We'll be talking about gyoza, which everyone loves. When we say gyoza, we mean pan-fried gyoza. There are as many restaurants serving gyoza as there are stars in the sky in Tokyo, but there are surprisingly few restaurants that will make you exclaim, "Delicious!", even if they are specialized restaurants.

From among these, the "Tokyo Best 6" were carefully selected: "Kameido Gyoza Kinshicho Branch" in Kinshicho, "Koyuka" in Shakujii Park, "Asia Kappo Rengetsu" in Nogizaka, "Nagasaki Hanten" in Shibuya, "Ramen Taiyo" in Ekoda, and "Kairaku Main Branch" in Ikebukuro.

Chinese and Japanese styles are quite different.

In China, gyoza is generally boiled or steamed (a staple food at home), and pan-fried gyoza is leftovers that are pan-fried and eaten, so it is not a very common dish. Pan-fried gyoza has its roots in China, but it can be said to be a dish that has developed independently in Japan.

In that sense, it is similar to ramen. The Japanese attention to detail and ingenuity have led to the evolution of fried dumplings. First of all, eating fried dumplings with rice is probably something unique to Japanese food culture.

This time, our target is a restaurant that serves better pan-fried dumplings than boiled dumplings (although they also serve boiled dumplings).

The appearance of gyoza changes depending on whether the maker is Chinese (including Chinese who have naturalized in Japan) or Japanese. Broadly speaking, gyoza made by the former are an extension of boiled gyoza, being round and slightly larger with a thick skin. The filling is made of meat and vegetables, but it often feels mostly meat. There is almost no garlic. Gyoza made by Japanese people are crescent-shaped, small and have a thin skin, and the filling is made of vegetables and meat, but vegetables are often the main ingredient. The filling can vary widely, but garlic is often used.

Speaking of famous Chinese-style dumpling shops in Tokyo, Hatagaya's "Niihao" and Kokuryo's "Handmade Gyoza no Mise Yoshiharu" should be at the top of the list, but both are quite difficult to book, so we've left them out this time. Please give them a try.

Just to be clear, I ate at Iidabashi's Okei, Roppongi's China Restaurant, Ginza's Tenryu, Ebisu's Ebisu Yasubei, Komagome's Choutoku, and Akasaka's Minmin, but they did not make it into my top six picks.

Well, let's go.

Kameido Gyoza Kinshicho branch tastes just like chanko gyoza.
They cook them one after another so you can eat as many as you like.

This is a branch of the famous Kameido Gyoza Honten (established in 1953). There are also other branches in Oshima and Ryogoku. This is a completely Japanese-style gyoza restaurant.

The reason why they made it a branch is because the main store only sells gyoza, alcohol, and soft drinks. Still, there are long lines every day for their specialty gyoza. Kameido Gyoza Kinshicho store is also a popular restaurant, but what makes this one good is that in addition to the outstanding gyoza, they also serve white rice, fried rice, and a variety of ramen.

In any case, both the main store and the branches are surprisingly cheap. For example, five gyoza are 330 yen, and ten gyoza + rice are 10 yen.

What the heck? Price destruction at its finest.

I first went to the Kinshicho store over 20 years ago. The taste hasn't changed at all since then. Sometimes I think, "Ah, I want to eat Kameido gyoza." If I don't eat it for a while, I get hungry.

Well, the gyoza at this restaurant is called "chanko gyoza" among some fans. Men and women alike can easily eat two plates of 10 gyoza. Four or five plates is the norm.

The head chef at the grill works nonstop, but he does it very quickly. The gyoza are small, so they're done quickly. So, even though there's a constant stream of customers, you don't have to wait long. The gyoza are light, even though the filling is packed with cabbage, Chinese cabbage, chives, and meat. They're small, so you can eat them in one bite. That's another reason why they're so popular.

Only the bottom is crispy, but the boiled white skin is very soft. There isn't much meat juice. The cabbage is very crunchy when you bite into it. The meat is chunky, but it feels like vegetable dumplings. It even feels healthy. The restaurant spreads Japanese mustard on the small soy sauce dish, and you can add soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil to it before eating. The Japanese mustard goes really well with it.

By the way, it does not contain garlic. So, a girl from the neighborhood comes alone after the lunch rush and eats "10 gyoza and half a bowl of rice". She can eat it every day, I'm jealous.

