Garosu-gil Chinese restaurant: extra-large ganjjajang for two, Samsin

It had been a while since I went to Garosu-gil, and I found a unique new restaurant there haha. I visited Samsin Garosu-gil, a Korean-Chinese-Japanese fusion restaurant. Samsin literally means 'three gods,' and it's a restaurant made together by famous chefs from Korean, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine.

Samsin Garosu-gil location, hours and valet parking

Hours: 11:00 - 23:00. Parking: valet available, ₩5,000 for 2 hours. Samsin, a Chinese food spot in Garosu-gil, is a 3-minute walk from Sinsa Station exit 8.

What the inside of Samsin Garosu-gil looks like

Samsin has floors up to the 3rd with private rooms, but even the hall has really wide tables, so it was comfortable to eat there.

There's a dragon hanging up top, giving it that proper upscale Chinese restaurant feel. The tableware and tables were unique too, so there was fun just in looking around.

What is on the menu at Samsin Garosu-gil

Please check Naver for the full Samsin menu. It has everything from course meals to à la carte dishes to rice meals, so it seems like a good place for both lunch and dinner. Depending on how you order, you can make it a simple meal or a full group dinner.

Extra-large yuni gochu ganjjajang: how it tastes

My boyfriend wanted jajangmyeon, so we chose the yuni gochu jajangmyeon (spicy black bean noodles with chili). We were hungry so we ordered it large, and we finished it all. The noodles were nice and chewy — exactly the textbook definition of good jajangmyeon.

Even simple-looking jajangmyeon is different at Samsin. It has chili in it so it's a bit spicy, and since it's ganjajang (black bean sauce noodles), it's loaded with onion and meat. There's even a fried egg on top as a nice touch.

I usually find plain jajangmyeon a bit heavy, but this one had chili in it so it was slightly spicy, which made it even more delicious. The onion, which is really the key to good ganjajang, was especially good — if it's undercooked it's spicy and hard to eat, but here it was cooked just right, with a smoky char and a nice crunch.

What is tendon kimchi fried rice

Next up is the tendon kimchi fried rice. I've had tendon before, but this is honestly my first time seeing it served together with kimchi fried rice. Whoever came up with this creative combo is a genius.

The jjamppong broth that came with it was also nicely spicy. I love jjamppong, so it was a bit of a shame I couldn't order it myself — the broth tasted that good.

The kimchi fried rice wasn't just plain kimchi fried rice — it was a slightly Chinese-style fried rice that wasn't too spicy, which paired even better with the tempura. It had that fluffy texture you get from Chinese restaurant fried rice, but with a kimchi twist, if that makes sense.

From gim bugak (crispy seaweed chips) to mushroom, eggplant, egg, and shrimp — it was unique that these weren't your typical tendon tempura types, but ones that go well with Chinese food instead. Since tendon is tempura-centric and can get a bit heavy, eating it together with kimchi fried rice is honestly a perfect combo just to think about. The tempura was crispy and the fried rice was fluffy — such a great pairing.

Review event: free mango coconut ice cream

Here's a mango coconut ice cream, great for cleansing the palate. We got this through a review event. The manager kindly gave us one each, telling us to write a review and enjoy it, so we happily dug in haha.

The mango coconut ice cream is great for cleansing the palate, and it tasted even better served on such a fancy plate. Having an ice cream like this after heavy Chinese food seems like the perfect way to end the meal.

Is Samsin Garosu-gil worth it for two?

I visited Samsin, a Chinese restaurant in Garosu-gil that's already hot even though it just opened, and I get why it's already famous. The taste and the atmosphere were both great — nothing was lacking. Having valet parking available in Garosu-gil, where parking is such a pain, is a huge plus point too...!

• If you're looking for a Chinese restaurant in Garosu-gil
• If you're looking for a group dinner spot in Garosu-gil
• If you're looking for something uniquely Chinese

I recommend Samsin in Garosu-gil.