It does seem that the basement of Marina One (also dubbed The Heart) is probably seeing quite an uptake in terms of the tenancy rate especially in the new year, and with the office workers in the Central Business District returning back to office these days — amongst some up and coming F&B tenants that are in the midst of moving into the The Heart includes woobbee; a drinks kiosk serving milk tea and other beverages, as well as a new F&B concept named Nani Bowls which are both in the midst of renovation works at the time of writing this post. One new F&B establishment which has already opened its doors at The Heart would be Gyoza-San; while its very first shop space at the basement of Sun Plaza is a hole-in-the-wall establishment which is meant as a takeaway kiosk, its newest digs at The Heart allows for patrons to dine-in — the dine-in seating comprises of two counter tables that cater for three (3) and four (4) wall-facing seats each, though patrons can ultimately still choose to dine at the communal dining areas within Marina One itself. As per its namesake, Gyoza-San specialises in Japanese Gyoza — offering patrons with gyoza of various flavours, patrons can opt to order the gyoza as-is in a box of six pieces each (one fixed flavour per box); patrons can opt for a set which adds a side and a drink at $4.90 extra. Alternatively, one can also opt for the various Gyoza-Bento Sets — each item is pretty self-explanatory in its name, which consists of the elements involved and three pieces of their Original Gyoza; the bento coming with an option to switch up Rice to Chilled Cha Soba at $1 extra, and an additional $2 for those who are looking to change the flavours of the gyoza.

Having skimmed through what Gyoza-San has to offer on their menu, we found ourselves going for the Special Unagi / Yakiniku combo — we also switched up the x3 Original Gyoza for x3 Tom Yang Kung Gyoza instead as well. All orders at Gyoza-San comes in a rectangular disposable box — it also comes accompanied with a tub of soy sauce with julienned ginger on the side, much like what one would expect to have when eating Xiao Long Bao, as well as kimchi on the side. Going straight for the Tom Yang Kung Gyoza, these came with a bright red aesthetic — perhaps a way to indicate its supposed fiery. Whilst the skin itself was pan-fried and somewhat crisp, the inside of the gyoza is filled with a reasonable amount of meat filling within. What really surprised us about the Tom Yang Kung Gyoza was the flavour it carried — there was a distinct hint of lemongrass that came with the gyoza, whilst coming with zippy tang that one would usually associate with Red Tom Yum. The Special Unagi is likely to be the same one which would have come as a filling with the Special Unagi Gyoza which is also being offered as a flavour of gyoza and Gyoza-San; some might find the slab of Unagi here a little scaly, though we felt that it wasn’t quite bothersome to us. The slab of Unagi was also more on the chewier side; this is especially so for its skin, which does take some time to chew apart. Otherwise, the Unagi is coated in a thick layer of sweet Unagi sauce for flavour — quite satisfying if one isn’t too picky considering the nature of the establishment. The Yakiniku here was also actually pretty decent; the meat carrying a slight hint of gaminess but otherwise was stir-fried with a sweet-savoury sauce and caramalised onions that also provided the bed of short-grain rice beneath some flavour — the slices of beef being tender and did not require much effort to chew apart. The inclusion of kimchi was a well thought out move; the kimchi providing a tangy crunch that refreshes the tastebuds from all the meaty and heavy-tasting elements that came with the bento.

There is a lack of affordable food options within Marina One; that being said, Gyoza-San does not quite add up as an affordable option within Marina One either. With prices ranging from $5.90 to $7.50 for a box of six (6) pieces of gyoza, and with the Gyoza-Bento being priced from $8.90 to $14.50 before any extra charges that one may incur from changing the default serving of rice to chilled Cha Soba or from opting for a different flavour of gyoza, the prices at Gyoza-San does seem to match up against slightly more pricier options such as that of some salad / grain bowl spots for those whom might see themselves incurring the extra charges. That being said, Gyoza-San did indeed stand by their motto that is splashed across the wall in the dine-in area at their premise in Marina One; they have indeed served up “Gyozas redefined”, especially with a good variety of gyoza of different fillings that are unique to their menu. Having opted for the most expensive Gyoza-Bento item listed on the menu, we did feel that the portion of the dish works just about right for us — we aren’t quite sure if it would work the same for those with a larger appetite ordering for a Gyoza-Bento that comes with lesser elements however. Given our experience, Gyoza-San is a spot worth considering going for its inventive take on gyoza for those who work in the vicinity of Marina One, though would more likely be an occasional treat than an everyday lunch option for the average office worker.