Garosu-gil Chinese restaurant weekend lunch with shrimp toast: Samsin

Even for lunch in Garosu-gil, so many places charge over ₩20,000 for a single dish. But here's a Chinese course that gives you dim sum, tangsuyuk, a main, and dessert all for around ₩20,000-something..! I went to Samsin Garosu-gil because I'd heard so much about their dim sum. And honestly — the xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) are a must-try, seriously TT If you're looking for an affordable Chinese course in Garosu-gil, here's my Samsin review ♡

Booking and seating at Samsin Garosu-gil: is weekend lunch a good idea?

Samsin Garosu-gil takes reservations through Naver Reservation. It's a good spot even for weekend lunch, but if you want a private room or a specific seat, it's better to book ahead. Private rooms can be reserved with orders of ₩35,000 or more per person, so it's great for family gatherings or group meals! We sat on the 2nd floor — even the regular hall seating felt somewhat separated table to table, which made it comfortable.

Samsin Garosu-gil location, hours and valet parking

• Address: 46 Gangnam-daero156-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 2nd & 3rd floors
• 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
• Closed: No regular closing day
• Parking: Valet available on the 1st floor of the building
• Parking fee: ₩5,000 for the first 2 hours / ₩1,000 per 10 minutes after (recently posted)
• Reservation: Available via Naver Reservation
• 2nd and 3rd floor operation, hall and private rooms
• Other: group-friendly / baby chairs / separate restrooms / waiting area / takeout available

Samsin Garosu-gil sits right where Garosu-gil begins from Sinsa Station, so it's an easy stop for lunch on a date or in the middle of shopping. There were a lot of signs around the store too.

The interior is fancier than your typical Chinese restaurant, and the tables have decent spacing, which I liked. The 2nd floor especially, where we sat, felt like each table was slightly partitioned off — more comfortable than I expected.

There are also fully separate private rooms, which looked great for family meals, gatherings, or bringing older relatives along.

The Samsin Garosu-gil menu: courses from ₩25,000

Samsin is a fusion Chinese restaurant that blends Korean, Chinese, and Japanese elements, so the menu is a bit different from a typical Chinese restaurant.

From Tokyo tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) to mustard leaf kimchi mandu-fried buns, so many of the names alone made me curious. Courses start at ₩25,000, which is decent value! I took photos of all the menus below for reference.

There's a dessert menu too, which was a nice bonus. Plenty of drink options as well.

What's in Samsin Lunch Course A for two

There were two of us, so we ordered

Samsin Lunch Course A for two

• Sokcho crab soup
• Handmade xiaolongbao, 2pcs
• Tokyo tangsuyuk
• Taean potato jajangmyeon or meat jjamppong
• Dessert

That's the course composition we ordered, and for the noodle dish we each picked one — one jajangmyeon, one jjamppong, so we could try both. On top of that, we also added the mustard leaf kimchi mandu-fried shrimp buns we'd been curious about!

Tasting the course in order: the xiaolongbao wins

First up was the crab soup. Starting the course with a warm soup was nice — smooth and savory, perfect for waking up the appetite. It felt like a gentle way to warm up and settle in before the meal 🤍

Handmade xiaolongbao. And seriously, if you go here, you have to order these TTT I'd seen reviews saying Samsin's dim sum was great, and going in expecting a lot, the xiaolongbao ended up being genuinely one of my favorite dishes of everything we ate.

Packed with broth inside — one bite and the juices come pouring out, and it's just so good TT If I come back, I'm 100% adding an extra order of dim sum.

Tokyo tangsuyuk, served with butter

Next was one of Samsin's signature dishes, the Tokyo tangsuyuk. Unusually, it comes pre-sauced (not on the side). The sauce melts together with butter, giving it a different flavor from typical Chinese-style tangsuyuk. The butter adds a nutty richness that I actually really enjoyed.

Adding mustard leaf kimchi shrimp toast: four pieces felt heavy

It felt like a waste to stick to just the course, so we added the mustard leaf kimchi mandu-fried shrimp buns too. The name alone had me curious from the start. It genuinely tasted good — crispy bread with shrimp inside, the kind of dish you'll love if you're into these fried buns!

But... four pieces was a bit much haha. With the tangsuyuk before it and the course itself keeping dishes coming steadily, adding the buns on top meant things got a little heavy toward the end ㅠㅠ If I go again, I'll add xiaolongbao instead. One piece of the buns would've been plenty!

The noodle course: Taean potato jajangmyeon and pork jjamppong

For the main in Course A, you can choose either Taean potato jajangmyeon or meat jjamppong. Since there were two of us, we ordered one of each so we could try both haha. Both were solidly good. If two of you are going, I'd recommend ordering one of each like we did and sharing!

The one letdown: how fast the dishes arrived

Lastly, dessert ~ The food and the space were both satisfying, but one thing that could've been better was the pacing. Dishes came out faster than expected ㅠㅠ We'd still be eating the previous course when the next arrived, so it felt a bit rushed haha. If they're pushing the course along, a little more time between dishes would've made it even better.

When Samsin Garosu-gil is worth a visit

That was my weekend lunch at Samsin Garosu-gil. The seating felt somewhat separated, which was comfortable, and it worked well as a date spot or gathering place in Garosu-gil. Best of all, Course A came with dessert included, which I liked as a package. If you're looking for a reasonably priced Chinese course near Sinsa Station or Garosu-gil, it's worth a visit — especially if you love dim sum!