Gyoza @ The Dumpling Master, Ropponmatsu, Fukuoka

 

There are many places that serve gyoza that I like. However, I have not met one that calls itself the master. Well, not until recently. During one of my lunch hour sojourns, I spotted a gyoza dumpling place literally called "The Dumpling Master". If that is not an invitation, I have no idea what is! 

A simple menu but lets see. The mapo with oysters looks interesting though!

As I went there for lunch, they have the standard lunch set menus that most places here around this parts do. Being a gyoza place, its only natural that most of the menu is mainly gyoza with rice. However, the blue perella leaf gyoza did capture my attention and soon enough I ordered that for my lunch that day. 

Holy cow!

Standing at a mere 950 yen, this was such a steal. The tray was first loaded with 7 grilled gyoza, 2 boiled gyoza in soup, some pickled veggies and a side of tofu. And of course a bowl of rice. Lets just say it was a decent looking lunch. How did it taste though?

Golden and beautiful

Well once I had a bite, it was not hard to see how they got the name master. The grilled gyoza had a thin skin which has a nice bite to it. The filling was chunky yet pliable at the same time, with a good balance of fat and meaty bits. The parella leaf really shone in each dumpling, providing each morsel with a herby and fragrant bite. 

Look at those pleats!

The boiled dumplings were pretty good too. Looking like something that just came out from a dim sum parlor, each little pillow-like morsel looked too good to eat. It was jammed packed with a savory porky filling and the soup gave it some sort of textureal cushion as it was more moist than its grilled cousins. Absolute stunner. 

Surprisingly, this was very good!

The side dishes were not bad as well. The pickles were proper Szechuan style pickles that has a decent kick to them. And the tofu had a spicy mince topping which I really liked. It was a bit like a deconstructed mapo tofu. A bit hard to describe but you probably get the idea and both of them help round out the meal perfectly. 

Front of the house. With that sign, it's almost unmissable. 

The decor was pretty amazing as well. With an interior reminding me of a Hong Kong style kung fu studio setup, it really gives the atmosphere an interesting feel. After my first visit, it was no surprise that I finally found a new favourite spot for lunch when I am around the office. In fact, I have visited the premises multiple times before this article was even posted. But why not? The food is great, the prices reasonable and its pretty close to the Ropponmatsu station. I have not been here during dinner time, but maybe I should someday soon. So if you fancy a go, then the address is as follows: 

4 Chome-4-12 Ropponmatsu, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka, 810-0044, Japan