Pre-play lunch at Cheonghwawon, a Taiwanese restaurant near Hyehwa

Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch (청화원 대학로점) is a Taiwanese restaurant near Hyehwa Station Exit 4, known for dim sum and beef noodles. It had been a while since I went on a date with my boyfriend in Daehangno, so we did 🩷 Before catching a play, I searched for something that wouldn't be too heavy but wouldn't disappoint, and found Cheonghwawon, a dim sum and beef noodle place I'd always wanted to try 🤍 The vibe was cozy and great for a date, and the quality of everything — dim sum, noodles, rice bowls — was excellent 👍🏻 Here's my very satisfying Cheonghwawon review for a Daehangno lunch ‼️

Where is Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch, and when is it open?

• 📍 Address: 36 Daemyeong-gil, 1st floor, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• 🕒 Hours: Daily 11:00–22:20 (last order 21:50)
• 🚘 No parking available

Walking from Hyehwa Station Exit 4: the storefront and the room inside

From Hyehwa Station Exit 4, just walk 2-3 minutes down the main alley and you'll spot the Cheonghwawon sign right away 💚 It's close to the subway, so getting there by public transport was easy! I was drinking that day, so public transport was a must for me ^.^ From the outside alone it had a sleek, Taiwanese vibe going on!

Inside, the space was much bigger than I expected! There's seating on the first floor, and an even larger space on the second floor! The whole place is done up in warm, cozy brown tones, giving it that snug Chinese-restaurant feel 🩷

Inside, the crowd ranged from foreign tourists to couples like us to groups of friends — all ages and nationalities ‼️ Must be a place proven to please many different palates.. ✨ (fingers crossed) It's already a well-known spot near Hyehwa Station, and the crowd keeps growing!

Cheonghwawon menu prices and the four dishes we ordered for two

Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch's menu starts at ₩10,500 for beef knife-cut noodles and ₩9,500 for shumai. Here's the menu board first!

• Beef knife-cut noodles: ₩10,500
• Shumai: ₩9,500
• Guobaorou: ₩17,000
• Ganpunggi (spicy fried chicken): ₩17,000
• Xiaolongbao: ₩9,500
• Crystal moon dumplings: ₩9,500
• Fish-fragrant eggplant rice bowl: ₩9,800
• Mala tofu: ₩10,500
• Tiger stir-fry: ₩17,800
• Yulinji: ₩19,800

and various other authentic Taiwanese dishes were on offer 🩷 My boyfriend and I ordered four things ✔️ beef knife-cut noodles, fish-fragrant eggplant rice bowl, shumai, and xiaolongbao. Ordering was easy with the tablet placed at the table.

What comes with the meal: table setting and the self-serve side dish bar

After ordering, they set out crisp zhacai (pickled mustard tuber), fried peanuts, and dim sum sauce! Chinese food can be a bit oily, so having zhacai to cut through it in between bites is so good 😖 Anything else we wanted, we could just grab from the self-serve bar.

Beef knife-cut noodles, 10,500 won — thick house-made noodles

First up, the beef knife-cut noodles 🍜 The broth looks rich just from the sight of it! They said it's simmered for over 24 hours with Korean beef bones and tender beef shank.

I tried the broth first, and it was deep, rich, and savory in a crazy good way — the sound just came out of me the second I tasted it ⭐️ The spices weren't too strong, so I think even Taiwanese-food beginners would enjoy this!

And the house-made knife-cut noodles were really something 🥢 I'd only ever had thin beef noodles before, so this was my first time with noodles thicker than kalguksu! The irregular texture was fun, and they were so chewy — I loved these noodles.. ♥️

The meat on top was also tender with no gamey smell at all ✨ The noodles, meat, and broth all came together beautifully — a really satisfying bowl. And the portion was really, really generous..>.<

Fish-fragrant eggplant rice bowl, 9,800 won — crisp eggplant with crab soup

Next up, the eggplant rice bowl 🍆 I love fried eggplant and fish-fragrant eggplant rice bowls, so I always order it whenever I eat Chinese food 🤍 A warm crab soup came alongside it too 👍🏻

Wow, the color on this is insane ,, ㅜㅜ Both the rice and eggplant were super generous portions. I actually prefer crispy fish-fragrant eggplant over the soggy kind, and this looked exactly like my style~ 🩷

Can you see how the sweet, spicy, salty special sauce is clinging perfectly to the eggplant? The sauce is genuinely delicious... Both my boyfriend and I agreed this was a great order! As expected, the eggplant was crispy outside and completely moist inside — top-tier texture ㅠㅠ

The slightly salty, deeply savory sauce is just perfect mixed with the rice.. 🤍

It also pairs really well with the beef knife-cut noodles, so I'd recommend ordering both together ♥️

Shumai, 9,500 won — shrimp and pork filling topped with flying fish roe

You can't skip the house-made dim sum 🥟 First, shumai! So glossy.. Inside the thin dumpling skin was packed with springy shrimp filling and pork filling! Orange flying fish roe on top gave it great texture and made it super cute-looking too 🧡

Dipped in the dim sum sauce, it's so good. Can you see how generous and moist the filling is? Shrimp and pork savoriness hitting at the same time, and it's just so good.. 🩷 Chewy outside, really soft inside, seasoning right on point..! I got why this is a signature menu item immediately!

Xiaolongbao, 9,500 won — 6 pieces, sip the soup first

Next, my favorite dim sum, xiaolongbao,,, shumai comes with 5 pieces, xiaolongbao with 6! It can be hot, so the rule is to lift it onto a spoon and sip the soup first 😖

Ah, sipping the broth first, it's warm and rich with a savory depth that's insane... So full of meaty aroma ‼️

The dumpling skin was soft and delicate, and the pork filling inside was tender with no gamey smell at all — everything came together so well! It really felt like eating in Taiwan! Cheonghwawon's dim sum is top-notch. This was my boyfriend's first time having xiaolongbao, and he said it was fascinating and delicious how the broth burst in his mouth — wished I'd brought him here sooner,, ⭐️

Final verdict: is Cheonghwawon a good lunch before a Daehangno play?

What was meant to be a light late lunch before a play ended with four plates completely finished at Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch. We were on a tight schedule and meant to eat quickly, but every dish was so appealing and delicious that before we knew it we'd scraped all four menu items clean.. ⭐️ The staff were kind and the place had such a cozy vibe — there's really no better spot for a Daehangno date. If you're going on a play date near Daehangno, or looking for a reliable, satisfying, delicious lunch spot near Daehangno, I highly recommend this Hyehwa Station favorite, Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch! 👍🏻