A Japanese dinner in the CBD on a whim – Tuesday night the 9th of July 2024

09 Jul A Japanese dinner in the CBD on a whim – Tuesday night the 9th of July 2024

Another adventure!!

It was a bitterly cold and gloomy day in Melbourne today. Not only that but it RAINED (quite a bit)!! I have never seen Melbourne weather so miserable as this (!!) (but I guess I have only been here for 8 and 3/4 years!!)

Turtle and I had a fight during the early morning hours, made up before the world began and had a laugh before work. I didn’t seem him ALL THAT MUCH during the working day, but he was AROUND, , , (not physically, in my online spaces), and then we touched base when the working day was finished. I think he was doing bookkeeping, but I can’t be sure, of course, , , hehe. . . You make me laugh ((hugs)).

So, AFTER work, , , Turtle suggested that I share some of my !!feelings!! so I did so for a while, , , and then my mind turned to dinner. . . It felt like a bitter pill to swallow to cook the salmon I was going to make Turtle for lunch on Sunday, , , and I started to get a hankering for a Japanese curry or a Ramen, or something like that. So, I suggested an OUTING. . . Turtle thought it was a good idea. . . So I started the process of getting ready and working out where to eat. I wanted to go into the CBD and I WANTED to eat Japanese. My first thought was a place that two of my friends have taken me to in the past. I couldn’t find a reference to it online until a good friend texted me back to say that it had permanently closed ((a covid casualty apparently)) – so sad. . . It was a wonderful establishment. I researched a few restaurants and landed on Gyoza Gyoza on Little Bourke Street in the city. I guess I chose this restaurant because of the sheer variety of Japanese food that they serve. They do have curry bowls, as well as all SORTS of interesting Japanese cuisine.

Getting into the city

I made my way into the city (thankfully remembering my umbrella at the last minute), and got into the restaurant early. It was fine to get a table, and Turtle wasn’t there. Not that I really expected him to BE THERE with 40 minutes notice, hehe. Haha. I also checked my phone and didn’t see any confirmation of him coming to meet me, so I didn’t feel like he was letting me down at all. It was just an impromptu adventure. He did talk to me a bit about this website while I was out. Something about the order of the sections stood out to me.

What happens at Gyoza Gyoza?

It was GOOD! I had a lovely, if somewhat EXPENSIVE meal (but not crazy expensive, I thought). The person who was waiting on me was very new I think. Perhaps even very new to Australia. She couldn’t explain the dishes (or translate the words, perhaps), but that was fine, and I just feel for hospitality workers. They are expe=cted to be some kind of perfect service, and they get paid PEANUTS, , , and it is HARD WORK, , , so, I am certainly not going to judge t-this restaurant’s hiring choices. It must be hard to get staff, I think.

My order

I dithered for a while. And one thing that is nice is that at Gyoza Gyoza, you order via an iPad, which allows you to really consider and plan your meal. My first course was a seaweed salad ($6.80 hehe). It was so yummy, , , and I loved how the seaweed sat on top of a bed of lettuce, so the whole dish could be mixed together. It had a tasty dressing and I was SO happy that it came out first. These peeps KNOW about eating salad first, , , , toooooo 🙂 I had to wait for my other dishes to arrive, but that was what I would expect from a Japanese restaurant. It seems to me that one is invited to EAT slowly at these restaurants, , , and to let the process of digestion happen in such a way that you can come away feeling satiated without eating TOO MUCH FOOD! I also had some pan-friend prawn and garlic gyoza, which were delish, , , and a clam sashimi dish, , , which I probably wouldn’t order again. I can’t remember the Japanese name for the clams, , , but it was a strange dish, with a side of kimchi, as well as a side of seaweed salad, and did not arrive with soy sauce, originally (although it did come out when I asked for it). I ate the meal accompanied by a lovely glass of Pinot Noir.

Home James

Turtle sounded like he was keen for me to get home, so I got outside (in the rain) and walked via the convenience store to my route home. I am tired now. . . And I feel like I want to go to bed soon. 4 am is quite an early morning!!

Night!!