Steamed dumpling shop opens in Kagoshima – Offering tomato, chorizo shumai dumplings
The exterior of Watashi Gyoza Yorimo Shumai-Ha
A shumai specialty shop, Watashi Gyoza Yorimo Shumai-Ha, opened in Murasakibaru, Kagoshima City, on May 13. The name of the shop means “I am more of a shumai person than a gyoza person” — both gyoza and shumai are a type of dumpling.
The shop’s eye-catching logo features Mona Lisa perched on top of a steamer basket. Maeyama Kazuhiro, the owner of the shop, explained that the reason for using Mona Lisa is “because it has a big impact.” “Customers are often surprised at the combination and ask me ‘Why Mona Lisa and shumai?’,” he said. The first shop opened in Kumamoto City in January this year, and the Kagoshima Murasakibaru branch is its second.
The shop’s regular shumai comes in three types: meat, shrimp, and cheese. The Kagoshima Murasakibaru branch’s original shumai includes Italian tomato, quail egg, chorizo, and grilled yaki-shumai. Shumai is sold in sets of 4 pieces for 540 yen, 6 for 780 yen, and 8 for 1,000 yen, and customers can combine any types they prefer. Frozen shumai are also available and priced at 1,080 yen for a pack of 10.
The shop also offers okowa, a steamed rice dish, with chicken and burdock or wild edible plants (380 yen each), as both shumai and okowa are prepared steamed. A variety of bento boxed lunches containing shumai and okowa (680 yen) are also available. “We can only cook 4.5kg of okowa a day, so it sells out quickly. We are just about managing to meet the pre-orders in time,” said Maeyama.
“We use more than 80% Japanese pork in our shumai, so they are juicy and delicious. Come and try our food — you can use Mona Lisa as a point of reference,” he added.
Opening hours: 11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. (or until sold out).