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| gyoza restaurant after the chaos |
Hence, gyoza is one of the "must-try's" food in Hamamatsu. It's not hard to find a gyoza restaurant but one of the most popular gyoza place is _____________. It's located a few minutes walk on the South Side of Hamamatsu Station. It's behind Royal Host Family Restaurant.
When I say it's popular, it's really popular. A queue in front of the restaurant is a common sight. In fact, my friend discovered this place because of the constant queue. She doesn't really care about gyoza and I don't really care about gyoza so we don't really search for gyoza hidden gyoza places. This place was just very noticeable and intriguing because of the queues that we decided to give it a try.
An Eventful Pre-Gyoza Dinner
We went on a Friday, a few hours before dinner. There were already 3 men in line. My friend wasn't there yet but I decided to fall in line. Soon enough, more people were already lining up behind me. The first man in line entered the gyoza place after about 10 minutes of my arrival. The second man entered soon enough. My friend is nowhere to be found yet. Thirty minutes after I arrived, the man in front of me, entered the shop while more people fall in line.
Then, it was my turn. But there's no sign of my friend. I told the staff that I'm waiting for a friend. She said I could enter the shop after my friend arrived.
After 5 minutes, the staff went out to check out if my friend has arrived. She hasn't so I asked if I could just wait for her in the shop. The staff refused explaining something in Japanese. I nodded although I don't quite understand why she can't let me in. A table's already waiting for us anyway.
When the staff went in, the lady behind me started talking to me. She's pissed off. Here's our conversation:
Japanese Lady: Where's your friend? Why are you in line when you're friend is not here.
Me: I came here early. I thought she'll be here soon.
(I don't know why I'm really explaining to this lady.)
Japanese Lady: Call your friend. This place is busy. Look at the line. We can't eat because of your friend.
She said more things that I blocked off from my ears. The people in line we're already looking at us. Some were uttering something similar to what the lady was saying. They weren't shouting or anything but I understand enough to know that they're sort-of agreeing to the lady. Seriously, these Japanese annoy me. My one table can't really hold everyone. I don't know what's the problem of the other people in line.
I was a little ashamed at this point for stirring something. I was also a little angry at my friend for being late.
And also annoyed at the lady. If she weren't old, I would say something back at her.
I called my friend 3 times and no answer. The lady kept on talking, literally, behind my back.
The staff went out again and asked for my friend. I said sorry once again. Before the staff entered, I told her to give our table to the lady behind me so she would stop talking. I said we'd just get the next table.
After that, the old lady switched off her virago mood and became really sweet. She said her "arigatou" with the numerous bowing. I pretended not to notice her. I was disgusted with this double-faced lady. I quietly muttered "Irairasurundayo, (You're annoying!)" but I made sure she heard it.
My friend finally arrived. After all the commotion, We were led into a corner, directly in front of the toilet.
A Hurried "Hovering" Gyoza Dinner
As soon as we sat, we were given the menu. The serving lady hovered around us expecting us to place our orders ASAP. We understand that she's in a hurry because the place is just jam packed. But it was our first time and we're not familiar with the menu. Her hovering was kinda annoying.
We ordered bowls of ramen and a plateful of gyoza. They don't have much on their menu anyway.
They served our food in less than 10 minutes.
Ramen is of average taste. However, their gyoza has a distinct taste compared to other shops. It's more savory and less greasy. I didn't check what's inside. I was just happy that it was delicious. No wonder the shop's popular. I'd definitely recommend their gyoza to anyone. If I'm reading the kanji right, they also have vegetarian gyoza.
What spoiled an otherwise nice dinner was the constant hovering of the staff. They were constantly checking if we finished our food. We felt we're being shooed. I understand that there's a line outside but still, it wasn't a nice feeling to be pressured gobbling your dinner. We were eating in an average pace. Maybe they want us to just eat and run. I don't know but the hovering ruined my experience with them.
As soon as my friend finished the last gyoza, the staff asked if she could take our plates and bowls away. In effect, she's telling us to leave the place. We would have wanted to stay for a few more minutes just to wait for the food to settle. My friend insisted we stayed even after they took plates and bowls. The staff continued hovering and that pissed me off so I convinced my friend to just leave the place.
So, we paid our bill and got out of that gyoza place. There was no more queue and that made me more annoyed. If there's no queue,why pushed us out in a "Japanese way." They did not tell us to go out or leave the place, but the hovering and the staring are enough for us to get their point.
Post-Gyoza Thoughts
As I've mentioned, I'd really recommend this shop's gyoza. I'm willing to go back to this shop for the sake of their gyoza.
However, I wouldn't advice anyone to go during lunch and dinner unless you want to experience queuing and being hovered on. Also, I wouldn't recommend this place if you want to hang out with your friends. It's an eat and run place, faster than fast food. It's a place for "quickie" which can ruin the whole gyoza experience.
