Starting this week, Wichita will be able to try Kyuramen and sit in its honeycomb booths

The owners of Sapporo in Wichita are ready to start welcoming people to their eye-catching new ramen restaurant on Rock Road.

Kyuramen/TBaar — the restaurant at 314 N. Rock Road with the unique honeycomb seating structure and flowering egg dish that I told you about earlier this month —will start a soft opening period on Thursday, Aug. 1, that will run through Sunday, Aug. 4.

But there’s a caveat: Before people visit, owner Lee Li and her partners are asking that people call ahead to 316-941-5585 and make a reservation.

Monday, Aug. 5, will be the grand opening, she said, and starting that day, people can just show up without calling ahead. The owners — who also include Li’s husband, Leo Lin, and their partners Quinn Nguyen and Finn Fang — say they want the soft opening period to have a slower pace so that the kitchen and the front of the house can perfect their systems before they get inundated with customers.

And they’re likely to be inundated: Kyuramen (pronounced “Q-ramen”) has been the subject of much social media chatter since I first posted photos and pictures from inside earlier this month, the owners said.

Kyuramen/TBaar will be a dual concept restaurant that will operate out of a strip center right behind the Freddy’s Frozen Custard restaurant on North Rock Road . On the north side of the large space is Kyuramen, a full-service, sit-down restaurant that will serve ramen soup and appetizers like steamed bao buns, deep fried dumplings, octopus balls and fried oysters.

On the south side of the space is TBaar, a boba shop with its own counter that also serves smoothies and fruit tea. Both Kyuramen and TBaar are part of a chain based in New York City.

Kyuramen, in particular, is known for its unique, Instagrammable interior. It features a honeycomb-shaped wooden seating structure with enclosed booths on three levels. Each booth is fitted with its own Japanese lamp shade and lined with lighting, and the levels are connected by stairs.

The dining room also has two enclosed circular wooden booth structures that are both shaped like sake bottles, and there’s a long row of enclosed wooden booths that are made private with curtain panels. In the back of the restaurant are two private booths that will accommodate larger parties.

The centerpiece is an intricate wooden wishing tree whose wooden “branches” stretch out across the ceiling and are fitted with tiny hooks. Kyuramen staff members will encourage people to write their wishes on small wooden panels, which they’ll hang from the tree using ribbon. A nearby wall structure has been designed to hold the wishes that don’t fit on the tree, and the staff will regularly switch them out.

Kyuramen also has several unique dishes on its menu , including something called Omurice, which is essentially a puffed up, oval-shaped omelet with a firm exterior. When a diner runs a knife across the top, the omelet dramatically opens up, almost like a flower, and the scrambled eggs nestled inside spill out. Eight eggs are required to make the dish, which sits on top of a bed of chicken fried rice and can be topped with the diner’s choice of curry sauce or demi glace.

Kyuramen’s customers will be able to choose from several combo options that include boba drinks from TBaar. Meanwhile, those who stop in just to patronize TBaar will also be able to order some of Kyuramen’s appetizers.

Both Kyramen and TBaar will have the same hours during the soft opening: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

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