Or boiled…

with a side portion of rice and a really simple and clear chicken soup. (The beansprouts are pretty yummy too, but no photos sorry!)

The queues can get a little silly at peak hours because it happens to be on most guide books must eats, plenty of locals fill the seats which is validation its no crazy tourist trap.

The custom cookers just for gyoza are pretty fascinating.

Gyoza are brought out frozen and placed in the preoiled cooking surface

The cooking tray is then filled with water

…and steamed for only a few minutes

The whole tray is then tilted to evacuate the water and left to crisp up on one side 

Each 6 portion serving is then scooped up and flipped on the serving plate for presentation crispy side up.

The main challenge is to decide what choice of piggy you want. From the basic entry level piggy (which lets face it is already going to be pretty amazing) to the other levels of premium pork based on what crazy luxurious lifestyles they live (some sort of royal heritage, fed gourmet food, massaged and pampered until of course they slaughtered to fill your stomach)

Kitchen was run with military precision and incredibly without so much of a murmur between the chefs. They just knew what to do. To be fair there were two jobs – fry and cut, but they did it very well.

So here it is. An insanely crispy but extremely light breaded coating.

Every morsel is saliva generating as you bite through the initial light crispy layer, the teeth then hit the tender pork. Always with a nice balance of fat and meat. Not too much to make you avoid it, just enough to keep each mouthful moist and tasty and just the right amount to not feel too guilty if you have this once a month:

Instructions for tourists/gaijin on how to eat it:

Unlimited shredded cabbage which you dress with a citrus soy sauce

Pink salt. No clue why it is pink but a damn good accompaniment to the pork:

Standard miso soup with the dipping options (Mustard and tonkatsu sauce with the salt)

Not something to eat weekly, but definitely worth a visit if you are in town.

I went to the Roppongi branch but that original is in Nishi azabu.

They also have a Shabu Shabu only branch which is on the write up list.