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3 best Seoul dim sum restaurants
Stop complaining about there being no good dim sum in Seoul. This trio more than satisfies your Canto cravings
For the Seoul dim sum experience, it's all about xiao long bao. Don't believe the whiners. Good pork buns and shrimp dumplings can be found right here in Seoul.
When you need a Cantonese fix, these Seoul dim sum places are worth knowing about.
The solemn atmosphere of Crystal Jade Palace may come as a surprise for those used to the bustle of authentic Chinese dim sum places.
Crystal Jade
A blizzard of Crystal Jades have sprouted across Asia over the last several years, luring pork dumpling- and shrimp ball-jonesing masses from Beijing to Manila to Kuala Lumpur.
Now, the Shanghai-launched chain is steaming up Seoul, offering renditions of its stock Cantonese-Shanghainese menu at multiple locations throughout the city.
In Gangnam’s Grand InterContinental Hotel, the Crystal Jade Palace Restaurant is the flagship and priciest of the bunch. It features Peking duck and other upscale Chinese faves along with a sideshow of dim sum standards (deep-fried squid with spicy salt) and also-rans (cold marinated black fungus).
A quicker, cheaper, noisier branch, Crystal Jade Shanghai Delight, is located on the fifth floor of the Hyundai Department Store in Apgujeong. Loosely modeled after the franchise’s Hong Kong-based Shanghai Delight branch (which recently snagged a Michelin BIB Gourmand award), this simpler spot is all about doing a few things reliably well.
Runaway favorites include tongue-scalding baskets of xiao long bao (steamed soupy pork dumplings) and intensely flavorful noodle soup with dried shrimp and spicy peanut sauce.
Another street-friendly Crystal Jade location is in Myeong-dong, catering to the same semi-discriminating, wallet-conscious Chinese comfort food fans.
1/F Grand InterContinental Seoul, 159-8 Samsung-dong, Kangnam-gu (강남구 삼성동 129-8, 그랜드인터콘티넨탈 호텔 1층); tel. +82 2 3288 8101
One of CJ Group's pet projects, Mong Jung Heon is a great place for a family occasion.
Mong Jung Heon
The row of trendy international boutiques and upscale French and Italian restaurants in this Westernized corner of Apgujeong makes Mong Jung Heon stick out like a jade dealer on the Left Bank.
But if you like dim sum, and are willing to shell out a little extra for the real deal, this chic little Cantonese shop is a welcome anomaly.
What’s good here? Basically everything, including the most enchanting setting one can expect from a place serving barbecued pork buns. The décor and design nice, too -- reproduction Qing furniture and understated lighting in birdcage-style fixtures; a water wall, set of upstairs private rooms and staff of attentive servers whisking around in slit-skirted silks.
The restaurant’s staple deep-fried shrimp dumplings have been called “crispy parcels of prawn heaven.” The brittle-but-soft, deep-fried shrimp, pork and vegetable rolls wrapped in tofu skins were recently hailed as “paradoxically pleasing.” The pork-seafood-mushroom shaomai is a worthy fixture.
Bring cash and don’t skimp on the barbecued pork bun, which is almost sweet enough to pass for dessert and is probably -- dare it be said -- the best of its kind in these parts.
100-6 Cheongdam-dong Gangnam-gu (강남구 청담동 100-6); tel.+82 2 3446 7886
Inexpensive prices and fun Chinese decor have also made Din Tai Fung a popular dinner destination for young Seoulites.
Din Tai Fung
It was only a matter of time before Asia’s favorite dumpling chain landed in South Korea and started breeding like juicy pork-filled rabbits.
There are now four Din Tai Fung locations in the city, all sleeker than many of their forebears in neighboring countries, but serving the same comforting purpose: bringing dim sum’s greatest hits to a wider, time-crunched public the way Starbucks brought double-vanilla lattes to the universe.
Seoul’s original Din Tai Fung in Myeong-dong remains the busiest branch of the bunch. Housed in a pseudo-Sino-dining room accented with red screens, silk lampshades, black and white photos and gleaming dark floors, it’s on the ground level across from Shinsegae Department Store.
Here, poker-faced dumpling masters roll meat and dough in the open kitchen. Never mind all the soup, noodle and rice fillers. Pork dumplings are king here. Hybrids laced with kimchi, crab or shrimp hit the spot, too. Clearly, this is a dim sum joint seeking world domination.
104 Myeong-dong 2-ga, Jung-gu (중구 명동2가 104); tel. +82 2 771 2778
