Sinchon Sichuan restaurant for mala mapo tofu noodles: Cheonghwaweon

I've been going to study cafés a lot lately, and it turns out Sinchon has tons of them 📚✏️. This day too, while I was out studying, I wanted something good to eat, so I went looking and found a beef noodle spot in Sinchon that blew me away 🤩. Let me introduce Cheonghwaweon (청화원), a Sinchon restaurant where you can get seriously well-made food at a great price 🥢~!

Where is Cheonghwaweon in Sinchon, and what are its hours?

Cheonghwaweon is a Taiwanese-style Chinese restaurant on the 1st floor of 10 Myeongmul-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. It's open every day from 11am to 10:20pm, with last order at 10pm.

• 📍 Location: 1F, 10 Myeongmul-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea, Cheonghwaweon
• 🕕 Hours: Daily 11:00–22:20 (last order 22:00)
• 🚾 Restroom: Inside the building, not gender-separated
• 🚗 Parking: Not available

Cheonghwaweon is a Sichuan-style Chinese restaurant packed with the flavor of Taiwan itself 👨🏻‍🍳. It has branches near Daehangno and Sinchon, and the prices are low enough that college students love it — a real 💵 great-value spot. I'd heard it was especially known for beef noodles, so I visited curious about the taste 🥰.

Inside Cheonghwaweon: seating and atmosphere

The inside of Cheonghwaweon was really spacious, with sofa seats, 4-tops, and 2-tops all available — big enough to handle a group or a solo diner alike 👏🏻👏🏻.

The wallpaper and lighting were gorgeous and colorful haha. I went to a restaurant with this exact vibe when I was in Taiwan last year, and it made me think — they're recreating not just the taste of Taiwanese beef noodles and dim sum, but the atmosphere too 🧧🥮.

There was a steamer letting off puffs of steam too. Got me excited for hot, fresh dim sum 🥟🥟.

Cheonghwaweon's menu and the four dishes ordered

Cheonghwaweon is famous for beef noodles and dim sum, but the numbingly spicy Sichuan dishes looked seriously delicious too 😋💚. With most menu items around ₩10,000, it seemed like a great option for students on a tight budget. We ordered beef knife-cut noodles, xiaolongbao, mala mapo tofu, and oil-poured knife-cut noodles~!

The basic side dishes were zha cai (pickled mustard tuber) and peanuts. Interestingly, the zha cai had cabbage mixed in 🥜🥜.

Xiaolongbao (soup dumplings)

The xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) came out first 🥟, steamed piping hot. You're supposed to dip them in soy sauce with shredded ginger.

Aren't these puffy little dumplings just adorable? Holding all that broth, they sagged down cutely on one side 😆💚.

When I cut one open, 💥 the meaty broth burst right out! The soup inside was moist and had a clean, satisfying flavor.

Beef knife-cut noodles

Next came the 🍜 beef knife-cut noodles — thick cuts of meat and wide knife-cut noodles topped with fresh chopped scallions.

Oil-poured knife-cut noodles, served cold

The 🍝 oil-poured knife-cut noodles also came with ground meat, thick slices of meat, chili oil, and sliced chilies! I expected it warm, but it turned out to be served cold?

Mala mapo tofu

🍲 Mala mapo tofu came out last. The seasoning color looked intense, the tofu was silky soft, and it was also loaded with ground meat.

A table full of Taiwan's distinctive spices. The weather was chillier than I expected, so I was craving something hot, and seeing the beef noodles and dim sum made me feel satisfied ☺️✨.

What do Cheonghwaweon's beef knife-cut noodles taste like?

Cheonghwaweon's beef knife-cut noodles were genuinely delicious! Even people sensitive to strong flavors should be able to enjoy it, and it had a hint of ketchup-like flavor that made it feel familiar 🥢. The broth was piping hot, and the knife-cut noodles inside were so chewy and springy that just one bite filled my mouth 🤤💦.

The meat in the beef noodles especially was so tender! 🥩🍖 Not to overstate it, but you could practically chew it with your gums.

Mixing cold oil-poured noodles into mala mapo tofu

Apparently, the oil-poured knife-cut noodles are made by pouring hot oil over chili flakes and seasoning to add more flavor! This one had a stronger aroma 🌶️🌶️.

The chewy, chilled noodles had the seasoned oil clinging right onto them. There was a strong hwacho (Sichuan pepper) flavor that made it really appealing 👍🏻👍🏻. Spicy and savory at once, it really woke up my appetite haha.

Thinking they'd go well together, I mixed the noodles a little with the mala mapo tofu — the look of it wasn't exactly appetizing at first...😍.

But friends, THIS is it…😭 The distinctive spices combined with the mala oil's flavor and it worked so well together! Mashing the soft tofu in as I ate made it even better haha 🥄🥄.

Getting to try such unique Taiwanese food right in the middle of Sinchon was genuinely fun 🍽️.

Cheonghwaweon in one line

Cheonghwaweon 🥮, the Taiwanese-style Chinese restaurant famous for beef noodles in Sinchon 🥡 — the dishes were appealing for keeping that authentic feel without going overboard exotic!

It was also a restaurant with standout, wallet-friendly menus that fit a college student's budget 👛. Next time I go, I want to try the fried eggplant haha. That's all for Cheonghwaweon~!