Gangnam fusion Chinese lunch course with crispy pork: Samsin Garosu-gil

While looking for somewhere to have lunch around Sinsa Station and Garosu-gil, I visited Samsin Garosu-gil, which had a lovely atmosphere and a pretty substantial course menu.

Samsin is closer to fusion Chinese dining than a typical Chinese restaurant, combining Korean, Chinese, and Japanese elements. They have a separate lunch course menu, so I ordered the most basic option that day: Samsin Course A.

Samsin Garosu-gil location and hours near Sinsa Station

• 2F, 3F, 46 Gangnam-daero 156-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• About a 3-minute walk from Exit 8 of Sinsa Station
• Mon–Thu, Sun 11:00–23:00 / Fri–Sat 11:00–24:00
• Break time 16:00–17:00
• Valet parking available / ₩5,000 for 2 hours

It is really close to Sinsa Station, so the location was great for a date or meeting up. Even if you drive, valet is available, and there is nearby public street parking too, so there are more parking options than you might expect for Garosu-gil.

A calm interior like a hotel Chinese restaurant

As soon as I entered Samsin Garosu-gil, the atmosphere felt distinctly different from an ordinary Chinese restaurant. From the gold-accented tableware to the muted interior, it had a calm, upscale feel—almost like a hotel Chinese restaurant!

There are several private rooms, so it looked suitable not only for dates but also family meals, pre-wedding meetings, work dinners, and group gatherings. High chairs are available too, so it seems like a good place to visit with children~!

Menu from dim sum to fusion dishes

Samsin Garosu-gil had quite a varied selection of à la carte dishes as well as courses. With fusion-style Korean, Chinese, and Japanese elements, the menu felt a little different from that of a typical Chinese restaurant!

There were many dim sum options too, from familiar choices like xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) and shrimp har gow to slightly more inventive dishes such as truffle crystal dumplings and kimchi xiaolongbao. Dim sum lovers would have fun choosing.

Among the dishes, mustard-leaf kimchi crispy menbosha (shrimp toast), Tokyo tangsuyuk, gochujang dongpo pork, spicy Wando abalone, and egg-white crab stood out. In particular, dishes that brought Korean ingredients such as mustard-leaf kimchi into Chinese cooking gave Samsin its own character.

Samsin Course A for ₩25,000

What I had was Limited Lunch Course A, Samsin Course A. Course A costs ₩25,000. There were also a variety of higher-tier courses, adding dishes such as chili shrimp, mapo chawanmushi, stone-pot eight-treasure vegetables, fish-fragrant shiitake mushrooms, gochujang dongpo pork, shark fin, and abalone.

The course comes in this order: Sokcho snow crab soup → 2-piece handmade dim sum sampler → Tokyo tangsuyuk → one noodle choice → dessert. Each person can choose either Taean potato jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) or meat jjamppong (spicy noodle soup). Since there were two of us, we ordered one jajangmyeon and one jjamppong!

Hollow fried bread before the meal

Before the course began, hollow fried bread arrived as the basic starter. It was rather fun that a Chinese restaurant served it like pre-meal bread.

It was thin, crisp, and slightly sweet, perfect for tearing off and nibbling on before the main food arrived.

Sokcho snow crab soup

The proper course began with Sokcho snow crab soup. It was warm and smooth, with softly set egg and crab meat, making it a nice first course. It had the signature silky texture of Chinese crab soup, and the seasoning was not too strong, so it felt like it gently warmed my stomach.

2-piece handmade dim sum sampler

Next came the 2-piece handmade dim sum sampler, which Samsin says it makes in-house. My course came with two xiaolongbao.

Samsin has quite a diverse dim sum selection, and the à la carte menu included not only xiaolongbao but also somewhat unusual options like har gow, truffle crystal dumplings, and kimchi xiaolongbao. The xiaolongbao wrappers were not too thick, and there was plenty of juice inside, so they were moist when eaten in one bite. There was no strong meat odor, and the wrapper was pleasantly chewy—I enjoyed them a lot.

The Tokyo tangsuyuk was the most memorable

Then came the Tokyo tangsuyuk (sweet-and-sour fried pork). Personally, this was the most memorable item in Samsin Course A.

It arrived on a piping-hot plate, and when the sauce was poured over it, it sizzled—fun to watch right in front of me!

They said there was butter in it, so the sauce was poured on to melt it! Dipping the sauce on the side would be a little sad ㅠ

The batter was thinner than I expected, but crisp outside, while the meat inside was thick enough to give a real chew. The sauce was not the kind that hits hard with sourness or sweetness like typical tangsuyuk; it was softer and more subtle, which I liked.

Even with the sauce poured over it, it stayed crisp surprisingly well to the end. If I had to recommend one thing at Samsin, I would pick the Tokyo tangsuyuk!

Taean potato jajangmyeon and meat jjamppong

I took a photo of them all together with the tangsuyuk!

Meat jjamppong

The meat jjamppong looked very rich from its red broth alone. Unlike regular seafood jjamppong, it had a substantial savory flavor from the meat, and the broth was spicy and deeply flavored.

By this late point in the course I was already quite full, but the broth was so tasty that I kept reaching for it.

Taean potato jajangmyeon

As its name suggests, the jajangmyeon is said to use potatoes from Taean.

The black bean sauce was rich without being overly sweet or heavy, and it paired well with the noodles.

Yuzu pudding for dessert

The end of the meal was dessert! I was already quite full after the mains, but once a sweet, refreshing dessert arrived, somehow there was room for more.

It was a wonderfully tangy yuzu pudding! Perfect for cleansing the palate. If you take part in the review event, they also give you a seasonal fruit sorbet.

A fusion Chinese course for Sinsa Station dates and gatherings

With its upscale interior and private rooms, I would recommend it for a Sinsa Station date, a meal with parents, a pre-wedding meeting, a family gathering, or a Garosu-gil work dinner.

The Tokyo tangsuyuk was especially memorable for me, and next time I would like to add dim sum and other dishes rather than having a course!! If you are looking for an atmospheric fusion Chinese course around Garosu-gil at a price that is not too burdensome, Samsin Course A seems well worth trying!