There’s a new bowl in town.
Hinodeya is now serving Spicy Miso Ramen and Creamy Vegan Ramen in downtown San Jose’s San Pedro Square area. It’s the latest expansion by a Japan-based family whose culinary ventures go back 139 years, to a restaurant that opened in 1885 in the Saitama prefecture north of Tokyo.
Hinodeya sets itself apart from many other ramen bars with its light dashi-style broth made from fish and seaweed stock as opposed to pork-based tonkotsu broth.
It’s all about the umami, the founder explains.
“Every ingredient has its umami, but different ingredients have different umamis,” chef and CEO Masao Kuribara told Hoodline when his first U.S. outpost made its debut in San Francisco more than a decade ago. “Dashi has a particular kind of umami that we believe has a more powerful flavor.”
Several types of ramen are offered, all with wheat noodles or vegan spinach noodles. The house Hinodeya broth is flavored with scallop and pork oil and served with chashu pork and egg. Spicy Miso adds chicken, miso and heat. The Hama-guri bowl is loaded with littleneck clams. Zen Ramen is topped with shiitake, nori, carrots, fried sweet tofu, kale, baby spinach and goji berries.
Starters and side dishes include Takoyaki octopus fritters; spicy, flame-torched Aburi Chashu; Fried Oysters; both Chicken Karaage and Yasai (vegetable) Karaage; and both pork-chicken Gyoza and a Green Gyoza (edamame, onion, tofu). A full lineup of Japanese tea, soda, sake and beer is offered.
This Hinodeya fills the space formerly occupied by the China Wok restaurant. Other locations include San Francisco (three, with one more opening soon), Campbell and Newark.
Details: Open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and until 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday at 9 N. Market St., San Jose; https://hinodeyaramen.com/
