Hao'sum Yeongdeungpo Times SquareSoup Dumplings, Black Har Gow, Garlic Water Spinach and a Black Tea Beer on the Side

At a Chinese restaurant, I always have to think

Whenever I sit down in a Chinese restaurant I agonise over the order. Dim sum is a given, but among that many dishes, which one should be the dish that anchors today's meal? I spend a good while on it.

That day I settled on soup dumplings, black har gow and stir-fried water spinach, and I also ordered a Hong Kong-style clay-pot rice with pork and mapo tofu, though I have no photo of it. With it I had a black tea beer, two bottles. I went in meaning to eat lightly, and once again I left full.

What it looks like

The table seen from above: in the bamboo steamer on the left, three pale dumplings with gathered pleats sit on paper lining; in the steamer on the right are three glossy black dumplings. On the long plate in the middle is the water spinach, with a heap of golden garlic pieces that look crisp-fried on top of the stems and leaves, and a few red chili pieces mixed in. A black dish at the top holds pink pickled vegetables, and at the lower left a small white dish holds a brown sauce, with another dish of red seasoning partly visible beside it.

In the beer photo, two brown bottles stand side by side with the water spinach and the pink pickles in front of them. Behind them you can see a railing, warm lights and diners at other tables, all blurred. A green menu card at the right edge carries a "NEW MENU" mark and lists the crispy râpée chicken in Korean and English side by side, with the price shown as 27,900 won.

The black tea beer, Hao'sum Beer

On the label, inside an oval border, are the words "HAO'SUM BEER", the Chinese characters 好心食館 and, below them, "BLACK TEA". It is an IPA, the ingredients are printed as "BLACK TEA · TANGERINE · BEER", and the Korean text reads 호우섬 비어, 5.3% ALC, 330ml. The side of one bottle also carries the words "HAO'SUM × GORILLA". I ordered it as a drink to have between the dumplings and the stir-fry, and it was better than I expected.

Menu words

• Dim sum (點心) are bite-sized Cantonese dishes served in bamboo steamers
• Soup dumplings (小籠包, xiao long bao) are steamed dumplings with meat and broth sealed inside a thin wrapper. The broth runs out when you bite, so it is safer to eat them from a spoon
• Har gow (蝦餃) is a Cantonese dim sum made with shrimp. The one I ordered had a black wrapper, listed as "black"
• Water spinach (空心菜) is a vegetable named for its hollow stems, and Chinese restaurants often stir-fry it with garlic
• Clay-pot rice (煲仔飯, bou zai faan) is a Hong Kong-style rice dish cooked in a small pot
• Hao'sum (好心, Cantonese hou sam) is a phrase meaning "a kind heart" or "good will"

Before you go

• Location: B1, Times Square, 15 Yeongjung-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Times Square is linked to Yeongdeungpo Station (Line 1) by an underground passage, so it is an easy walk
• Hours: 11:00 – 21:30, phone 0507-1440-7801 (as of Oct 2026)
• Prices: soup dumplings 7,500 won, black har gow (3 pieces) 9,500 won, the pork and mapo tofu clay-pot rice 17,000 won and a bottle of Hao'sum Beer 7,500 won. Leaving out the water spinach, what I ordered that day (with two beers) came to 49,000 won. The crispy râpée chicken on the menu card in my photo is 27,900 won (as of Oct 2026)
• Quantity: even if you plan a light meal, adding a stir-fry and a clay-pot rice to the dim sum quickly makes a full spread

For foreign visitors

• The menu is written in Korean and English side by side, with prices in won
• Dim sum comes in different piece counts per basket (the har gow comes as 3), so it suits ordering several kinds to share
• When you order, just saying the dish name works: "Sorongpo juseyo (소롱포 주세요)"
• The bottled beer (Hao'sum Beer) is 5.3% alcohol, 330ml

Nearby in Yeongdeungpo

• If you want Korean-style Chinese food around Yeongdeungpo Station: Songjukjang — sweat-inducing jjamppong and fried dumplings
• If you would rather have sashimi for dinner on the same Yeongjung-ro: Dorimhang Yeongdeungpo

Who it suits

• ✅ You want to order several kinds of dim sum and share them
• ✅ You want a meal and a drink in one go inside a shopping mall
• ✅ You want a filling meal of dim sum with a stir-fried vegetable and a clay-pot rice
• ⚠️ You only plan a very light bite — you may find yourself adding one more dish at a time