There is actually a technique to the way they are cooked, and each gyoza is separated when cooked. This means that the soft skins do not stick together and tear when you pull them apart.

And the author likes the fried rice of this restaurant. It is the typical fried rice of a local Chinese restaurant. The only ingredients are egg, char siu, and spring onion. The flavor of the char siu is very strong. And it also uses artificial seasonings. Therefore, it is a pretty wild fried rice. It is great that it is quickly made in front of you and served quickly. It is a great downtown restaurant that will be loved forever by people of all ages and genders.

The flavored gyoza at "Komataka"
It's completely Chinese, but I like it the best.

I have already introduced this restaurant as my favorite local Chinese restaurant in Tokyo. However, if I am going to talk about gyoza, I have to mention it again.

◆Click here to read about the most popular local Chinese restaurant in Tokyo, "Komatsuka"

I don't want to tell you, but I want to! The most popular local Chinese restaurant in Tokyo, "Koyuka" - Premium Japan

It's a completely Chinese-style dumpling, and the skin and filling are of course handmade. Sometimes when there aren't many customers, the owner will be busily wrapping dumplings and shumai at a table. Segare will be doing his homework next to her, which is quite a pleasant sight.

Since it is made by the same Shanghainese chef, it is very similar to the dumplings at "China Restaurant", but "Hao Yu Xiang" is much tastier. The skin is thick and chewy, and the filling is already full of flavor. Therefore, there is no need to add soy sauce or chili oil.

When the Shanghainese mama serves it, she says, "It's already seasoned, so eat it as is." However, the inside of the skin is filled with hot meat juice, just like a Xiaolongbao. Therefore, the way to eat it is to bite a part of the skin with your teeth to make a hole, and then start by slurping up the meat juice.
If you bite into it without doing that, the juices will spurt out. My senior student spurted them all over his tie as soon as I said, "It's going to spurt out." That's why I warned him.

The meat juice is also full of meat and vegetable extracts. The chewy skin and the savory filling are perfect. Hmm, after all, this might be my favorite in Tokyo. I guess eating them without soy sauce or chili oil is in keeping with the Chinese gyoza tradition. It's true, when the skin is so good, you don't need rice.

I have taken dozens of people to this restaurant, and no one has ever not moaned that the gyoza was delicious. However, the menu of this restaurant is very rich, and everything is delicious, so it is best to limit yourself to two gyoza and come with a few people to share other dishes. In fact, if you don't eat like that, you're missing out on life.

That of "Asia Kappo Rentsuki"
It's something that has been number one in the world.

Apparently, these dumplings won the World Chinese Cuisine Championships held every year in Singapore in 2012. Although the chef is Japanese, the dumplings are a hybrid of Japanese and Chinese styles.

I went in as soon as the restaurant opened in the evening, but apparently it's fully booked every day after 14pm. Apparently it's been super crowded ever since Chisako Takashima appeared on her TV show ("Zawatsuku! Friday"). It's a small restaurant with XNUMX seats in total, both at the counter and at tables. When I ordered a drink, I was served a spicy pickled mustard greens appetizer. It was stir-fried with chili oil. I ate that while waiting for the boiled and pan-fried dumplings.

The first thing that came out was boiled dumplings. The skin was chewy, of course, but what was unusual was that the filling was made with lamb. According to the owner, when he was training, he had eaten some delicious boiled lamb dumplings in Shenyang, near the border with North Korea, and he wanted to recreate them in Japan.

A small amount of coriander is used to remove the odor, but it has no odor and is rather refreshing and can be enjoyed by anyone. It's delicious. The skin itself is generally delicious. You can easily eat a serving of six of them. It's good to dip them in the black vinegar sauce.

Now it's time for the gyoza, cooked in a small Teflon frying pan. They're nicely browned, with thick, chewy skin and just a few feathers. The ones I was given are a little charred, but they usually turn out more caramel-colored (even if I make 10,000 of them, I want them to turn out the same). That said, I don't mind the burnt bits.

The filling is made of cabbage, Chinese cabbage, Chinese chives and pork, but the meat dominates. It is left to rest for a day before wrapping, so the filling itself has a delicious flavor. The sweetness comes only from the vegetables. It feels like eating a moist and soft meatball. The impression of meat remains strong.

