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Issaquah has seen a lot of love lately from essential Eastside chain Dough Zone Dumpling House, which many consider superior to international competitor Din Tai Fung. Dough Zone, already present in Bellevue and Redmond, just opened its fourth and largest restaurant in late October, at 1580 NW Gilman Blvd in Issaquah's Meadows Shopping Center. It's open Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 9 p.m., as well as Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. This location is the first to serve beer, wine, and sake to wash down its handmade pockets of goodness. The Issaquah Press has a gallery of photos of the new space.
And in July, you'll recall, the restaurant group soft-launched its first non-dumpling concept in Issaquah: Ramen Bushi-Do. Everything's being made fresh in-house, including the noodles, a fairly uncommon challenge for a ramen shop to undertake given the popularity of producer Sun Noodle. You can take a closer look at Ramen Bushi-Do's process in a short film made by ASY TV this summer. (ASY also did an episode of its "Go There Eat That" series at the shop.) The eatery only offers seven types of ramen dishes on its menu to concentrate its energies, but is now adding more appetizers based on customer requests.
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Making noodles at Ramen Bushi-Do. [Photo: Courtesy of Ramen Bushi-Do]
But perhaps most exciting for Seattleites is the news that the group just received a permit to construct "Dough Zone 5" at 510 5th Ave S, at the corner of S King St in the International District. Thanks to a tipster who said they spotted the project on Dough Zone’s Issaquah menu, of all places.
Vickie Ji, in charge of marketing, told Eater the company is still seeking contractors and researching design, and therefore she can't yet estimate when the fifth Dough Zone will launch. It's also not clear yet if the Seattle store will handle production itself or be supplied by the central kitchen, which is on the Eastside.
Ji did reveal, though, that the company's goal is to have a total of ten dumpling houses in the Seattle area within three to five years — an ambitious plan that doesn't sound quite so crazy when you realize the group has opened four dumpling restaurants and a ramen shop in about two-and-a-half years. Getting peckish?
