot everyone raves about! I had errands in Daehangno and suddenly craved proper Chinese food, so I went looking — and landed here.

Daehangno is where people go to see plays or go on dates, right? But when it's actually time to eat, you end up wandering around wondering what to have. Today, instead of the usual jjajangmyeon or jjamppong, I tried beef knife-cut noodles, dim sum, and guobaorou.

The place had a distinctive vibe from the moment I saw it. White tile building, green Chinese characters on the sign — it had a bit of an authentic mainland-China feel while still fitting right into the Daehangno atmosphere. Looking at the sign, I thought, "This looks like a place you have to try the knife-cut noodles." Haha.

The storefront was quite wide so it wasn't hard to find. There were food photos and a menu board outside too, so I could get a rough idea of what they served before going in. I love that — no need to stand outside searching the menu on your phone for ages. Haha.

Inside Cheonghwawon: a tidier dining room than expected

Walking in, the inside was much cleaner than the exterior suggested. White tones and wooden tables meant it didn't feel heavy or cluttered, even for a Chinese restaurant. It felt like a comfortable place to eat before a play in Daehangno or on a date.

No matter how good the food is, if the place feels too chaotic you want to leave right after eating — but here, I could just sit comfortably and enjoy the meal.

Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch menu and how tablet ordering works

Ordering at Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch is done via the tablet on the table. The menu is pretty extensive — noodles, dim sum, rice dishes, fried items, stir-fries.

I checked the menu board outside first. Whoa — there's a lot on it. Noodles, dim sum, rice dishes, fried food, stir-fries! I thought it'd be a place specializing in just one or two items, but there were way more options than expected, so I spent a while looking.

You order through the tablet on the table. Looking at the dim sum, there were crystal dumplings, xiaolongbao, and shumai, most priced around ₩9,500. We went with the shumai at ₩9,500! You've gotta have at least one dim sum to feel like you really came here, right? ^^

And today's main dish! Beef knife-cut noodles for ₩10,500. Even from the photo, the broth already looks red. The moment I saw this, every other noodle got pushed aside — beef knife-cut noodles it is!

There were a lot of rice dishes too. If you're into rice bowls, choosing from the rice menu instead of noodles would be fine too.

There's fish-fragrant eggplant rice bowl, shrimp roe fried rice, beef fried rice, and more. Next time I come back I want to try the eggplant rice bowl too. This time I'd already gotten too greedy with the menu though... haha.

And then, a dish I just couldn't walk past. Guobaorou for ₩17,000! You came for noodles, but the moment you see guobaorou on the menu, how do you not order it? I definitely walked in for noodles, but somehow guobaorou ended up in the cart...

There's also chili shrimp, cream shrimp, yulinji, and gongbao chicken, so if you come with a group, ordering a bunch of dishes to share would be great. When it's just two of you, narrowing down the menu is the hardest part.

Side dishes at Cheonghwawon: peanuts and pickled vegetables

The wait after ordering was short!

The banchan (side dishes) were simple. Peanuts and pickled vegetables similar to zhacai came out, good for a bite or two before the main dishes arrive. But don't fill up too much on these — because the real thing is coming soon. Dun dun...

Guobaorou, 17,000 won: how it looks on the plate

What caught my eye first was the guobaorou. When it arrived, I thought, "Oh, this is bigger than I expected!" Thin, wide-fried meat pieces stacked in layers with baby greens on top — it photographed really nicely too.

The outside was crispy, and the sauce was pooled just enough underneath that it didn't get soggy right away, which I liked. Sweet and tangy flavor came through, and the fried meat itself was thick enough to give it a satisfying chew. Ah... I kept reaching for more. Haha.

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

And then the beef knife-cut noodles arrived. Look at that broth color. It's basically screaming "I'm rich and intense!" Ground meat and chives sat on top, with plenty of meat visible in the red broth.

I tried a spoonful of broth first — it looks super spicy, but it wasn't just heat. The distinct aroma of the spices came through together with the meaty broth flavor, and it lingered pleasantly in the mouth. If you like this kind of flavor, you'll keep spooning up the broth.

But of course, the noodles are the real point of knife-cut noodles. Unlike regular noodles with uniform thickness, these are wide and vary in thickness, making the texture surprisingly fun to chew. Some parts were soft, some thicker and chewier! That's why I kept picking up more noodles bite after bite.

Lifting the noodles up, you could really see that distinctive wide, flat shape of knife-cut noodles. Watching them come up soaked in broth... honestly, even editing these photos now makes me want to eat it again. Haha.

Dim sum lovers: shumai at Cheonghwawon for 9,500 won

And then the shumai. The yellow wrapper was packed with filling, with a bit of roe on top, so it looked cute too. It was a bit big to eat in one bite, good for splitting into two.

The filling was springy yet soft, and popping one in between bites of the spicy, rich beef knife-cut noodles worked really well as a combo. So if you're looking for dim sum in Daehangno, pairing one noodle dish with one type of dim sum seems like a solid approach.

How to cut and eat the guobaorou

The generously sized guobaorou got snipped into bite-sized pieces with scissors! Cutting into it, you could see the meat inside — it wasn't a style where only the batter was thick. I always worry guobaorou that's too hard might hurt the roof of my mouth, haha, but this one had crispiness and chewiness together, making it easy to eat.

In the end, our table ended up like this: beef knife-cut noodles + guobaorou + shumai. We went in thinking, "Let's just keep it simple with noodles"... keeping it simple did not happen.

Still, alternating between the dishes was way more fun than eating just one thing. A bite of spicy, rich beef knife-cut noodles, then a bite of crispy sweet guobaorou, then a shumai in between! This combo works. ^^

Where to eat Chinese food beyond jjajangmyeon in Daehangno

Daehangno has no shortage of restaurants, but sometimes you want something other than jjajangmyeon or jjamppong. In that case, trying the beef knife-cut noodles or dim sum at Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch seems like a good call.

Especially if you're near Hyehwa Station looking for a Daehangno restaurant, a Daehangno lunch spot, or somewhere to eat before or after a play, the wide range of menu options here is a plus.

Personally, the wide, chewy noodles of the beef knife-cut noodles were the most memorable dish of the day, and the guobaorou was... well, it's hard for guobaorou to be bad, right? Next time I want to try the eggplant rice bowl. Thanks for the meal! ^^