I guess this is what it means to be a "world champion". It's not so good that I'd shout, "Wow, the best in the world!" (lol), but it's pretty good. However, at 990 yen for six pieces, it's the most expensive of the ones I'm introducing this time. I think I prefer boiled dumplings. This restaurant calls itself a kappo restaurant, but there are only six dishes on the menu. There is no white rice.

I was curious about the eggplant dish "Jiang Bao Chez" so I tried it. It was a spicy dish of soft eggplant, pork, shimeji mushrooms and green onions seasoned with black bean paste and spicy sauce and stir-fried, and it was not bad. I would have liked to eat this dish with rice. It may be close to the local taste, but the eggplant makes the outline a bit blurry, so it might be better to add some pepper to make it more pronounced.

The wife cuts the ingredients and the husband cooks. It's a small, cozy restaurant. The husband is quite talkative, and I heard him talking with the regulars. He told me that in addition to Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, they have branches in Shinbashi and in front of Fukushima Station. The Shinbashi branch is apparently quite crowded, but according to the regulars, "the food is better at the main store here" (laughs).

In Japanese terms, this is the best!
Don't underestimate the gyoza at Nagasaki Hanten

It is located just a few steps from Shibuya Station towards Dogenzaka. It is about a 2-minute walk from the station, so it is nice that it is close by. As the name "Nagasaki Restaurant" suggests, "champon" and "sara udon" are its specialties. I prefer sara udon, but both are delicious.

And most of the dishes here, such as Twice Cooked Pork, Mapo Tofu, and Moo Si Lo, are very good. In fact, you could even say that they are among the best Chinese restaurants in the area. That's why I featured this restaurant in my local Chinese restaurant article. Because it's such a Chinese restaurant, the last time I came here, I casually ordered some gyoza as an added bonus.

It's a perfect Japanese-style gyoza. The gyoza itself is on the smaller side. It's crispy and has lots of wings that stick together. The crispy amber color is a nice color.

I was really surprised when I bit into this. It was insanely delicious. To break down what makes it so delicious, first of all, there's the caramel-brown skin. It's very fragrant. The filling has more vegetables than meat, so it feels like a vegetable dumpling, but the balance of the ingredients is excellent. The filling itself has a deep flavor.

The best skin and the best filling combine to create a mouth-watering paradise. This should be called a masterpiece of Japanese gyoza (I can say that much!).

I've never seen this shop's gyoza featured, but maybe I'm being misled by the "champon" and "sara udon" dishes. It's authentic Japanese gyoza, and I think it's better than "Okei." Don't miss it.

The gyoza at "Ramen Taiyo" includes:
It's full of politeness and sincerity

This is an amazing restaurant that is open from 11:XNUMX am to XNUMX:XNUMX am. There are many small restaurants in Ekoda, Nerima Ward, because it is home to Nihon University College of Art and Musashino Academia Musicae. There are also many ramen restaurants in the town, but this restaurant is known for its Niboshi ramen. There is a constant stream of customers, and everyone is ordering ramen. However, you should not miss out on the fried dumplings. They are the other main attraction of the restaurant, along with the ramen.

While considering fried rice, the writer decided to order the seasoned egg ramen and mini gyoza (5 pieces).

The ramen came out quickly, with a hint of dried sardines. The soup was very simple and timeless. I wish the medium-thick noodles had been drained a little more thoroughly. The char siu and bamboo shoots both had a mild flavor. It wasn't as edgy as cutting-edge ramen, but it had the comfort of a mother's cooking (though there are many different types).

Soon the gyoza arrived. It was a Japanese style gyoza that I would like to emulate. This shop has mini gyoza and jumbo gyoza. I don't like jumbo gyoza because it's hard to eat, so I chose the mini. Even though I say mini, it's about one size larger than the ones in regular shops.

First of all, the beautiful browning of the bun catches your eye. It's the perfect color. I bite into it. The skin is a little thick, and the filling is packed in perfectly. Chinese cabbage, cabbage, Chinese chives, and pork are kneaded together with just the right amount of seasoning, and the mixture is about half vegetables and half meat. It has the sweetness of the vegetables and the sourness. Of the shops introduced this time, this one has the most sour taste.

