5-course lunch, ₩25,000 at Samsin Garosu-gil, a Gangnam Chinese

3-line summary

• Looking for a Chinese course meal on Garosu-gil? Samsin's Lunch Course A at ₩25,000 is great value
• Five stages: crab soup → xiaolongbao → Tokyo tangsuyuk → choice of jajangmyeon/jjamppong → dessert
• Mint-colored booths and green marble tables,, photos come out really well

Lately picking a lunch spot has gotten harder and harder for me. Too casual and it feels boring, but go for a course meal and it's easily over ₩50,000 per person ㅠㅠ Then I found out about Samsin, a new Chinese restaurant near Sinsa Station. Their lunch course was ₩25,000, so I went in half-doubting it. Bottom line up front,, it was way more solid than I expected,,

What kind of place is Samsin?

Samsin (三神, "Three Gods") bills itself as a Korean-Chinese-Japanese fusion restaurant. Even the napkins say CHINESE-JAPANESE.

It's located on Gangnam-daero 156-gil, in the alley off Garosu-gil. It took a bit over 5 minutes walking from Sinsa Station, and the restaurant uses the whole 2nd and 3rd floors. The moment I walked in I was surprised by the interior,,

Mint-colored leather booths, deep green marble round tables, even gold spoons and napkin holders. Oriental painting frames mixed with lattice-screen partitions keep it from feeling dated — very much a current-mood vibe. Not many Chinese course-meal spots on Garosu-gil have this level of atmosphere, so this place would work fine for business meetings, meeting-the-parents dinners, or bringing your own parents along.

What's in the Samsin Course A (₩25,000 per person)

The menu lists it as LIMITED LUNCH COURSE [A], officially named Samsin Course A, The Three Gods Lunch Course A.

• Sokcho snow crab soup
• Handmade dim sum sampler, 2pcs (xiaolongbao)
• Tokyo tangsuyuk ('a tangsuyuk version of Tokyo steak')
• Noodle, choose one: Taean potato jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) / meat jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup)
• Dessert

₩25,000 per person, and it covers everything from soup to dessert. For two people that's ₩50,000 total,, at this price for this lineup, I was satisfied haha

Working through the course, step by step

Sokcho snow crab soup

The first plate was the Sokcho snow crab soup. Crab meat shredded along its natural grain floats in a clear starch broth, finished with a light dusting of pepper. Not too heavily seasoned, so it was a great starter. My body slowly warmed up,,

Xiaolongbao, 2pcs

Next was the xiaolongbao. They come in a bamboo steamer, and the wrapper is thin so you have to be careful lifting them with chopsticks. Bite in and the broth bursts out,, dipping them in ginger-shred soy sauce cut through the richness perfectly.

Side dishes came as pickled radish, soy sauce, and 3 types of onion salad.

Signature Tokyo tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork)

Then the signature Tokyo tangsuyuk. The highlight is that it comes in a cast-iron bowl, not a plate. Shrimp and fried pieces are mixed in, topped with wood ear mushroom, pineapple, cucumber, and carrot. It's the sauce-poured-over style, but the batter stayed crispy longer than I expected. The tanginess wasn't strong, more subtle, so it's a flavor few people would dislike.

Taean potato jajangmyeon vs. meat jjamppong

The last noodle course is one per person. We ordered one Taean potato jajangmyeon and one meat jjamppong. The jajangmyeon is ganjajang-style, with really big chunks of potato. The sauce comes separately for mixing, and the potato was so fluffy it made for a fun texture. The jjamppong's broth was a deep red color but wasn't as spicy as it looked. It's generously loaded with meat, and the bok choy, zucchini, and onion were cooked down soft, bringing out a natural sweetness.

Dessert came as an orange-hued fruit dish in a small ceramic bowl. They even gave us a flower-shaped spoon, a nice finishing touch.

There's also a baijiu 6-shot sampler

On a separate menu on the table, there was a High-end BEST baijiu 6-shot sampler. It's a lineup of six: Moutai Gold, Shui Jing Fang, Yanghe Daqu Gold, Kong Fu Jia Jiu Ziyue Mint, Haejiram, and Yantai Black. Regular price was ₩139,000, listed with a pairing special of ₩85,000. I skipped it since it was lunch, but if I came for a dinner gathering, this would probably become the main event lol Definitely recommended for evening visits!! haha

Who this is for

• Anyone looking for a Chinese course meal on Garosu-gil under ₩30,000
• Anyone who wants both good food and good atmosphere among Sinsa Station Chinese restaurants
• Anyone bringing their parents or wanting a quiet meal for conversation
• Anyone who wants to try dim sum, tangsuyuk, and noodles all in one sitting

I went in looking for a lunch course in the ₩20,000s, and both the atmosphere and the lineup exceeded expectations, so next time I want to come back for dinner and try the baijiu too haha If you're weighing your options for a Chinese course meal on Garosu-gil, I'd highly recommend this place haha