Comfort-food season is a befitting time for Vancouver to bid a rousing "irasshaimase" to Gyoza Bar + Ramen, where dumplings and ramen reign supreme and we’ll be welcoming warm carafes of sake all winter long.
The latest addition to the Aburi Restaurant Group (joining the acclaimed Miku and Minami), Gyoza Bar is a red-brick nook with an open, energetic kitchen and cavernous interior conducive to serious feasting. We ordered a tasting of gyoza; the bar’s innovative fillings merit a thorough investigation. Fraser Valley pork teppan gyoza (seven for $8) come sizzling in a cast-iron skillet, with thin wrappers crisped to lightly shatter upon each meat-juice drippy bite. The chili shrimp variety ($13) with wasabi chimichurri and the miso short rib-stuffed dumplings ($12.50) served with cherries and mushrooms showcase Gyoza Bar’s intent to bring something new to the city’s formidable gyoza scene, with flavours unexpected and successful (especially the meltingly soft short rib, a favourite at our table). Chicken ramen in awese triple miso broth ($14) was satisfying; an ultra-rich, deeply flavoured umami broth thick with in-house prepped noodles and topped with sous-vide tender chicken, soft boiled egg and corn sluiced off the cob. A light dessert of yuzu paté with cactus pear granita and fresh dill ($7) was the perfect finishing note to a fortifying meal.
FYI: takeout available, including for lunch. —Adrienne Matei
Gyoza Bar + Ramen, 622 W Pender St., Vancouver, 604-336-5562, www.gyozabar.ca
share:
Be the first to comment