There are a lot of dumpling places in Tokyo. I LOVE both the steamed kind (xiao long bao/shoronpo) as well as the fried potsticker kind (gyoza). Dumplings rank as one of my top 10 favorite foods. It's a total comfort food for me, just like mac and cheese... Anyway, I think the best shoronpo house in Tokyo is Jin Din Rou in Ebisu, hands down. Originally from Taiwan, it's very similar to the more famous Ding Tai Fung that you're probably more familiar with. There are several Ding Tai Fung locations within Japan and all of them are packed with people. I'm sure the ones in your area are popular as well. I actually went to the original one when I visited Taipei earlier this year. Of course, it was really good and more importantly, a whole lot cheaper! Dude, it's seriously overpriced in Japan. Anyway, back to my recommendation, Jin Din Rou. First of all, it's cheaper than Ding Tai Fung! 6 pieces of original shoronpo is 790 yen versus 820 yen at Ding Tai Fung. Similarly, the crab miso shoronpo is 1250 yen versus 1450 yen at the competitor.
The 1000 yen lunch sets are a steal. I like going there on the weekends with friends. You get 4 dumplings of your preference as well as 1 entree (the shrimp fried rice is SO good, but the spicy tantan men noodles aren't bad either). For dinner, I like to eat a la carte because I tried the 4000 yen course a while ago and could not finish it. It was so much food I thought I was going to explode. I recommend the course meals if you have a party of more than 3 people.
(Photo source: Jin Din Rou)
Jin Din Rou（京鼎樓 恵比寿本店）
Shibuya-ku, Ebisu 4-3-1, Kuizu Ebisu 2F (2 min. from JR Ebisu station, east gate)
Open 11:30-15:00, 17:30-24:00 M-Sat, Open til 23:00 on Sun
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