Gangnam Chinese restaurant handmade shrimp har gow: Samsin Garosu-gil

While looking for a good restaurant near Sinsa Station, I visited Samsin Garosu-gil. I went for dinner that day and made a reservation in advance. Maybe because it was dinnertime, quite a few other guests had reservations too.

From the moment I walked in, it felt a little different from a typical Chinese restaurant. It had an overall antique, rather upscale atmosphere, which made it lovely for a meal. It looked like many people were having course meals, but we picked the dishes we wanted that day and ordered them à la carte.

From Sokcho snow crab soup to truffle crystal dumplings, wedding siu mai, and handmade shrimp har gow! We even tried a scorched-rice gelato sandwich for dessert at the end, haha. I thought this might be useful for anyone looking for an atmospheric Chinese restaurant near Sinsa Station, so here comes the review~~

Dinner reservations and atmosphere at Samsin Garosu-gil near Sinsa Station

Samsin Garosu-gil is not far from Sinsa Station. We visited in the evening and made a reservation beforehand.

There were more guests arriving with reservations than I expected, so if you are planning to visit, booking ahead might be a good idea. (I reserved mine too!!)

First of all, the exterior has such a presence. Ooh... it almost feels like you can sense the touch of a dim sum master?!?

Once you step inside, the atmosphere is definitely different from an ordinary neighborhood Chinese restaurant. It has an overall antique feel and that distinctive Chinese-restaurant mood, while still being neatly kept.

The lighting made the atmosphere especially nice in the evening. It would be great for a meal with friends, a family dinner, or when you are looking for somewhere with a little more ambience.

Even the restroom was upscale and nice. Personally, I absolutely love a clean restroom, so I was very satisfied!! Above all, it was luxurious, antique, and had such a great atmosphere that I secretly bookmarked it as a place for a family-meeting dinner or a meal with my parents, lol.

Ordering dim sum à la carte instead of a course

Samsin Garosu-gil also has course meals in the ₩20,000 range, so it offers a really good option for people who want to try a variety of dishes. They served these side dishes and pre-meal bread as the basics! The flavors were approachable yet distinctive, which I liked :)

But it was one of those days when I wanted dim sum so, so badly, so instead of ordering a course, we chose the dishes we wanted and ordered them individually.

We ordered Sokcho snow crab soup, truffle crystal dumplings, wedding siu mai, handmade shrimp har gow, and a scorched-rice gelato sandwich for dessert!

There were so many kinds of dim sum that I wondered what to choose, but I focused on dishes I had been curious about, haha. On a day when a course meal feels like too much, I think it is nice to order only the dishes you want à la carte like this.

What was the Sokcho snow crab soup like?

The first dish to arrive was the Sokcho snow crab soup. It is a warm soup with snow crab meat in it, and it was smooth and easy to eat by the spoonful.

The soup itself was thick yet smooth, with bits of snow crab meat throughout, so it was easy to enjoy lightly. When I think of soup at a Chinese restaurant, I picture a small serving as part of a course meal, so having it à la carte like this felt different.

It was especially a great gentle start before eating stronger-flavored food. I tend to like these mild soup dishes, so I enjoyed it very much, haha.

The subtle mushroom aroma of the truffle crystal dumplings

Next were the truffle crystal dumplings that I had been curious about! The name itself sounds a little special, right? Lol. And true to the name, they really had a rich mushroom aroma!! I love different kinds of dim sum, so I picked one again this time. The translucent, chewy wrapper distinctive to crystal dumplings caught my eye first.

Eating the filling together with the wrapper gave it a nice texture, and the truffle aroma came through gently too. When truffle is too strong, an entire dish can taste only of truffle, but this was not as overwhelming as I expected, so it was easy to enjoy. If you love dim sum, I think it would be nice to try it at least once :)

Wedding siu mai shaped like lucky pouches

We also ordered the wedding siu mai, which looked so pretty. Its shape was a little special, just like its name, so it was great for photos too, haha. Shaped like lucky pouches, they definitely felt different from ordinary siu mai.

After one bite, the wrapper was chewy, and the filling seemed to contain meat, shrimp, and several other ingredients. Eating it with the topping brought even more textures, and it was fun to pick them up one by one. Dim sum really is best while it is warm! We ate them one at a time as soon as they arrived, haha.

The handmade shrimp har gow I remember most

And among all the dim sum I had that day, my favorite was the handmade shrimp har gow. Shrimp was tucked inside the translucent, chewy wrapper, and it looked delicious too.

When I took a bite, I loved the springy texture of the shrimp. The wrapper was not too thick, and the savory flavor of the shrimp came through clearly, making it clean and easy to eat.

Of all the dim sum I ate that day, the handmade shrimp har gow stayed with me the most :) If you like dim sum, I think it would be a good idea to order at least one har gow.

More than anything, the handmade dim sum and the crab soup—something I had only been able to have in small portions as part of a course at upscale Chinese restaurants—were seriously so delicious!! If it is handmade, how could it not be good!!! I will wrap up this super-satisfied review here!!