Choong Hwa Won

The good: I love that you can have a half and half combo! I’d rather eat 2 different things in smaller portions than one huge bowl of the same thing. The half and half bowl that I got came with the ja jiang mian (bean paste sauce w/​some pork noodles). The noodles were soft, cooked a little longer so it’s not al dente, just how I like it! The fried pork that I got was also really delicious. The pork was lightly fried, the crunch on the outside had a light crisp, the meat in the middle juicy and tender, the sauce had pineapples to add sweetness and some bell peppers to add a bit of bitterness to bring out more of the sweetness.
I also got to try my friends spicy seafood soup noodles. That dish was really good, in fact, better than my ja jiang noodles. The soup is flavored well, the spiciness of the soup is present but not overpowering, perfect for a cold day to warm your body up.
They have their own free parking lot outside.
The bad: They only have one small dish here, kimchee. That’s kind of lame when you come to a Korean restaurant, that said it was really delicious kimchee. They don’t have Galbi on the menu and bulgogi is super expensive at 17 dollars. You can see a mosquito zapper machine in the restaurant, glad they are trying to kill flies but I think there are better spots to place these machines. They did try to make it look pretty by putting it in an enclosed case, but the blue light is a dead giveaway.
Overall a decent 3.5 star place, but with so many other korean restaurants near by, they need to step up their game and focus on producing a star dish. If the star dish is ja jiang mian here, that’s some serious fail. More small dishes never hurt no one. Giving us menu’s with some pictures would be kinda nice.

Love this place! It’s right behind Popeyes so it’s easily missed but it has the best service! The waitresses are always super nice and welcoming and are just attentive enough. They give you unlimited sides of kimchi and radish and even offer to cut your noodles so it’s easier to eat. Try the dumplings that are covered in a thick sweet and spicy delicious sauce you won’t be disappointed. They have the best jajangmyun and the large portion is huge! Definitely have to share to finish it.

Service: B+: quick and attentive
Price: average dish is $ 10 – 15
Tips: portions are pretty big so sharing could be helpful.
Food: (⁵⁄₅) definitely known for jampong and jjajjangmyung. We were pleased with our order and my in-​laws were very satisfied by the seafood quality.

Why is this place listed as Korean and Chinese food? This place is Korean through and through.
If you are coming here for authentic food, and you do not like jia jia mien, then you’ll probably be disappointed. Sorry, but a thick black sauce made out of beans is just not my thing.
If you are a vegetarian, there are literally ZERO meatless items on the menu. If you were coming for the Chinese menu, you will find a tiny Chinese menu, but the options are very much American Chinese options like fried rice, cashew chicken, and beef & broccoli.
I ended up ordering the jap chae (glass noodles with shreds of vegetables and beef). It was OK, and I wouldn’t complain about it if the price was better. But at $ 12 for a dish that takes only a few minutes to make, it better have a gigantic portion or be really dang good. It was neither. I finished my meal and was still hungry. And there was too much oil in the noodles.
Also, I’d steer clear from the steamed dumplings. Yes, they are gigantic (about twice the size of regular dumplings), but they’re mostly filled with that noodle and cabbage filler that no one really likes. (Four of us sampled the dumplings and were in agreement on that point.)

Good quality authentic korean food for a cheap price!

Came here with a group, and everyone raved about the zha jiang mian. After getting it, I realized it’s not the Chinese dish at all, but something you can get at a Korean food court. it’s essentially a starchy, gelatinous brown sauce with some potato pieces in it. So fine — I like the Chinese counterpart better (sorry Korea), so that’s on me. But even for Korean Ja Jang Myeon (or whatever bastardization of the original pinyin is called), it is strictly mediocre.
The dumplings were essentially flavorless, and came in a bamboo basket. The filling was very loose and… well… flavorless. This was very disappointing. The fried pork was overly sauced in some gelatinous orange sauce that tasted okay until the dish got cold.
The service was somewhat slow, and we sat in a room where you had to push a button to get service. A couple times, they didn’t come.

I wasn’t impressed with the food at all. The jjajangmyun was average and comparable to the ones I get at Asian food courts. The tangsooyook was not good. It was crispy when first served but quickly became soft, even when we even ordered it with sauce on the side. This never happens at other restaurants. When tangsooyook is soft, it tastes terrible because there is little meat and mostly thick breading.

