Sinsa Chinese restaurant, four à la carte dishes for two: Samsin

Today I want to introduce a slightly special Chinese restaurant I found near Sinsa Station on the Garosu-gil side. Usually when I think of Chinese food, familiar dishes like jajangmyeon, jjamppong and tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) come to mind, but the moment I walked in here, the vibe was already different. This is Samsin Garosu-gil.

It's a fusion Chinese restaurant that reworks elements of Korean, Chinese and Japanese cuisine in Samsin's own way, so it was fun going through the menu item by item. Beyond the food, I found the interior really impressive too.

What Samsin Garosu-gil looks like: green interior and private rooms

Samsin Garosu-gil combines green tones with upscale materials, so it feels less like a typical Chinese restaurant and more like a polished, atmospheric restaurant! I thought it would work great for dates or blind dates, and also for taking your parents out to eat~~

When eating with parents, food quality matters but so does finding a place that isn't too loud or chaotic — somewhere with a proper atmosphere. My mom was really happy with this place too~~

Samsin has private rooms as well as hall seating, so it seems well suited to family gatherings, meals with parents, or birthdays and anniversaries. If you're in Garosu-gil looking for something a bit different from ordinary Chinese food, or want a Garosu-gil Chinese course meal that also delivers on atmosphere, this is worth a visit :)

Samsin Garosu-gil

How to get to Samsin Garosu-gil from Sinsa Station, plus 5,000 won valet parking

Here's the info on Samsin Garosu-gil!

• 📍 46 Gangnam-daero156-gil, 2nd & 3rd floors, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
• 🚇 About a 3-minute walk from Sinsa Station Exit 8 toward Garosu-gil
• ⏰ Sun–Thu 11:00 - 23:00 / Fri–Sat 11:00 - 24:00
• Break time 16:00 - 17:00
• 🚗 Parking available / valet available
• 💰 Valet ₩5,000

It's close to Sinsa Station so it's easy to reach by public transit, and if you drive, valet parking is available too. I was worried about parking but the valet option made things easy!! It costs ₩5,000~

There were a lot of guests so I couldn't take an overall shot of the interior ㅠㅠ but from the moment you step in, Samsin feels different from a typical Chinese restaurant. The inside is decorated mostly in green tones, so photos come out looking really pretty haha. A totally different feel from the usual red-and-gold Chinese restaurant look!

It's upscale without being too stiff, with a slightly exotic mood, so it was fun looking around the space while eating. Even the partitions between tables felt classy haha.

The four à la carte dishes two people ordered

What I ordered was

• ✔️ Handmade xiaolongbao ₩8,000
• ✔️ Truffle sujeonggyo ₩10,000
• ✔️ Tokyo tangsuyuk, small ₩20,000
• ✔️ Yuni gochu ganjajangmyeon ₩12,000

That's what we ordered. There were two of us, and the portions turned out to be bigger than expected, so even ordering the small tangsuyuk left us plenty full!! 🐷

Handmade xiaolongbao, 8,000 won for 3 pieces

The first dish to arrive was the handmade xiaolongbao! You get 3 pieces — a solid, classic option with minced meat and broth inside a thin wrapper. You have to be careful eating xiaolongbao, right? Take too big a bite too fast and the hot broth can burst out, so I nudged it open a little first to check the broth before eating.

The wrapper wasn't too thick, so it didn't feel chewy or heavy in the mouth, and the meat and broth inside blended together nicely and moist. They're not huge, so the 3 pieces disappear fast haha. If you like dim sum, it might be nice to order a few different kinds along with other dishes and share! We felt like we made a great dim sum call here!

Truffle sujeonggyo (crystal dumplings), 10,000 won

This is a dumpling with truffle and various mushrooms inside. Right when it arrives, the wrapper looks translucent and chewy, so the visual is already different from typical dim sum haha. Tasting it, the truffle aroma came through more strongly than I expected. The mushroom scent and truffle aroma rise together, giving it a more upscale flavor than a meat dumpling.

The wrapper felt much chewier than a normal dumpling wrapper — almost like it used a slightly starchy dough, with a fun bouncy texture. In short: chewy wrapper + mushroom umami + subtle truffle aroma!

🥟 I spotted a 'broth-filled jar xiaolongbao' on the menu that I couldn't try this time — a bit of a shame ㅠㅠ Definitely ordering it next time!!!

Tokyo tangsuyuk, small 20,000 won: the best dish of the day

And the dish I enjoyed the most that day! It's the Tokyo tangsuyuk. Small is ₩20,000, medium is ₩35,000. We ordered the small, and it was plenty for two. Listen to the sound in the video!! It comes out in such a hot dish that the tangsuyuk stayed warm the entire time we ate!! A must-order dish!

As soon as the tangsuyuk arrives, the look is already a bit different from ordinary tangsuyuk. And after one bite... oh? this is actually good haha.

Instead of a crisp, shattering batter, the texture is closer to chewy, glutinous-rice tangsuyuk. There's a slight elastic stretch when you bite into it, and the meat-to-batter ratio was on point too. What's fun here is a subtle butter aroma layered in.

This is clearly a different direction from the usual sweet-and-sour tangsuyuk flavor. The sweet-tart sauce is layered with rich, nutty butter aroma, making the flavor feel more full — but the butter isn't so strong it turns greasy, just leaves a subtle nutty aftertaste, which I loved ♥️♥️

If you prefer chewy glutinous-rice tangsuyuk over the crispy kind, this dish will really suit you! We ate it alongside other dishes, and just the small size was plenty for two.

Yuni gochu ganjajangmyeon, 12,000 won

The last thing we ordered was the yuni gochu ganjajangmyeon at ₩12,000. The name already hinted at a bit of spice, and it turned out even tastier than expected! It had more chili heat than a regular ganjajang, so the first bite has a slightly sharp kick. What I liked was that it wasn't just spicy and salty!

The rich, savory flavor of the black bean sauce still came through, while the chili heat supported it from behind, so it felt surprisingly clean to eat❣️ Especially after the tangsuyuk, eating this jajangmyeon felt like the spice was resetting my palate.

Why Samsin Garosu-gil is fusion Chinese: Korean, Chinese and Japanese on one menu

The most fun part of eating at Samsin Garosu-gil was definitely the menu composition. It's not just the usual Chinese dishes — from dim sum to tangsuyuk to jajangmyeon, each one has a slightly different twist, which made choosing fun. Especially with dishes like the uniquely aromatic truffle sujeonggyo or the butter-infused Tokyo tangsuyuk, I kept thinking 'oh, they went there with this combo?' — it felt fresh.

So it seems great to bring parents, and also fun to share several dishes with friends. They also run course menus, so if you want to taste a bit of everything, a Garosu-gil Chinese course meal is an option too!!

Overall, Samsin Garosu-gil felt like a Chinese restaurant where you can enjoy the space just as much as the food.