All three dim sum at Cheonghwawon, a Daehangno dim sum restaurant

Second visit to Cheonghwawon, a Daehangno dim sum favorite

Cheonghwawon, located in Hyehwa! Famous for its dim sum, Cheonghwawon is a restaurant I truly recommend in Daehangno!! This is already my second visit to this dim sum spot, so this time I ordered every single type of dim sum and I'll show you the review right away ><

Location and hours of Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch

Address: 36 Daemyeong-gil, 1F & 2F, Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch, Jongno-gu, Seoul Hours: Daily 11:00 – 22:20

What did we order from the menu?

Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch had all kinds of Taiwanese food! Starting from various dim sum, beef noodle noodle dishes and rice, guobaorou, cold dishes and more — there were so many things I wanted to eat haha. So we!!! ordered all three types of dim sum, plus beef noodles, and since it's known as a guobaorou spot, we ordered guobaorou too~

• Xiaolongbao ₩9,500
• Shumai ₩9,500
• Crystal chive dumplings ₩9,500
• Beef knife-cut noodles ₩10,500
• Guobaorou ₩17,000

Basic banchan and the pickled mustard greens self-serve bar

Two basic banchan come out like this — peanuts and pickled mustard greens (jjazai) that I kept reaching for. Neither was too salty and it was so good that I went back to the self-serve bar for more haha.

There's a first and second floor, and since there's a self-serve bar, take as much as you want! The pickled mustard greens were so good I had two more bowls haha.

Xiaolongbao — drink the broth first

First to arrive was the xiaolongbao! There are three types of dim sum total, and this is the xiaolongbao we all know haha. It comes out sitting in a delicious-looking steamer basket, and the visual alone was a total pass!!

They even gave us dim sum dipping sauce so we could dip it deliciously ><

They even gave us wide-faced spoons to make eating the dim sum easier — when you poke a hole in the xiaolongbao wrapper, the broth gushes out, so be careful not to burn yourself haha.

When you take a small bite of the wrapper, the broth comes out like this so I drank the broth first haha. And inside there's a meat filling, so popping the whole thing in your mouth next fills it with meaty aroma and moisture — such a delicious xiaolongbao~

Shumai with whole shrimp and flying fish roe

Next up was the shumai! It has shrimp balls inside, plus whole shrimp added on top — a dim sum you can't miss if you love shrimp~~

The outer wrapper was especially chewy and moist, and there was flying fish roe on top haha. Such a distinctive kind of dim sum, and so delicious!!

As you can see, whole shrimp is packed in here, so the crunchy bite was so good haha. The shrimp was so plump and springy that I kept going back for more~

How does the beef knife-cut noodles taste?

Next among the noodle dishes was the beef knife-cut noodles, and true to its name, the noodles really did look unique!! Not machine-cut but genuinely rough-hewn, cut with a knife~

The noodles are wide like kalguksu (knife-cut noodles), but it has a different feel from kalguksu haha. And meat is piled on top! The meat wasn't tough at all, it was tender.

The beef noodle soup was especially delicious — the rich broth had a deep meaty aroma that added even more!! It's soy-sauce based, so it's got a different flavor, and it seemed like a good one to try even for those new to beef noodle soup haha.

Guobaorou — crispy even tossed in sauce

Next was the guobaorou! I ordered it because it's supposedly famous here, and the portion really was huge, and the aroma from the moment it arrived was amazing ><. They gave us scissors and tongs too, so you can cut it to whatever size you want~

The guobaorou was especially crispy and chewy, and even tossed in sauce it wasn't the least bit soggy — such a delicious guobaorou! It has that chewy texture like glutinous rice guobaorou, so if you love guobaorou, you absolutely must order this!!

Crystal chive dumplings and wrapping up

Next we ordered the crystal chive dumplings dim sum, and honestly every single dim sum was delicious haha. The wrapper is so translucent it's genuinely delicious, and inside there's a moist filling with chives, giving it yet another distinctive flavor~

The seating is spacious with both a first and second floor, and it's in a perfect location to visit right after watching a play in Hyehwa, so if you're craving Taiwanese food like beef noodles or dim sum, I recommend Cheonghwawon, a Daehangno dim sum restaurant!!