I tried finding some take out before everything closed and I came across this place. I gave them a call and they answered right away. I asked for a recommendation and I went with it. Once I arrived they pretty much kicked me out saying I didn’t order anything.
I had to resort to Taco Bell.

I only come here for one thing, you already know what it is. Jajangmyeon! It’s black bean sauce, pork, and veggies. Cheap and hits the spot! So far the only authentic Korean restaurants I’ve been in the Annandale area are Mandu Rang and this place. This is also the only place in Annandale that serves Jajangmyeon so automatically this place is my favorite.
Restaurant is bright, decent size, really good parking compared to all the other places in the same shopping center (Popeyes, Shilla, Party Co), lots of options on the menu, and the service is good too. No bad experiences so far! Oh, and they also do carry-​out!

i usually stick to pretty basic korean dishes but i am starting to branch out more thanks to my korean friends who are showing me the way :)
i came here last night for the first time. choong hwa won is located in annandale right off little river turnpike right behind the popeyes (and also next to shila bakery… dessert!).
if i recall correctly, the menu is not in english (or if it is you still don’t really know what it is) so my friends ordered for me. i loved that this place had the option for a split bowl so i could have two things in one. i had #71 jjam-​ma myum which was half ja jang myun noodles (noodles with soy bean paste) and half seafood noodle soup. both were excellent and flavorful. it was heavy on the carbs and i couldn’t finish my noodles. i think next time i will get it with the pork on the side.
we also had the #15 gan-​poong-​gi to share which was also really good.
really nice service, casual, clean, and unlimited kimchi/​radish. i will definitely be back!

Out of all the Korean-​Chinese restaurant, this is the best one in this area… we will never have jja jang myun like we have in Korea or LA… I’m not saying this is the best I’ve had, but never had anything bad here.
Their portions are huge too. Very friendly customer service which is surprising, because majority of Korean restaurants have no customer service at all.

My boyfriend and I go here solely for 2 things: ja-​jang myun and jjam-​bbong. It’s the first place we met as friends years before we started dating, and they’re the first things we ordered. Now it’s our go-​to whenever we want something simple and filling, and it’s like we’re reliving old times.
Friendly staff, fast service, and good value. I always order the jjam-​bbong when I’m feeling under the weather. The best part, I always have leftovers.

Went here last night to get gan-​poong-​gi and jjajangmyun with a friend. For the jjajangmyun, we got it with the half-​half combo with jjam-​bong.
The place wasn’t that busy at around 9pm on a Friday night. The place is very clean and the staff is very nice but spoke little English. There were three side orders given to us: kimchi (always), pickled radish, and onions.
All dishes were delicious! Specially jjajangmyun and gan-​poong-​gi. Jjajangmyun was quality. The noodles weren’t drowning with sauce. The fried chicken gan-​poong-​gi was crunchy and flavourful. More flavourful than regular sweet and sour sauces. Definitely definitely eating here again to get those two and try tang-​soo-​yok!

Disclaimer: this review is based on my personal opinion that I find Korean food/​dining overrated.
I base all of my Korean restaurant visits on my first personal experience with Korean dining at local spot in my hometown, Akron, OH. With that said, one would think things could only get better as my first experience was GREAT and it was at a small place. It’s sad that it’s only downhill from there. I still enjoy my local spot though.
I was hesitant to visit here but my friend told me it was pretty good so I gave it a shot. We’re in DC so why not. I came here with low expectations but excited to see what side dishes we would get as that’s what I feel is the best part of Korean dining. Well, let’s just say I was SORELY disappointed. I’m not familiar with the whole Korean life so maybe everyone does it differently from different regions but we only got technically 2 side dishes whatever they’re referred to as. It was Kimchi and pickled Daikon with some onions. So disappointing.
My friend ordered the split bowl that had the fried pork one side and noodle soup on the other. I tried it and I wasn’t impressed with it. The noodles and broth reminded me of their I stand ramen and the pork was all batter it seemed like. They looked like nice cuts of pork but bite into and it’s all batter. No evidence of meat. Again, maybe it’s my ignorance.
I ordered the bool gogi because it’s a «safe» option. It came with rice and a soup that didn’t impress. I’m simply not a fan of Korean food. The biggest issue I have is that it’s such a rip off while there’s so much high praise for it. All the kdrama stuff that everyone watches has hyped it up so much that I just don’t get it. The one thing I do love that is Korean is pretty much all varieties of Kimchi that isn’t cooked. Their side dish kimchi that was served wasn’t that great.
We left for home with this place being our last dining spot and it did not disappoint my hesitation for not wanting to spend money on expensive mediocre food. My friend covered the bill but I still felt bad someone had to pay for such disappointment again.
Two stars because the food is edible but a bit disappointing and the side dishes that I’ve ignorantly become accustomed to was a big disappointment.

