Yokohama has the cleanest Chinatown I’ve ever experienced. No surprise, as it is in Japan, and right next door to the squeaky clean and swanky Motomachi neighborhood. It’s a fun place to shop, walk around, and of course EAT!
While you’ll find many restaurants from low-brow to high-end, the place I keep going back to time after time is a steamed dumpling street stall caddy corner across the street from the famous and frequently visited Kwan Tai temple. The stall is called Fuki Paozurou, and they make the best dumplings and steamed buns (this side of the pond) in a multitude of shapes and sizes. Its popularity is attested to by the numerous photographs of celebrities scarfing down their hot pot stickers.
There are numerous types of dumplings in Chinese cuisine. A gyoza (or jiaozi) is usually wrapped with a circle of unleavened dough folded in half around the filling and pinched along the connected edge, and typically fried and steamed. The dumplings served at Fuki Paozurou are of the xiaolongbao variety however, wrapped in leavened dough so that the wrapper has a more “doughy” or “bready” quality. Most of the dumplings are stuffed with pork and cabbage. Some of them have more garlic, and some are seasoned with a sweet Chinese five spice blend. Some are fried before steamed, some are just steamed, some are bite size, and others are the size of a dainty fist.
In addition to the dumplings, they make a delicious Paozu (Bao-zi) or steamed bun stuffed with sweet pork. My favorite-the dumplings that make me salivate just thinking about them-are served in a super garlicy, pepper, and chicken fat broth. I crave them even on a hot summer day, and I’m pretty sure they help keep the mosquitoes away!
The owner and the staff at Fuki Paozurou are super friendly and will gladly help you figure out which dumplings you want at to order. If you’re like me, you’ll probably not be able to decide and end up ordering a variety of them. In addition to steamed dumplings and buns, they serve ice cream, and a refreshing mango juice to cool you down. Make sure you fuel up before prowling the streets of Chinatown to shop for your next treasure.
