餃子屋 Gyoza Ya at Robinson Orchard

Gyoza Ya is a Japanese restaurant in the basement level of Robinson Orchard at The Hereen. Their specialty is gyoza but jya jya men is also one of their signature items. It is a casual open concept diner and a nice comfortable place to have a simple Japanese meal in between shopping in Orchard Road.

The open kitchen of Gyoza-Ya takes centre stage in the restaurant with a modern Japanese look. Diners can see the chefs at work and witness the entire gyoza making process – the grinding of the meat, cutting of the wrapping skin, the stuffing, crimping and cooking. Apparently the gyozas are all made fresh as an order comes in.

Gyoza Ya has an electronic menu and ordering system. Browse through the menu and add the items chosen to the electronic ordering cart, click submit and the order is sent directly to the kitchen. A confirmation slip will be brought to the table. At the end of the meal bring the slip to the cashier for payment.

Besides a variety of gyozas, the menu also offers a selection of Japanese staples including sashimi, tofu, salads and rice and noodle dishes.

We ordered the fried gyoza and the boiled version – Yaki Kani Gyoza ($7.70) and Buta Sui Gyoza ($4.80). We also ordered their Jya Jya Men ($6.50) as well as a side dish, Chicken Nanban ($5.80), and Dessert Oshiruko ($6.50).

Gyoza

Buta Sui Gyozas, which have minced pork fillings, were served with a drizzle of miso sauce. The boiled dumplings had soft delicate skins with just the right thickness and fillings which were juicy and delicious. Very good.

The Yaki Kani Gyozas, pan-fried dumpling with crab meat, used the same skins as the boiled gyozas and were nicely cooked to have crispy brown portions. However, seafood taste and scent of the crab filling were too strong for our liking.

Chicken Nanban, a dish originating from Kyushu, was chicken coated with flour and egg and deep-fried and drizzled generously with a sweet sour vinegar sauce, known as nanban sauce. It was tasty and enjoyable. The topping of egg salad was also very delicious. Chicken Nanban was easily the best dish of the meal.

The signature JyaJya Men was similar to the Chinese version known as Zhajiang Mian (炸酱面). The wheat noodles were topped with minced pork, miso sauce, spring onions and sliced cucumbers. We were told by the staff not to finish the noodles but to leave some behind to try a second way of enjoying the dish.

A soft-boiled egg was brought to us to crack over the remaining noodles. The staff then added miso sauce before pouring hot water into the bowl. We were instructed to stir the mixture. It looked like a mess but the taste of the resulting concoction was not bad.

Dessert Oshiruko was chilled red bean stew with rice cakes and topped with a scoop of matcha ice cream. It was refreshing – quite nice but not particularly remarkable.

We like the Chicken Nanban and the pork dumplings of Gyoza-Ya. The other dishes were average. On the whole, eating at Gyoza Ya was quite a good experience. With its good location, comfortable space and reasonable pricing, we would likely eat at 餃子屋 Gyoza Ya at Robinson again if we are shopping in Orchard Road.