Nagoya | Yan Yan Pan-Fried Soup Dumplings

Yan Yan Pan-Fried Soup Dumplings Looking for soup dumplings in Nagoya? What an interesting choice! Japan actually has quite a few Chinese restaurants serving dishes like dan dan noodles and mapo tofu, but a place specializing in soup dumplings is relatively rare. I happened to find one near my hotel on Google, so I decided to give it a try! The restaurant itself is small, resembling the layout of a ramen shop, and uses tablet-based ordering. Each serving of soup dumplings comes with three pieces. While they are called soup dumplings, they are quite different from the ones at Din Tai Fung. These are more like bite-sized pan-fried buns, with a thicker, crispy, golden-brown crust. One bite and the soup inside bursts out—wow, there’s so much soup inside! I also ordered a bowl of their special dan dan noodles. At first, I thought it was minced meat rice, but when it was served, I was shocked by the gigantic portion! You have to dig through the mountain of meat to find the noodles underneath. The flavor is quite salty with a hint of spiciness, making it surprisingly refreshing when paired with ice water.