Tanto Gyoza and Ramen Bar at Piikoi Ala Moana — Restaurant in Honolulu

5 stars is when I loved every single item I ate there, and that’s the new Tanto!

First time there and we went for a Saturday lunch. Pretty quiet, still. Maybe they haven’t hired a bunch of food influencers to blow up the place, which is greeaaat. (Coz I don’t really trust their reviews. I only trust Yelp and my fellow Yelpers. Seriously.)

Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, but our stomachs were flexible too. Got the Sapporo ramen, black tonkotsu, takowasa, miso sake clams, gyoza and salad lunch combo upgrades, oh yeah finally that’s it.

Start with the star of the show - gyoza and ramen. Bomb. Sapporo had great flavor with chewy thicker yellow noodles. Tonkotsu had the thin noodles I love. The broth had great depth and not overly salty. Loved how their pork had a bit of a texture and not entirely mushy. And thanks for not charging me for the ajitama. Then the gyoza. Thin and crispy skin, satisfying filling. Not giant in size but the perfect bite. I normally don’t like gyoza but that was good.

Surprisingly, their miso sake clams were aaaammmmaaazing. Most places put too much emphasis on the sauce - more garlic, more cilantro, more wine. No no. This was a simple sake broth, and the clams were plump, juicy and clean without any grit. Easily one of the best clam dishes that I’ve had. It’ll be a must-order for me every time I’m here.

Don’t skip the salad coz it’s got small bits of crispy stuff and condiments that made the salad really enjoyable. And the goma sauce was definitely yummy. Add $5 to any ramen to get this and the small plate of gyoza.

Takowasa was your standard tako with wasabi. Few bites were really strong, but I love wasabi so it’s cool.

Hm… maybe next time I’ll focus more on the gyoza and try all those fancy flavors! Can’t wait...

Finally open their second location for lunch.

Note: as of 10/11 its BYOB until they get their liquor license.

Other than that, the menu and food is pretty much the same as the UH (first restaurant) location.

In my pics, I almost always order maze-men...eventually ill try the other dishes, but for now. This is one of the few places that serve this dish, and its my favorite...along with gyoza.

The only unfortunate thing unrelated to the restaurant is the parking. Its not free to park anymore, they have a QR code payment system. Sometimes a guy is there, thats when its a valet style parking. First...

So delicious!! Thank you for opening a shop near Ala Moana♡ it’s so much easier to visit now! I’m planning to try the matcha...