Do you know what was the Korean children's favorite food in the 70s and 80s? It was definitely jjajangmyeon. Every year on Children's Day, Chinese restaurants in the neighborhood were crowded with family guests. 'Yeonghwa-ru' I visited this time is a Chinese restaurant which feels like it's came back from 30 years ago.

Oh my... from sign to entrance and the lights, isn't that perfect old-fashioned? It's been a while since I became an adult, but it brings back memories of the past.

That bead curtain at the entrance is so old-fashioned. It's a place I want to visit with my parents someday.

It has 50 years of history!

Scroll through the menu.

Yeonghwaru is famous for its spicy chili-pepper ganjjajang and spicy chili jjamppong. There are discription for it on the menu cover. The key is that it tastes spicy with cheongyang red pepper, not artificial capsaicin. And it says you can ask them to control the spiciness.

I ordered the set 1. Jjajangmyeon, jjamppong, sweet and sour pork, the 3 leaders of a Chinese restaurant.

There are more seats inside, and if you climb up the wooden stairs in the corner, there seems to be seats on the upper floor. There are autographs left by countless celebrities on the wall, and the counter phone rang nonstop with delivery orders.

Do you see that menu on the wall? When I went to a Chinese restaurant in the old days, there was a menu like that!

Oh, there's a daily pad calendar which is hard to see these days.

The food I ordered came out while I was soaked in memories.

First, sweet and sour pork with a glossy look. The amount is not big because it is included in the set. Some people are saying that we shouldn't order sweet and sour pork as a set. It's because there are many cases that the meat has more fat and the batter is thick. But even though the amount is small, the quality is very satisfying here. The fried pork is thick and its perfect for a sweet and sour pork. The fries are crispy and the sauce is not too sweet, and it boosts the taste of sweet and sour pork.

Spicy jjamppong. The scent of cheongyang red pepper and the flavor of chili oil are rich in seafood. It's a bit spicy but it's an impressive taste.

And ganjjajang, yes, this is also spicy. Spicy jjajangmyeon after a spicy jjamppong stings to my brain. The reason why I want to give a high score for all the food in Yeonghwa-ru is that the quality of the ingredients is good. Especially, I like the quality of the meat. The viscosity and stir-frying of ganjjajang is also perfect.

Yeonghwa-ru feels like it's a movie set.

• Food ★★★★☆

There may be likes and dislikes for the spicy taste, but I am looking fforward to other dishes because of the excellent ingredients.

• Cleanliess ★★★☆☆

Let's ignore, it's a very old restaurant.

• Service ★★★☆☆

Average

• Ambience ★★★★☆

Full of retro-emotional fillings.

• Accessibility ★★★★★

Walk for 9 minutes from exit 2 of Gyeongbokgung Station on line 3

• Open Hours: From 11:00 to 21:00, Closed on Chuseok and Seolnal(Korean New Year's day)
• Recommended Number of Guests: 2~4 people
• Recommended Menu: Spicy Jjajangmyeon, Jjamppong
• Price Range: 9,000 won for Spicy Jjajangmyeon and Jjamppong
• Amenities: Delivery

Address: 65 Jahamun-ro 7-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul