Gangnam Station late-night Chinese: mala noodle soup, Sinbok Myeongwan

Today I visited Sinbok Myeongwan Gangnam, a Hong Kong-style Chinese dim sum spot. It's a great, filling meal on a budget, and I really want to recommend it to office workers around Gangnam Station. Every menu item is under 11,000 won, which makes it even better value, and each dish felt made with care, which was extra satisfying. And there's dim sum... (I really love dumplings, and these are genuinely delicious...) So let's get into today's detailed and honest review~

Where is Sinbok Myeongwan Gangnam, and what are the hours and parking?

Sinbok Myeongwan is located a 3-minute walk from Gangnam Station Exit 1 — it's really, really close to the station. The address is 1st floor, 825-20 Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, and it's open daily from 11am to 10:20pm.

There aren't many restaurants around Gangnam Station open late, so it's nice that Sinbok Myeongwan stays open until later~ For office workers doing overtime... it seems like a good place to eat before heading home when going straight home feels awkward~ haha. Parking is available on-site in the building, and if you use the Gangnam Station Central Prugio parking lot, the first 60 minutes are free, then it's 1,000 won per 10 minutes after that~

Inside Sinbok Myeongwan: a Hong Kong mood with single seats

The inside of Sinbok Myeongwan has an exotic feel. You can really tell it's a Hong Kong-style Chinese restaurant~

There's a range of seating, from single seats to 4-person tables. The single seats look comfortable enough for eating alone without any awkwardness~ (There were quite a few people eating solo too!!)

Sinbok Myeongwan menu and prices near Gangnam Station

As a Hong Kong-style Chinese restaurant, dim sum and beef knife-cut noodles are the main dishes. There are also various side dishes, so it seems like an even better place to visit with a group. (When there are lots of menu items, you can order a bunch of different things with a group, right~lol)

I went alone today~ Honestly I came all the way to Gangnam Station because I really wanted dim sum..haha

• Beef knife-cut noodles ₩11,000
• Shumai ₩9,800

That's what I ordered~ The fried rice dishes also stay between 10,500 and 11,000 won, so they seem like a good value, filling option too~ (Next time I'd like to come with friends and order a variety of dishes!!!)

Beef knife-cut noodles, 11,000 won: how spicy is the mala broth?

Sinbok Myeongwan's beef knife-cut noodles cost 11,000 won~ Knife-cut noodles (도삭면) are made by slicing dough with a knife, so they can feel thicker than regular noodles.. (But as someone who normally loves chewy noodles, I didn't get much of a raw-dough taste — they were just wonderfully chewy~~)

Sinbok Myeongwan makes the noodles in-house, and you can really tell — the noodles felt distinctly clean. (There was really, really a lot of noodles lol)

Here's the meat inside. It was so tender and shredded so easily.. eating it together with the broth — ah, so good.

The broth leans close to mala, and the chives make the flavor even richer. It had a slight numbing, spicy kick that was just right for me since I can't handle spicy food well! Even people who find Buldak (fire noodles) very spicy should be fine with this level of heat~

Even though the noodles are thick, they came out perfectly cooked. (Honestly I was worried about this lol but they were cooked just right!! Nice!!) The spicy broth and tender meat inside, plus noodles that were really my style. (Chewy, and the more you chew, the nuttier and tastier it got~haha)

Shumai, 9,800 won: is Sinbok Myeongwan a real dim sum spot?

Sinbok Myeongwan's shumai costs 9,800 won. Inside, shrimp and meat are packed together, topped with flying fish roe~

With one bite, the moistness inside came through immediately, and the chewy outer wrapper spread deliciously in my mouth~ The dense filling was chewy to bite into and gave a satisfying, full feeling in my mouth. It's clearly known as a dim sum spot for a reason~haha I strongly recommend the shumai too~haha

Is Sinbok Myeongwan good for a solo meal near Gangnam Station?

Even going alone, having single seats meant I could comfortably enjoy a meal and leave. The staff also introduced the menu kindly, so I could eat without feeling awkward. It seems like it would be popular with office workers at lunchtime.

It's clearly a Chinese restaurant that a lot of people seek out because the food is delicious and the prices are reasonable! Honestly, the shumai was.. really, really, really delicious lol (thinking about it again is making me want more, my mouth is watering..lol) Sinbok Myeongwan, located a 2-minute walk from Gangnam Station Exit 1! I enjoyed a great meal alone, but next time I want to try a variety of other dishes, so I'll be visiting again~!!