Noodle News
Yo! Bowl in Carrollton brings Dallas a rare twist on Asian noodles
Noodles at Yo! Bowls in Carrollton
An Asian restaurant in Carrollton is serving one-of-a-kind noodles: Called Yo! Bowl, it's an Asian Chinese fusion noodle shop that opened in 2024 at the recently-built The View condominium complex at 2700 Old Denton Rd.
Yo! Bowl revolves around a springy, chewy rice noodle from Taiwan called mifen, also sometimes called mei fun. These noodles can be found on some menus in Dallas, but Yo! Bowl is the rare all-mifen concept.
In China, mifen noodles are typically offered in self-serve bars, where customers choose their ingredients. In a nod to those origins, Yo! Bowl offers a build-it-yourself bowl but the ingredients are mixed behind the counter. They're available in a soup form, as well as a non-soup dry option, similar to a stir fry, in choice of spicy or non-spicy.
The noodles are cooked in 20 seconds, making this true fast food, given the speed in which customers get their orders.
Yo! Bowls owner Xinran Xu was born in China but grew up in Japan, where she worked in ramen and noodle shops before moving to New York. She owned a similar restaurant called Flower Brook Mifen House in the Queens neighborhood of Flushing, but sold it and moved to Dallas in 2019 when her husband Jason was relocated.
When she saw there were no mifen noodle shops, she decided to open Yo! Bowl.
“When I moved here, I wanted to bring this concept that is so popular in China," she says.
Bowls range from $11 to $13, depending on protein. Braised beef is the most popular. They also offer sliced beef, shrimp, chicken, fish, and tofu. These are served with a choice of vegetables, including pickled mustard greens, pickled beans, green onions, cilantro, bok choy, as well as peanuts, chili or Thai oil and an option of teriyaki, friend or quail egg.
In addition to the build-your-own, the menu has signature dishes such as the braised beef mifen noodle (soup or dry), served with the green onion, bok choy, and cilantro. There is also a ramen option.
Other dishes include appetizers such as dumplings, wontons in chili oil, scallion pancakes, and cucumber salad. Their homemade yogurt is also very popular.
“My mission is to educate people, give them an introduction to the dishes we serve and let them try for themselves," Xinran says. "We serve fast, affordable, healthy meals that are good for a quick lunch and dinner."
