Jooo's

The exterior of this small establishment is one you might expect to find in an alley somewhere in Hongkong. The owner and chef started this restaurant after gaining years of experience at Crystal Jade franchises in Singapore and Korea. The humble menu lists dimsum and noodles. Although the scale of the restaurant is small, consisting of a kitchen and four to five small tables, the quality of the food can compete with any big-name hotel. The number-one must-try item on the menu is, of course, the xiao long bao, those delicate soup-filled dumplings bursting with flavor. Jooo's is special for a couple of reasons: firstly, its shockingly low prices (difficult to find in the Sinsa area), and secondly, their flavors are unlike any we've had yet in Seoul. Want to see what we mean? Place a xiaolongbao is placed on your spoon and gently tear the skin to let the soup pool out to drink, then scarf it all down with a bit of shredded ginger. The shumai, with a skin made of seaweed instead of flour, is made with shrimp. The airy broth of the clear wonton noodle soup is a good match with dimsum. A spicier option is the spicy wonton with beef noodle soup.