Kaminari Gyoza Bar, 323 E 1st St, Los Angeles (Little Tokyo), CA 90012
Kaminari specializes in Utsunomiya gyoza from Utsunomiya, Japan, the hometown of the owner(s?). In Utsunomiya, many restaurants specialize in gyoza. Kaminari is gyoza-focused with a short menu. Gyoza, Japanese dumplings, a cousin of Chinese potstickers) are made daily. They make four kinds of gyoza: pork, chicken, shrimp, and vegan. You can choose to have them pan-fried (yaki), deep-fried (age), and in soup (soup gyoza). They offer 8 kinds of dipping sauce. Hungry? Order a gyoza bento or a side of rice or soup. Japanese beer, sake, and Japanese beverages are available.
Assorted gyoza (6 per order), pan-fried ($9): The gyoza are about the size of the average gyoza. The dumplings are long and thin, with crispy bottoms, and a tender, thin wrapper. They’re filled but not generously stuffed. Each gyoza was fresh, hot, juicy, and not too salty. I could taste each protein. They’re lightly seasoned. The ponzu and homemade chili oil sauces were very good – not too salty. One order is a light meal or snack. My main issue is that each dumpling was seasoned similarly. I would have preferred a wider range of dumpling fillings. I guess the sauces let you customize the experience? My favorite was the chicken gyoza, followed by the pork. I could see big chunks of fresh shrimp in the shrimp gyoza.
Also, the bento is mostly added carbs – it comes with rice and spaghetti, plus a fried spring roll, pickles, and vegetables.
The restaurant is very cute. With the yellow cloth in front of the door, it looks very Japanese. There’s an open kitchen (it looked very clean), a few communal tables towards the front, with more tables behind a curtain.
Place your order at the register and grab a number. They’ll bring the food to your table. Service was nice. They even drew pictures of the container, so that I could identify the gyoza types (they look the same).
4 out of 5 stars
By Lolia S.
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Hidakaya's Ramen 日高屋
It’s been four years since my last trip to Japan, but I’ll never forget my lunch at Hidakaya. Affordable and delicious!
Upon entering the restaurant, mouthwatering plastic replicas of ramen and side dishes lined the glass display. The realistic-looking plastic convinced me to order a bowl of tonkotsu ramen (450 yen inc. tax) and a plate of gyoza (170 yen inc. tax).
Meanwhile, my mother ordered a bowl of shoyu ramen (390 yen inc. tax). The flavorful, soy sauce-based noodle dish was topped with pork slices, bamboo shoots, green onions, and laver.
By the way, we shared the plate of gyoza. Each dumpling was packed with vegetable-meat filling, so I felt full upon my third piece.
So, if you plan to travel to Japan, make sure to drop by a Hidakaya branch near your accommodation or wherever you're standing!
✤ Prices mentioned above were reflective of 2019 Japan. ✤
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Japanese comfort food for less at Hakata Ton-ichi'
Looking for an affordable and delicious Japanese dining experience that won’t break the bank? Look no further than Hakata Ton-ichi, a cozy ramen shop dedicated to satisfying the taste buds of hardworking individuals craving comfort food after a long day.
The people behind Hakata Ton-ichi believe that great tasting ramen should be a necessary comfort, not a rare luxury. It’s no wonder then that…
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hier on a fait le périple en vélo le plus long de ma vie, je devais gérer le gps et bien évidemment ce fut une catastrophe (mon téléphone est même tombé de ma poche et l'arrière s'est encore plus cassé, seum 3000). ma pote relou a refait une migraine ophtalmique, je me suis dit ''ah ça y est'' mais tout était sous contrôle finalement.
on est arrivées à petite Italie où on s'est pris une pizza troooop bonne, une des meilleures de toute ma vie honnêtement. on a décalé au marché Jean talon puis pour préserver la paix des ménages (c'est à dire ma pote relou) et nos petons on a pris le métro.
on s'est stoppé au Village (qui était pas ouf étant donné qu'il n'y avait qu'une rue) pour aller jusqu'au vieux port. on y a mangé une queue de castor (une sorte de langos en plus petit) puis boutique de souvenirs. j'ai trouvé le magnet le plus MOCHE possible pour ma soeur.
après on a rejoint les copains au jardin botanique pour le festival des lumières, c'était très drôle, on a fait les t-rex dans le jardin alpin et on a crié comme des loups dans le truc où il fallait crier comme des loups.
pour rentrer on a pris un Uber parce qu'il drachait SEVERE et moi j'étais à l'avant où le chauffeur avait laissé la fenêtre un peu ouverte donc je me prenais de la pluie et au bout de 10 minutes j'ai osé lui demander mdrr la zinzine. on a commandé des gyozas et ensuite dodo.
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