Mala hotpot restaurant in Daerim, Seoul: extra-spicy broth at Sanha

Why a malatang lover went back to Sanha Sinseungbu for hotpot

Sanha Sinseungbu Daerim (산하신승부 대림본점) is a Chinese restaurant in Daerim-dong where you can eat hotpot all-you-can-eat, and this was the writer's second visit. It was so good last time that the writer picked Sanha Sinseungbu hotpot over the usual mala tang craving.

Yes, I'm a total mala tang and hotpot freak, it's me..! I'm the kind of mala-obsessed person who eats mala tang at least three times a week. I was about to go for mala tang when my craving cooldown hit after a while, so I went to Sanha Sinseungbu, a great hotpot spot in Daerim-dong. I'd eaten here before and it was so good that I came back, hehehe. If you like spicy food, ask for the red broth extra spicy and you'll see heaven.

What are the opening hours of Sanha Sinseungbu Daerim?

Sanha Sinseungbu Daerim is open every day from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Since it's open until 3 a.m., you can have great hotpot late at night too.

Coming to Sanha Sinseungbu in Daerim-dong really gave me the feeling of being on a trip to China, even though I've never actually been, haha. It's run by Chinese owners, so it felt even more local! Every time I come to Daerim-dong, I feel like I've gone on a trip to China.

Sanha Sinseungbu set menus and à la carte dishes

The main attraction at Sanha Sinseungbu Daerim is three set menus, and we had Set C, the all-you-can-eat hotpot.

• A. Grilled lamb leg + grilled lamb ribs + hotpot (complimentary)
• B. Skewers (basic) + hotpot (complimentary)
• C. All-you-can-eat hotpot

Beyond that, the menu is reeeeally long: mala xiangguo (stir-fried mala pot), mala crayfish, stir-fried clams, tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork), xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), mala grilled fish, xiangla grilled fish, stir-fried shellfish, mala lobster tail, stir-fried sea snails, mala pollock, mala king prawns, stir-fried shredded squid, stir-fried squid mouth, bean sprout fish, xiangla pork, grilled chicken wings, lamb rib skewers and more.

Is there a charge for leftovers at the all-you-can-eat hotpot?

At Sanha Sinseungbu, leaving 300g of shabu-shabu costs a ₩10,000 environmental fee! Skewers are ₩1,400 per skewer and lamb leg or lamb rib meat is ₩10,000 per 100g, so let's not waste anything and eat only what we can~ You can have steamed rice too!

What's on the self-bar at Sanha Sinseungbu?

At the Sanha Sinseungbu self-bar you can enjoy hotpot, lamb skewers and lamb ribs without limit, such a generous deal.. I honestly wonder whether they make any profit. We were there for the hotpot, but we also had a look around the lamb and skewer buffets, haha.

Time to load up on hotpot ingredients! Chinese glass noodles, wide glass noodles, corn noodles, quail eggs, fensi (konjac-style starch noodles), white wood ear mushrooms, black wood ear mushrooms, thin glass noodles, plus lots of veggies! Napa cabbage, crown daisy, bok choy, cabbage, bean sprouts, so many kinds, which I loved, haha.

Even shrimp and baby octopus are all-you-can-eat..! Shrimp, baby octopus, pine cone squid, tripe, flower fensi, octopus balls, tofu, bamboo shoots, lotus root, liver, tofu skin, fuzhu (dried tofu skin), beef, lamb, corn cheese balls, cheese rice cakes, sweet potato rice cakes and even chive dumplings, there are really so many kinds, haha. Picking your own is half the fun.. feels like a way better deal than mala tang ㅠ

Hotpot sauce combination tips at Sanha Sinseungbu

At Sanha Sinseungbu you make your own sauce at the sauce bar, and sauce-making tips are posted right next to it. There are so many kinds, it's total honey.. They say a lot of sauce gets wasted, so take it easy! Just mix it to your own taste.

• Sinseungbu sauce: sesame paste sauce + fermented tofu sauce + lao gan ma (chili crisp) + chili oil + fermented chive sauce + oyster sauce + garlic + green onion + cilantro
• For those who find sauces hard: house-made sauce + lao gan ma + chili oil + garlic + green onion + cilantro

How does red-broth-only, extra-spicy hotpot taste?

At Sanha Sinseungbu most people go for half white, half red broth, but we ordered red broth only, extra spicy. A bright red broth with chili peppers floating around is totally my taste, haha. I wanted to slurp up the broth too..

Here's the generously filled bowl from the all-you-can-eat hotpot at Sanha Sinseungbu in Daerim-dong! I piled on meat, veggies and noodles, section by section, haha.

Lots of bean sprouts! Cabbage, enoki mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, bok choy, flower fensi, baby octopus, shrimp, and a bowl of panda fensi.

We're real bean sprout lovers, haha. A bowl of bean sprouts, cabbage, enoki, Chinese glass noodles and fried tofu. I also brought a mountain of beef! The corn cheese balls are a bonus~

This is the sauce I made! Fill it with peanut sauce, then add garlic, green onion, chili oil and even sesame oil, and you get a insanely good sauce..★

Eating red broth hotpot at Sanha Sinseungbu in Daerim-dong, pure desire.. Is there someone who dumps everything into the hotpot at once? That's me~ Honestly I was also after the photo, haha. The vegetables taste best when you let them cook quite a while.

Sanha Sinseungbu in Daerim was heaven. If you like spicy food, definitely ask for the red broth extra spicy and it'll be super delicious.

Hotpot at Sanha Sinseungbu in Daerim, packed so full it looks ready to overflow. There's fun in dumping it all in and picking out what you want, haha.

What does panda fenmuzi taste like?

The panda fensi from the Sanha Sinseungbu self-bar had a soft, chewy texture, soaked through with the hotpot broth. Lots of YouTubers eat it so I was curious, and I finally tried it too,,! The chewy panda fensi is good, isn't it..?

After one bite of heaven, I ordered a somaek (soju and beer mix) to chase the hangover away, haha. Chinese food calls for Tsingtao somaek, of course!

Beef and peanut sauce: the best match for red broth hotpot

In the Sanha Sinseungbu red broth, the best combo was beef + well-cooked bean sprouts + cabbage + enoki mushrooms, dipped deep in peanut sauce. I usually don't put meat in my mala tang, but with hotpot it's definitely meat! Seriously insanely good..! The broth is tingly and numbing, so the flavor really soaks into the ingredients, haha. I wanted to drink the broth, but afraid of a stomachache, I just enjoyed the ingredients.

Even the pretty flower fensi goes into my mouth~ After so long, it was a moving experience, Sanha Sinseungbu in Daerim. Why is it this good..? I want to eat it again today, hehe. A hit on this mala fanatic's taste buds, ta-da~~~~