It's gyōza's time. In the past, these tasty little pan-fried (or steamed, or deep-fried) dumplings were relegated to a subsidiary role. They were what you ordered as a snack to accompany your first, thirst-quenching flagon of beer while you decided what you wanted for the rest of your meal.
These days things are different. Whether steamed (sui-gyōza), pan-fried (yaki-gyōza) or deep-fried (age-gyōza), they are now topping the bill, sometimes even morphing into new, hybrid styles far from their roots in Chinese cuisine.
Here are five of Tokyo's current favorite gyōza spots, some old-school, others newer and pushing the envelope of creativity. What unites them is their quality, flavor and uncompromising celebration of this humble classic.