Utsunomiya, the capital of Tochigi Prefecture located just north of Tokyo, is famous for one food in particular – gyoza! These dumplings, based on the Chinese versions that came over hundreds of years ago. Nowadays, there are over 200 shops just within the city limits itself – and many more in the surrounding towns and villages!

Utsunomiya Gyoza

What makes the gyoza is Utsunomiya special is their thin wrapping in comparison with other Japanese gyoza. Because it is so thin, when it is fried, the wrapping becomes very crisp and crunchy, almost like a spring roll.

This crisp and crunch – even when compared with other types of fried gyoza – has led to this boom in gyoza restaurants and is why Utsunomiya has declared itself the gyoza capital of Japan.

Additionally, there are many variations on the filling that are found here. Typically, gyoza are filled with a combination of ground pork, onions and cabbage – and the various types (such as Enban Gyoza from Fukushima) typically play with the ratios. On the other hand, in Utsunomiya you can find just about any kind of food within a gyoza wrapper. One of the most popular types is the tonkatsu (pork cutlet) – which is a major feature in the Utsunomiya Gyoza festival held in the first weekend of November every year.

Orion Gyoza

During the couple of days in Utsunomiya, I decided to try a different gyoza place every day. Even though I was only there for two full days, I knew I was not going to make a dent in the 200+ options available, so I thought it would be good to go with a smaller but well-known chain—Orion Gyoza.

Orion Gyoza comes from Utsunomiya original and with the exception of two stores, the vast majority are located in and around Utsunomiya. I visited the Utsunomiya Station East Store branch for lunch just outside of the JR Utsunomiya Station.

The atmosphere is that of a normal restaurant in Japan, with a combination of booths, normal tables (for larger groups) and counter space for individuals. As I was at a gyoza restaurant, gyoza was what I wanted, so I ordered the large gyoza set meal, which was 2 lines of gyoza (each line has 6), rice, pickled vegetables and miso soup. Here is what it looked like:

The filling had similar proportions of pokr, onion and cabbage to other types of gyoza, so the flavour was also similar. I think what really set this apart was the thin wrapper, making the gyoza much more crunchy than any others that I have had before. It felt like they had been fried on two sides instead of just the standard one for other types.

Verdict

As a gyoza lover, I would definitely be happy with going back to one of the Orion Gyoza stores, although with so many to try, I would probably choose a new one first. However, the food was excellent, the staff were very friendly. I would also not be surprised if they understood English and could accommodate people with no Japanese language knowledge. All in all, I would recommend this chain.

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