What to Know
- Saturday, Aug. 17
- Japanese American Cultural & Community Center
- 2 to 4 p.m.
You say there's a heaping plate of amazing gyoza at the center of the table? And you've got some soy sauce at the ready, and perhaps some chili paste, too, the sort of condiments that complement a well-made dumpling?
Then go for it. Gobble them down, while your friends do the same, but know that the last gyoza you reach for may be snapped up in a flash.
For the traditional pocket o' goodness, which is found in several flavorful forms throughout Asia, is one of those hard-to-stop-eating foods, thanks to the gyoza's perfect size, great mouth feel, and yummy fillings.
But jumping into a platter of glorious gyoza-dom will ascend to a whole new level on Saturday, Aug. 17 when cuisine-quick eaters go chomp-to-chomp in the 2019 Day-Lee Foods World Gyoza Eating Championship.
It's one of the centerpieces of the full-to-brimming Nisei Week calendar.
What will you see if you make for the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center from 2 to 4 p.m. on Aug. 17?
The Scene
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Competitive eaters chowing down on small mountains of dumplings. Joey "Jaws" Chestnut was the victor in 2018, having eaten 359 gyoza in the allotted ten-minute window.
That's right: 359 gyoza. Ten minutes. Now here are some exclamation points, for emphasis: !!!
This is a give-back event, by the by: Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is the beneficiary. The organization will receive "... a case of product for every 25 gyoza consumed in the contest," as well as 20 pounds of food "for every pound of gyoza" during the savory showdown.
