Sinsa Chinese couple dinner: East Coast jjamppong, Saero soju, Samsin

Chinese food is one of those cravings that pops up every so often. I usually eat it as delivery, so I never think too hard about quality — but this time I visited Samsin Garosu-gil, an upscale Chinese restaurant near Sinsa Station, and it reminded me what proper Chinese food at a real restaurant tastes like!

Where is Samsin Garosu-gil and is there parking?

Samsin Garosu-gil is a 6-minute walk from exit 8 of Sinsa Station, on the 2nd and 3rd floors of a building at 46 Gangnam-daero156-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Parking is ₩5,000 per 2 hours, and valet parking (₩5,000) is also available.

I was craving Chinese food again, so I went looking and found this Sinsa Station Chinese restaurant, Samsin Garosu-gil.

Walking a bit from exit 8 of Sinsa Station, you can spot it from a distance — a grand building with dragon patterns and a tiled roof. That's Samsin Garosu-gil.

Samsin Garosu-gil offers parking at ₩5,000 per 2 hours, plus valet — good to know if you're driving there!

For reference, the exterior is so grand you can spot it and go 'oh, there it is!' from far away, which made me assume it'd be pricey — but the prices turned out to be more reasonable than expected, so visit without worry 😉

What's the interior and room seating like at Samsin Garosu-gil?

Samsin Garosu-gil has a black-and-mint oriental interior with curtain-divided seating and spacious private rooms, making it well suited for group gatherings and family meetings. It occupies the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building, and a short flight of stairs leads up to the waiting area and entrance.

The interior looked flashy right from the entrance, and I let out an 'oh' of admiration —

but once inside, I was even more surprised by how clean and upscale the space actually was.

On the first floor (technically the 2nd floor of the building, haha), there's a hall area in the middle and curtain-separated seating in the back for more private dining — every seat looked neat and pleasant.

Going up to the second floor, the interior has a distinctive design that I found a bit intriguing to look around — the central hall seating also had some spatial separation, which would be very satisfying for anyone who cares about distance from other diners while eating.

In particular, the black-and-mint oriental decor made the space feel sophisticated yet mysterious in its own way — and seeing it in person, that mysterious feeling wasn't overdone at all; it really enhanced the sense of dining at an upscale Chinese restaurant.

Samsin Garosu-gil has private room spaces scattered throughout, which felt perfect for anyone looking for a Sinsa-dong or Garosu-gil private room restaurant. Every room was spacious and comfortable, making it a great choice for group gatherings too. On the Sunday evening I visited, a group of diners was eating on one side, and thanks to the spatial separation, neither the inside nor outside guests seemed inconvenienced at all.

There's a high chair on one side of the restaurant too, so it would also work well for a family gathering with kids, and the restrooms are separated by gender and kept spotlessly clean — a big plus 👍

Back at my seat, looking up at the ceiling, I was greeted by a massive golden dragon lolol. Again, something like this could easily come off tacky or overbearing, but Samsin Garosu-gil pulls it off without any of that — instead it radiates upscale Chinese restaurant energy, so you can tell a lot of thought went into the interior.

What's on the menu at Samsin Garosu-gil, and how much does it cost?

Samsin Garosu-gil is a fusion Chinese restaurant with course meals, appetizers, noodles, pot dishes, rice, and desserts. The typical noodle dishes run ₩10,000 to ₩15,000, which isn't bad given the atmosphere.

There was a wide range of dishes, from basic Chinese staples to Samsin's own distinctively fusion Chinese creations —

with courses, appetizers, noodles, pot dishes, rice, and desserts all covered — enough variety to satisfy pretty much any taste, I'd say.

Since they also offer course menus, this seems like a great option if you're looking for a private room restaurant near Sinsa Station Garosu-gil for a family meeting! And since the noodle dish prices aren't too heavy for such an upscale atmosphere, Samsin Garosu-gil also works great as a spot to just drop in for good jjajangmyeon or jjamppong.

True to a Chinese restaurant, they also carry a variety of gaoliang liquor, along with the usual beer and soju — great for a drink or two as well!

The basic table setting and tableware at Samsin Garosu-gil

The basic side dishes at Samsin Garosu-gil are danmuji (pickled radish), soy sauce, and kimchi, but what really caught my eye was the flashy, upscale tableware.

You could tell the owner put a lot of thought into every detail, down to the individual plates and utensil sets.

