Sinsa dim sum dinner: kimchi xiaolongbao at Samsin Garosu-gil

• Hours Sun-Thu 11:00-23:00 / Fri-Sat 11:00-24:00
• Break time 16:00-17:00
• Last order Sun-Thu 22:00 / Fri-Sat 23:00

Samsin🥟, a new Chinese restaurant on Garosu-gil. I had a solid meal of har gow with real plump shrimp texture, xiaolongbao, and jajangmyeon! The jajangmyeon in particular tasted better than expected, so here's my review of Samsin, the new hotspot on Garosu-gil near Sinsa — let's go!

Where is Samsin Garosu-gil? Exterior and entrance

A huge Samsin (三神) sign that catches your eye from far away! With a dark exterior wall plus tiled roof and lighting added on, it felt like I'd walked into an actual restaurant in China, even though I was smack in the middle of Garosu-gil. Especially visiting at night with the lights on, the exterior was pretty flashy from the outside✨

You enter from the side of the building, and even the walls and lighting along the way were decorated to match the concept, so it was fun just looking around on the way in.

Inside Samsin Garosu-gil: seating and atmosphere at night

There was a grand-opening congratulations sign off to one side of the entrance!

The exterior was so bold I expected the inside to be just as flashy, but once inside it turned out to be surprisingly clean and upscale. The huge dragon decoration on the ceiling grabs your attention the moment you walk in🐉 haha

Mint-colored seats mixed with deep green and wood tones kept that distinct Chinese restaurant vibe while feeling a bit more refined.

I liked that there were partitions between the tables, giving some separation from the next table over, and there were round tables too, which looked good for groups. By the window, everything from Chinese liquor to whisky was lined up on display, and with these little touches added in, the whole place felt like a Chinese restaurant plus a modern fusion restaurant.

Samsin Garosu-gil menu and prices

Here's what we ordered today

• Yuni chili jajangmyeon (spicy black bean noodles) 12,000
• Handmade xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) 8,000
• Handmade shrimp har gow 9,000
• Wedding shaomai 10,000
• Kimchi xiaolongbao 9,000

Handmade xiaolongbao and shrimp har gow (steamed shrimp dumplings)

There was quite a variety of dim sum, and before I knew it, ordering one of each thing that caught my eye had filled the whole table haha. They come out one basket at a time in bamboo steamers, each different in color and shape, so it passed the visual test right away🥟✨

First, the most basic order — handmade xiaolongbao! You have to gently poke a hole in the wrapper to let the soup out first, because it's seriously hot, haha.

So much broth inside! Eating it while still warm, it was juicy and delicious. Xiaolongbao really has to be eaten off a spoon, slurping up the broth first, for the full effect🤤

And personally the most memorable one was the handmade shrimp har gow🦐. Through the semi-translucent wrapper you can see the shrimp inside, and biting in, you really get that plump, bouncy shrimp texture! Instead of finely ground shrimp, you could really feel whole chunks of shrimp, which made for a great bite.

If you like dim sum, this is the one I'd personally recommend👍🏻. Beyond the classic dim sum, there were also some more unusual options like wedding shaomai and kimchi xiaolongbao, so we ordered those too.

Wedding shaomai (open-topped pork dumplings)

The pink dim sum in particular grabbed all the attention the second the steamer lid came off💗

There was corn inside along with meat and shrimp, and a subtle hint of truffle aroma

Was the kimchi xiaolongbao worth it? A bit of a letdown

This is the kimchi xiaolongbao. I was curious what a kimchi-based dim sum would taste like, so I ordered it, but personally it fell a bit short compared to the classic xiaolongbao••🥲 It had a somewhat mass-produced feel, if that makes sense? It was fun to try something different, but if I came back, I'd rather order the classic xiaolongbao or the shrimp har gow instead of the kimchi one. The shrimp har gow was genuinely so good, highly recommend⭐️

Yuni chili jajangmyeon: minced pork black bean noodles

And since it felt like a waste to stop at just dim sum, we ordered the yuni chili jajangmyeon! You could see the big chunks of onion piled in from the moment it arrived.

Mix it up well! Tossing the sauce through the noodles gave it a glossy shine — the visuals alone were on point🤤

A bite twirled up on the chopsticks

The big onion chunks stayed crunchy alongside the jajang sauce, which made for a great texture, and I was glad we ordered it as the final dish after the dim sum! The portion was pretty generous too, which made it even more satisfying.

Is Samsin Garosu-gil worth a dim sum dinner?

If you're looking for a Chinese restaurant with good atmosphere on Garosu-gil, Samsin seems like a solid choice, letting you enjoy everything from dim sum to Chinese entrées. The colorful dim sum in particular looked so pretty that it was great for visiting with a group and sharing several dishes! If you're craving something a bit different in Chinese food on Garosu-gil, I'd recommend giving it a try 🤍