11 Tokyo Gyoza Restaurants That Surpass Chinese Cuisine - Part 1

Konel's boiled dumplings

The best Italian ingredient, porcini mushroom dumplings with a rich aroma

Although it's a hidden gem that's difficult to find, it's always bustling with customers because the chef's choice courses, starting at 7,700 yen, always surprise and impress. As the restaurant's name, which comes from the Japanese word for knead, suggests, both the pasta and bread are made in-house by chef Takaki Kikuchi, who kneads the dough himself. While the main focus is on Italian cuisine, they also incorporate Japanese and Chinese influences, with oden and boiled dumplings being popular staples.

The dumplings are generously filled with pork, porcini mushrooms, caramelized onions, and kiriboshi daikon radish for added texture. The filling is packed with meat juice, aroma, richness, and texture, and is seasoned only with salt and pepper without ginger or garlic, yet still has a strong presence. The sauce is also original, with balsamic ponzu and chili oil. It's a shame that you can only order two per person!

La Rêve's chicken wing dumplings

The unique taste of French gyoza, based on the concept of a "small restaurant"

"I wanted to incorporate elements of a small restaurant, and this is the style I arrived at," says chef Shunsuke Kada, and despite being a bistro, the popular dishes include the "Yellowtail Daikon" and the side dishes lined up at the counter. The "Chicken Wing Gyoza" in particular is so popular that they offer three different types daily - "braised in red wine," "fricassee," and "baked" - to keep customers from getting bored of the dish.

They look just like the chicken wing dumplings you'd find at an izakaya, but they're made using French techniques from the preparation to the finish, giving them a genuine French cuisine feel. The filling is based on minced pork and a large amount of mushrooms. Different herbs, shallots, tomato confit, etc. are added depending on the seasoning. The flavor of the chicken wings themselves matches perfectly with each filling!

Vegetarian dumpling sticks from Saido

Vegan gyoza that tastes like meat is healthy and sustainable

Even if you understand intellectually that no meat is used at this vegan restaurant, your tongue may not be convinced. The filling of these gyoza has the texture of hand-cut meat itself, which can be quite confusing! To achieve this, chef Katsuzo Kusumoto uses "OMNI meat."

This nutritious, environmentally friendly, 100% plant-based meat substitute is currently garnering worldwide attention. Two types of filling, made with different seasonings and processes, are combined with shiitake mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, bamboo shoots, and pickled mustard greens, and wrapped in a homemade dough that is free of animal ingredients and alcohol. The dumplings are intentionally shaped like long sticks so they can't be eaten in one bite, allowing you to enjoy chewing the chewy skin and the dense filling. These satisfying yet lightly ingrained guilt-free gyoza have the potential to become the new normal.

Duck and carrot dumplings from Niru

This genre-less bistro, with a "simmering" theme, also serves excellent boiled dumplings

Owner Hidefumi Saho, who has worked in a variety of restaurants, including Moroccan, Thai, Italian, and Asian, and has traveled around the world to try cuisines from around the world, creates dishes that are based on the theme of "simmering," and go well with natural and Japanese wines. His "Duck and Carrot Boiled Dumplings," which he created with Kyoto in mind, allows you to fully enjoy the texture and aroma of coarsely grated raw carrots.

In pursuit of a light gyoza that won't tire you out, they've omitted garlic and limited the seasonings to just three: onion powder, ginger powder, and salt. The filling is then wrapped in a thin skin containing starch syrup, left to soak in boiling water for a few minutes, and then topped with paprika oil instead of sauce, resulting in boiling gyoza that will have everyone saying, "I've never eaten gyoza like these!"

Higashiyama KAN's fried soft-shelled turtle dumplings

An unparalleled taste that will make you want to tell someone, "Have you ever tried soft-shelled turtle dumplings?"

There are many unique gyoza dishes, but gyoza made with soft-shelled turtles are quite rare. These luxurious dishes are made with soft-shelled turtles raised in free-flowing hot springs delivered from Aomori's Tohoku Soft-shelled Turtle Farm, butchered in-house to create the soup, and made with plenty of meat. Since opening 26 years ago, this popular counter-style Japanese restaurant has been serving high-quality snacks and drinks in a relaxing atmosphere.

The filling is made with only Iwate's Junwadori chicken breast, spring onions, and salt to bring out the main ingredient of the soft-shelled turtle. It is then wrapped in a skin made with glutinous rice flour from Asakusa's Kaikaro, and the outside is grilled until crispy. The chewy filling, which contains the firm flesh of the soft-shelled turtle and its gelatinous "empera," is bursting with flavor and leaves a strong impact. It pairs perfectly with fruity sake.