TL;DR: Authentic Korean Chinese food — get their combo!
The restaurant is similar to other Korean places in the Annandale area. You are greeted right away at the door and are seated almost immediately.
This is the place to go for Jja jang myun, which is the black bean sauce noodles. We also like their Jjam ja bong (spicy seafood noodles), tang soo yuk (sweet and sour fried pork) and also beef fried rice. Not much ban chan here though, with only kimchi, yellow pickles and onions if you order jja jang myun. We love their combos where you can have both noodles or noodles and rice or rice and pork in one order. Great for people like us who can’t decide what they want most.
Not a suitable restaurant if you’re on a date because you will most definitely end up with black sauce all over your mouth. Licking it off though… So delicious~

This is probably one of my go to restaurants when I want something quick and simple. I live down the street so it’s pretty convenient for me to dine in or even pick up carry-​outs when my mom doesn’t feel like cooking.
The restaurant is pretty roomy inside. I never had to wait for dining in. Service is usually good here compared to other Korean restaurants around the area.
Gan-​poong-​sal is what I usually get. Their quality control is consistent. The chicken is slightly crispy covered with sauce but never soggy. My boyfriend likes their seafood Ja-​jang-​myun which comes with a good amount of meat. Their pork tang-​Soo-​yook is also good but the sauce is a little too sweet for my taste.
There are also a few other items that I like: japchae, jjang-​bong, fried rice, beef broccoli, and the spicy fried squid noodles. I feel like their fried rice tastes better than most Chinese restaurants because it has that ‘wok’ flavor (if you know what I mean).

Here’s my recommendation on what to order:
For large sides to share with your party, get the beef tang-​soo-​yook — when you get it, pour yourself some soy sauce and vinegar on a plate, add the chili powder to the sauce if you like spicy food. Dip the tangsuyuk in the sauce and enjoy. Also get the Gan-​poong shrimp — fried jumbo shrimp in sweet & spicy sauce. As for noodles, get the ja-​jang myun (noodles in brown sauce) or jjam-​bbong (noodles in spicy seafood soup), or get the half n half which gives you both of these. My favorite is to order ja-​jang myun and also get a small side of jjam-​bbong soup (sans noodles and seafood). Some of my relatives like to order fried rice. I don’t but they seem to enjoy it.

Consistently this place is about the best at noodle dishes. The portions are large and you will always leave stuffed.
My personal favorite is the tang so yook. It is about as close to the imaginary dish known as Sweet and Sour as your going to get. Personally I prefer my tang so took spicy.
Fried rice is tastey.
The jjam bong and ja jang myun are the best in the area. I recommend if you’ve never had any of these dishes try the half and half combos.
Service is friendly and attentive.
Price is a bit high for my personal preference but again portion size are agreeable to the prices.

Known for their HUGE portions! Their jajangmyun was flavorful, although noodle is not as chewy as I’d like. There’s also potato cubes in the noodle, pleasant surprise! Pork tang soo yuk is also pretty good, but I think the breading is on the thicker side and made the pork soggy more easily. The taste was definitely on point though! Although their portions are big, some dishes don’t reheat well, such as Jajangmyun and tang soo yuk, two of my favorite dishes. So you might want to share the dishes with friends and try to finish what you ordered.
I’ll definitely be back to try more dishes!

I get the same thing here every time, or variations in size of the same thing. Jajangmyun, tang soo yuk, and/​or jjampong.
I’ll either get a bowl split half-​half with the above choices or a bowl of jajangmyun for myself and split one of the other dishes with the table. Because it’s delicious! The jajangmyun is always tangy, tasty, sweet and salty, with plenty of toppings.
However the portions are HUGE. The tang soo yuk dish itself is something like $ 16 but enough to feed a small village. So it’s a lot to take home as leftovers.
I don’t like to have extra jajangmyun and jjampong to take home though cuz they’re always awkward to eat as leftovers.
Service is just decent. Gets the job done. Food always gets brought out fast though.
Food: 4.5
Service: 3.5
Overall: 4