New ramen restaurant from Japan opens on Dallas' Greenville Avenue

A one-of-a-kind ramen restaurant from Japan is coming to Dallas: Called Hinodeya Ramen, it'll open at 2023 Greenville Ave. in the space formerly occupied by BBBbop, and will open in late spring.

A representative from the restaurant confirmed that the restaurant was nearly complete and that founder Masao Kuribara, a fourth-generation ramen maker and native of Japan, was in Dallas overseeing the construction.

Hinodeya is unique in the ramen world because they feature dashi-style ramen using dashi broth, which is made with fish stock rather than the usual tonkotsu broth made from pork stock. Making ramen with dashi is not even that common in Japan.

The menu includes starters, rice dishes, and ramen. Starters range from familiar offerings like shishito peppers and dumplings to more unusual treats such as young bamboo shoots marinated in hot chili oil; fried oysters from Japan; and tebasaki, AKA Japanese-style braised chicken wings, which appear to have no sauce. Shocking.

Their house ramen has whole wheat noodles with traditional Japanese dashi made from bonito, kombu, and scallops, flavored with scallops and pork oil.

There's an unusual chicken ramen with a rich, creamy broth consisting of pork dashi broth to which scallops are added for flavor. It has whole wheat noodles, braised chicken wings, shiitake mushrooms, soft cooked egg, dried seaweed, green onion, mizuna, sesame seeds, and red pepper.

There are two great-looking vegan ramen options. Creamy ramen has a shiitake broth with spinach, noodles, soy milk, tofu, fried kale, acorn squash, shiitake, dried seaweed, mizuna, sesame seeds, and bell pepper. Zen ramen haschampon noodles with kombu, shiitake, white soy sauce dashi broth, dried seaweed, carrots, soy chips, fried kale, mizuna, and goji berries.

They'll offer a big selection of sakes, including sake tasting flights, along with Japanese beers and whiskeys, and green teas.

Kuribara comes from a long line of ramen makers. His great great grandfather opened what was the original Hinodeya in Japan back in 1885, as "Hinode-ya," translation "Sunrise-House," with only 15 seats, and the reins have been handed down from generation to generation.

Kuribara has also been a chef at the Japanese Embassy in Holland, where he got the opportunity to cook for presidents and heads of state, including Bill Clinton.His overseas working experience gave him the desire to earn recognition for Japanese cuisine and spread Japan’s appeal to the world through food.

He opened the first Hinodeya in San Francisco's Japantown in 2016, and has since opened two more locations in Northern California.

The new Dallas restaurant goes into a dense area that's tight on parking. It takes over a space that was also serving worthy Asian food, yet did not thrive. BBBop specialized in bibimbap, the Korean dish combining rice with vegetables, sauces, meat, and a fried egg; it closed in July 2018. Yucatan Taco Stand, an adjoining restaurant, also closed, in October.

It'll join at least two other restaurants in the same vicinity that are covering similar turf: the long-established Japanese restaurant Teppo, and Wabi House, which specializes in ramen.

It also marks the second high-profile ramen concept from San Francisco to come to Texas, following the arrival of Marufuku Ramen, a Bay Area noodle shop that has earned raves and long lines for its authentic tonkotsu ramen, which is opening its first location in Texas — and its first outside of California — at 9292 Warren Pkwy. in Frisco, in a vibrant center along with 85C Bakery and Kura Revolving Sushi Bar.