The reputation is built.
The website is just catching up to what Tampa Bay already knows.
Tampa Bay’s most-decorated dumplings.
Shiso Crispy did not arrive quietly. What began as a Pinellas Park food truck became a Tampa Bay Times “Best of the Best” winner in both 2020 and 2021, and the readers’ pick for #1 food truck in the bay. Then came a feature in The New York Timesand six appearances on Food Network’s Guy’s Grocery Games, where Chef Ronicca Whaley became a familiar face.
Local press has followed every move since, from St Pete Rising and I Love the Burg covering the EDGE District storefront and the new Jannus Block lounge, to That’s So Tampa tracking the food-truck favorite Tampa can’t stop talking about. The accolades are nice. The thousands of five-star reviews are nicer.
In good company.
“A Tampa Bay dumpling spot worth the detour.”
““Best of the Best,” two years running.”
“A six-time contender on Guy's Grocery Games.”
“Beloved Japanese-inspired Shiso Crispy lands on the Jannus Block.”
“Hand-folded gyoza, dirty rice and a Japanese lounge downtown.”
“The food-truck favorite Tampa Bay can't stop talking about.”
Why it matters
Awards are not the point, but they tell you something. A “Best of the Best” title is voted on by the people who actually eat here, not a panel, which is why winning it twice meant so much. Six trips to Guy’s Grocery Games put the hand-folding technique on a national stage, and a New York Times feature confirmed what Tampa Bay locals had been saying for years: this is some of the best Asian food in the region.
What does not show up in the headlines is the consistency. The same gyoza that won those awards out of a food truck is the gyoza you get today at our Central Ave, Jannus Block and Tampa kitchens. Made from scratch, folded by hand, crisped to order, every single time. That is the real reputation, and it is the one we are proudest of.
Press inquiries and catering features welcome. Come taste what all the fuss is about.