I later learned the brand is a collaboration between a Michelin-restaurant-trained Korean chef, a Chinese master chef with 30 years of experience, and the izakaya Jang-an — and it seems all that combined know-how and craftsmanship is what created this upscale Chinese restaurant.

The rest of the basic side dishes were nothing unusual, but the kimchi was a bit distinctive — almost like stir-fried or specially seasoned kimchi!

The 3 dishes we ordered for our couple's dinner

The dishes we ordered at Samsin Garosu-gil that day were the small Tokyo tangsuyuk (₩20,000), East Coast seafood jjamppong (₩13,000), and Taean loess potato jajangmyeon (₩10,000). We paired it all with soju Saero.

We're always the type of couple who never skips a drink at dinner, using the excuse of eating a bit late 🐷 But with a shred of remaining conscience, we always go for Saero. Lolololololololol.

Small Tokyo tangsuyuk ₩20,000 — what does the butter tangsuyuk taste like?

Samsin Garosu-gil's Tokyo tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) is a fusion take on traditional tangsuyuk, topped with a bit of butter as an homage to Tokyo-style steak — a spoonful of Japanese trend added to classic Chinese sweet-and-sour pork. It arrives in a heated stone pot, and a staff member pours the sauce at the table, where it sizzles and melts the butter into the tangsuyuk sauce.

Tossing the crispy tangsuyuk in the butter-melted sauce gives you a taste that's a real twist on the tangsuyuk you know — Samsin Garosu-gil's signature Tokyo tangsuyuk!

The butter melted into the familiar tangsuyuk sauce felt like it shouldn't work, yet it somehow did — a genuinely unique dish you can only find at Samsin Garosu-gil. Even setting the sauce aside, the tangsuyuk itself uses thick cuts of meat with great texture, making it a fundamentally delicious tangsuyuk — a new-concept dish worth trying at least once!

Now that I've reviewed the appetizer, time for the main noodle dishes! When the jjamppong and jjajang arrived, I was surprised by how generous the portions were.

East Coast seafood jjamppong ₩13,000 — how's the broth?

Samsin Garosu-gil's East Coast seafood jjamppong is made with a jjamppong broth simmered using Samsin's own traditional method, loaded with East Coast seafood for a refreshing, spicy kick. It's a faithful, solid rendition, and with so much seafood packed in generously, it felt like great value for the price.

After eating too much rich Chuseok food over the holidays, this cleared my stomach right up. It wasn't as intensely spicy as I expected, the flavor was clean, and the seasoning was just right. Since it's a refreshing broth, this became an instant favorite of mine — worth a visit if you're looking for a solid jjamppong spot.

Taean loess potato jajangmyeon ₩10,000

Samsin Garosu-gil's Taean loess potato jajangmyeon is described as the classic old-school jajang flavor, packed with the fragrance of fluffy Taean potatoes grown facing the sea breeze.

This is Samsin Garosu-gil's most basic jajang dish — it didn't seem to have any meat, but the flavor was still full, and the big chunks of fluffy, well-cooked potato scattered throughout were one of the highlights. The jajang sauce was so good I ended up scooping it up with a spoon, haha 😋 Still, if I had to pick one between the two noodle dishes, I'd personally vote for the jjamppong..!

Review-event dessert: mango coconut sorbet

If you take part in the review event at Samsin Garosu-gil, you get the mango coconut sorbet dessert. It's a cool sorbet where mango and coconut flavors blend nicely — since Chinese food can leave your stomach feeling a bit heavy, this cleans up the palate nicely. If you visit Samsin Garosu-gil, definitely join the review event and try the dessert! 👍

Is Samsin Garosu-gil good for family meetings or group gatherings?

Both the basic noodle dishes and the signature tangsuyuk at Samsin Garosu-gil were delicious, and thanks to the distinctive, upscale atmosphere and private rooms, I'd recommend it for family meetings, business meetings, or group gatherings. The staff were also extremely kind.

Since Chinese food is usually something we order for delivery at home, I don't actually visit proper Chinese restaurants that often — but I came away very satisfied with both the food and the atmosphere at this Sinsa Station spot, Samsin Garosu-gil. With both the basic noodle dishes and the signature tangsuyuk this good, I could tell the rest of the menu would be great too. Above all, the distinctive, upscale atmosphere makes it a place I'd recommend to anyone looking for a private room restaurant near Sinsa Station or Garosu-gil. The staff clearly took pride in their work and aimed to give the best service, so if you're visiting for something important, I think you'd walk away with no regrets — worth considering :)