Harajuku Gyoza

Harajuku Gyoza
394 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley, QLD 4006
http://www.harajukugyoza.com/

I have been delaying this one for quite a bit. Everyone I know seems to be raving about Harajuku Gyoza and telling me how it is one of the most interesting/fun restaurant in Brisbane.

Anyhow, knowing how long the queues could be, I went there for dinner on a rainy Friday evening a couple weeks ago and luckily, the restaurant was only half full. But before the meal was finished, I assure you, a line started to form outside the restaurant.

The decor of the restaurant was fun and vibrant with pictures of the cute smiling dumpling everywhere and the Japanese feature plates hanging on the walls - I found the one of of KISS especially interesting. Maybe it is in relations to the Japanese fascination with heavy metals rock bands? (I am thinking Dir en Grey here...)

Anyway, seated at the bar and pondering away, I waited for my hakushika sake and edamame along with grilled duck, grilled prawn and grilled pork dumplings.

I do have to admit, for a gyoza bar, the variety of dumplings on offer are kind of limited. But then again, Harajuku Gyoza as the name suggest, is a gyoza bar and not a dumpling bar and they do offer side dishes to keep the variety interesting.

In terms of flavour, I do think that their grilled duck and grilled prawn is pretty nice but the pork dumplings are not that special... Maybe a bit more flavour in the filling might assist?

It is probably also noteworthy that Harajuku Gyoza is quite expensive. 3-5 grlled dumplings can set you back $8. For a gyoza fanatic like myself, I could probably devour about 12-15 gyozas in one meal? You can do the math how much it would cost to satisfy me in one meal.

But I guess most people go to Harajuku Gyoza for the experience of it. Especially with the waitresses (or two of the many waitresses) dressed up in vibrant pink and blue wigs and costume and create the vibe you (should) get in Harajuku. (I have been to Harajuku twice and saw nothing like that...)

Overall, it was definitely a fun experience, but if you do go, go with lots of friends.

Recommended: The sake
Direction: I have to admit that I am a little bit lost here. I don't actually remember how I got there. Just that it involved qutie a bit of walking.... sorry...