Mmm, these are delicious gyoza. The filling is steamed to perfection, but the most important thing is how well the skin is browned. The combination of these two elements creates delicious gyoza. The filling is packed tightly and carefully, which shows the store's sincerity. The skin doesn't pop open like some popular stores.

The shop is also very clean, and the waitresses are very friendly. Their customer-friendly attitude is also reflected in the various great value set menus they offer. There are eight different options, such as the Mini Gyoza Set (half ramen, 5 mini gyoza), Mini Wonton Noodle Set (half ramen, wonton, seasoned egg, 5 mini gyoza), and more.

Now, "Kairaku Main Store"
I want to go back again and again, it's a great place

Located a two-minute walk from the east exit of Ikebukuro Station, this restaurant was founded in 1954 and is well-known for its jumbo gyoza dumplings.

For some reason, I don't often go to the east exit of Ikebukuro Station, even though the downtown area at the west exit is like my own backyard. However, I was surprised when I first came to "Kairaku Main Branch". There were always customers. In particular, there are about 22 seats on the first floor, 18 of which are at the counter, so it is easy for both older guys and older women to enter alone.

As I watched, a guy who was used to it ordered a beer and three gyoza dumplings. After he finished eating, he moved on to a set meal. Another guy ordered two gyoza dumplings with his set meal. I ordered three gyoza dumplings and a mapo eggplant set meal.

The set meal arrived first. You see, the deep-fried eggplant has a beautiful color. The eggplant is piping hot and soft. And the mapo flavor is just right, not too spicy. The dish has a sharp edge. Hmm, this is a very Japanese mapo eggplant, and it's really good. It's rare to come across good mapo eggplant. Also, it comes with white rice. It's rare to find a local Chinese restaurant that serves good white rice. I think it's rare.

I thought this restaurant was a hit just for this set meal. For those who have been coming here for years, it may seem like "what are you talking about now?" Sorry. The mapo tofu on the left, the twice-cooked pork on the right, and the shrimp chili over there all looked really delicious.

Then the fried dumplings arrived. They were jumbo dumplings. They were about 2.5 times the size of regular dumplings. To tell the truth, I don't like jumbo dumplings. They're hard to eat, and I end up feeling full just by eating them.

However, I thought the jumbo dumplings at this store were quite good. First of all, they weren't as big as those at "Tenryu." Even when you hold the gyoza, the seams don't pop open like they do at "Tenryu."

The skin is a little thick. Some parts are browned, but the rest are like boiled gyoza. So, jumbo gyoza is like a hybrid of "baked" and "boiled".

The filling is made of minced pork, cabbage, Chinese chives, garlic, and ginger, and the pork and cabbage are chopped into chunks, giving it a particularly good texture. The cabbage is crunchy and the flavor is really good. There's also plenty of gravy. Condiments include soy sauce, vinegar, chili oil, pepper, and mustard, which allows you to freely change the flavor. This is just my opinion, but I think mustard goes well with fried gyoza. That's why I like this restaurant, as well as "Kameido Gyoza."

However, three may have been a bit too much. If it was with a set meal, two would probably be more appropriate.

The gyoza is good, but I want to try their other set meals - stir-fried chives and liver, stir-fried meat and vegetables, stir-fried shredded pork and green peppers (green pepper and pork stir-fry), stir-fried pork, wood ear mushroom and egg (moo shu pork), Chinese rice bowl, and Tianjin rice bowl - so I'd like to keep coming back for a while. That's what I thought frankly.

Author profile

Bassey is a foodie who has been eating around for over 40 years. In addition to Japan, he regularly goes to Hong Kong to eat Chinese food at his own expense, and also travels to Taiwan, Singapore, Bangkok, and Seoul for delicious food. During his time as the editor-in-chief of a travel magazine, he visited many Michelin-rated restaurants around the world, especially in Europe, and later on in the World's Best 50 restaurants. We want everyone who loves food to try ``Crab Miso Bean Paste Noodles'' from ``Tenkorou'' (Hong Kong). Actually, I like the Chinese food at this restaurant the best in the world. Another example of the best Western food is "El Seger de Can Roca" from Girona, Spain, which was ranked number one on the World's Best 50 list. Ah, I want to go there again.