liveˈliv:v; to have a life rich in experience

I loved their menu greeting:

“Welcome, Customer-san!

You are like a hungry salaryman in Japanese izakaya (old skool Japanese bar with food).

You are thirsty and your appetite is big like Godzilla.

Time to order food.  Don’t be shy.  Order again

and again.  Share with your friend.  That’s how to

make Harajuku Gyoza yum and fun.

Try grilled gyoza.  Try poached gyoza.  Say hello to

yum side dishes.  Shout out for yum izakaya dishes.

You love it?  We love that you love it.  Our chefs work

hard in our kitchen all day to hand prepare our menu.

We always ask local butchers and green grocers

what’s in season and what’s fresh.  It must be perfect

or we get your sad face.  We want your happy face.”

It’s a pretty cool restaurant where you will find people lining up along Brunswick Street.  There’s a reason for that.  The food is really good, and comes out really fresh and hot. The dumplings melt in your mouth, and the service is sweet and pleasant.  They yell out to greet you, cheer you on when you drink your sake, and thank you enthusiastically on your way out.

To me all the types of Gyoza: Pork, Duck, Chicken, Vege- are great, but my faves are the pork and duck (grilled and poached).  I also really enjoyed the Agedashi Tofu, very flavorful, and texturized.     I find Edamame generally addictive, I can eat them all day long.

It is really easy to get carried away with ordering and re-ordering dishes.  They really add up (the bill, that is)!  That’s why getting to eat here is quite the special treat!  For a party of three, we racked up to $114….pretty hefty, especially when you are an unemployed uni student.   Today, was our first time eating out since our return from our Vietnam trip.  We have been trying to limit our dinner outings and eating in instead.

Today’s dinner was quite awesome!