Former Houston Dynamo star Brian Ching is preparing to bring a taste of his native Hawaii to Houston.

Ching is launching a food truck called Hula Dogs, specializing in a hot dog-stuffed bun – think of it as an Aloha-State take on a kolache but larger. The Hula Dog truck, which Ching hopes to debut next week, will be parked in front of Pitch 25, 2120 Walker, the giant EaDo soccer bar and beer garden that Ching opened in June with the Kirby Group. (Ching is inviting media to an afternoon preview on Friday, Aug. 24; he'd be wise to prepare a few extra for the public.)

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He first tasted a hula dog on a trip to Hawaii in February. "I loved the idea and the concept," said Ching who partnered with franchisee Constantine Lau to bring the Hula Dog to Houston. Ching and Lau are launching the truck on their own, not in partnership with Pitch 25. The truck, however, will have a presence at Pitch 25. If it finds an audience, the partners will open brick and mortar stores in Houston, Ching said.

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"We want to see the market reaction first then we'll move forward on the brick and mortar," Ching said. "There's no date on that yet."

A Hula Dog starts with a special bun – "light and fluffy," Ching said – that is impaled on a heating rod to toast a hole down the length of the bun. The bun choices are white, wheat and purple taro and bacon (the latter makes for a colorful Instagram post).

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The hole is then filled with a choice of sauces (lemon garlic, jalapeno, chile pepper) and choice of relishes (mango, papaya, pineapple, banana, coconut or star fruit). The hot dog component is an all-beef wiener, Polish sausage or vegan dog. Traditional condiments also are available: yellow or Dijon mustard, ketchup. Sweet relish, pickle relish and sweet onion relish. Ching's menu also includes specialty Hula Dogs such as the Texas Kahuna (taro bread, 44 Farms all-beef sausage, garlic lemon sauce, mango relish and mustard); Big Island (white bread, Polish sausage, jalapeno sauce, mango relish and guava mustard); Molokai (white bread, Polish sausage, garlic lemon sauce, coconut relish and passion fruit mustard).

The only other thing Hula Dog sells are drinks and shaved ice with natural Hawaiian fruit syrups (flavors include strawberry, passion fruit, guava, coconut, pineapple, orange, lemon and banana).

You can hop over to the Hula Dog website to learn more about its history.

This is the second F&B concept Dynamo ambassador Ching has invested in after lending his fame to the Pitch 25 concept with the Kirby Group (Holman Draft Hall, Heights Bier Garten, Wooster's Garden). Pitch 25, named for a football pitch (field) and the number Ching wore with the Dynamo, opened just as World Cup fever took hold earlier this year. It's among the go-to drinking spots in the fast-growing EaDo dining and drinking scene.

Greg Morago writes about food for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter. Send him news tips at greg.morago@chron.com. Follow him on the podcast BBQ State of Mind to learn about Houston and Texas barbecue culture.