Food Articles｜A Self-Guided Travel Experience in Okinawa

The reason why I wrote a separate article on food is that I think it would be too divergent to write about the food in various scenic spots. The scenic spots in Okinawa are very beautiful and the sea is very blue. To remove the interference of food (?), I think I can focus more on it. The attraction itself.

Before departure, our imagination of Okinawa food mainly comes from the imagination of Japanese food, such as ramen, barbecued meat, etc., but there are also many local specialties in Okinawa, such as bitter gourd, sweet potato desserts, and Okinawa noodles. is quite distinctive.

During this five-day journey, there were probably well-known, chained, and random break-in restaurants, and generally speaking, there were not many thunderbolts.

Ichiran Ramen - Kokusai Street

Recommended level: ★★★☆☆

Well, some people will definitely want to say why they should eat Ichiran ramen when they go to Japan and don’t eat other things (in fact, we also eat beef horns, and we won’t introduce them because they are too unpalatable). Please allow me to explain: on the first day, because it was already eight or nine o'clock when I arrived at the hotel, I went to see Nuanmu when I took the monorail to the International Pass, but the crowd of people in the queue really made me not want to queue at all, and the next day I wanted to get up early and go to Nagaru Island to play in the water . I really didn’t want to go to bed too late. I also wanted to say that I didn’t eat Yilan in Taiwan, so I went in.

How to say it, I can understand that Ichiran ramen is still better than some ramen restaurants in Taiwan. What I like most is their chili oil and chili powder, which has a rich chili aroma without being too spicy. But... I feel like there is no need to line up like that in Taiwan, I really can't understand it like the one in Xinyi District.

Ichilan at Kokusai Tong will not have a long queue like other ramen restaurants. I think if you have never eaten Yilan in Taiwan, you don’t want to wait in a long line due to time constraints. You can eat Yilan. After Taiwan, I mentioned to my friends, "I'm going to Okinawa to eat Ichiran", and then my friends roared, "Taiwan also has it, why go to Japan to eat this" mental preparation.

The dining experience of Ichiran Ramen is very special. One person has a small booth. You must place the order in front of the booth. After receiving the order, the clerk will pull down the curtain in front of you, and then open the curtain and deliver it to you. You basically can't see their faces during the meal.

There are not many people chatting wildly, and it is enough to focus on "eating".

But for some reason, there has always been an illusion of black market transactions.

ナガンヌ Island - BBQ beef

Translation: Nagaru Island - BBQ Beef Set

Recommended level: ★★★☆☆

As mentioned in the previous article , Nagaru Island cannot bring outside food, and if there is a dietary need, it must be solved through the only store on the island. From April to October, there are package tickets (boat tickets, snorkeling, parasol lounge chairs, BBQ beef packages), which are relatively cheap and don’t need to worry about dietary issues, so we also bought this package.

When looking for information on the Internet, I basically couldn't find everyone's evaluation of this barbecued meat set, so although this is not a shop that you want to come to (nor a restaurant), I think it's better to write it down for the right comments. Reference for those interested in Nagaru Island.

The barbecued meat set for two includes two sausages, two slices of ham, two sticks of flower sticks, a pile of beef slices, creamed corn, sweet peppers, Hongxi mushrooms, cabbage and two bowls of rice. Yes, the package contains processed meat, not entirely raw meat, and the package content cannot be changed, please make your own discretion.

The cooking method has to be grilled on the iron plate provided by them. The iron plate is not very clean. If you don't pay attention to the coke on the iron plate while baking, it is easy to bake things black. The beef slices were unexpectedly fresher than expected, and there was no fishy smell, and the cabbage didn't look too old or old or anything. If the BBQ technology is good enough, this meal should already be considered good.

For the part of the flower branch, I can't provide opinions because I don't eat seafood.

Because processed meat and beef have a lot of fat, it is recommended not to add oil when roasting (the store will provide a bottle of salad oil). Especially after a morning of swimming, but still feeling full, I think the portion should be quite enough.

Ryukyu Tea House あしびうなぁ

Recommended level: ★★★★★

Ryukyu Tea House is one of the restaurants that must be found on Google "Okinawa Food". The dining environment renovated from the old military officer's house of the Ryukyu Kingdom is full of history. The dining space of Ryukyu Tea House is divided into two areas, one is the indoor tatami area, and the other is the open space area facing the Japanese-style Zen garden. It seems that this part can be selected when making a reservation.

When I went there that day, there was a shamisen performance in the Japanese Zen Garden, which was completely filled with a sense of tradition and style.

meal

Ryukyu Tea House almost includes most of the Okinawan dishes, such as Okinawa noodles, bitter gourd dishes, Okinawa salty rice, etc. If the budget allows, a set meal can already be eaten all over Okinawa. For example, I ordered a set of roast pork with ginger sauce, and then I ordered a scrambled egg with bitter gourd and fried tofu with my travel companions.

However, their lunch and dinner menus are different. If you have a special item you want to eat, remember to check whether it is served at noon or at night, and then go there according to the time, so as not to miss out.

transportation

Ryukyu Tea House is right next to the entrance of Shuri Castle . You can take the monorail to Shuri Station and walk for about ten minutes.

booking

Reservations can be made by phone or online .

JEF Burger - Yonahara Branch

Recommendation level: ★★☆☆☆

JEF Burger is a very local fast food restaurant in Okinawa. Its locality is probably as local as Dandan in southern Taiwan. Searching the entire Okinawa with google map only shows three stores in the south, and there is even no official website. The reason why they are famous must be their bitter gourd burgers.

Although it is very delicious and unique on the Internet, I feel that it is really ordinary when I eat it myself. I feel that bitter gourd is a bit hard to add, and the overall taste is also very conflicting and not integrated. If I haven't eaten it, I don't think it's necessary to eat it. We just stopped by for breakfast when we were going to the southeast by motorcycle on the third day .

Unless you are really curious and want to try it, I don't recommend it.

transportation

Because it was passing by on the way to the southeast, the Yonahara store had to be reached by car or bicycle. Those who are interested in bitter gourd burgers can consider going to the Naha store , which is closer to the city and can also be reached by monorail (Makishi Station).

カフェくるくま (Cafe Turmeric Flower)

Recommended level: ★★★★★

Located in the southern part of Okinawa, on the hills near Chinen Cape Park and Saiba Mitake, the excellent location gives it an unmatched sea view. The team of chefs who are proud of Thai cuisine has also obtained the certification of Thai Select .

Thai Select is an official certification issued by the Thailand International Trade Promotion Department to certify whether the Thai dishes sold by Thai restaurants around the world meet its standards.

meal

This time I ordered green curry chicken rice, red taro Mont Blanc, and turmeric tea.

In the part of green curry chicken rice, the aroma and spiciness of green curry are mellow and mellow, but the spiciness gradually germinates after entering the mouth, and the chicken in the bath is even more tender. The rice and the curry are packed separately, so that the rice will not be too full of curry and become soft and rotten. You can also pour the curry into the rice plate and eat it. I myself will dip a spoon into the curry and dip a little bit into the curry and eat it. Lose.

The cilantro garnished on top is also a godsend - but if you hate cilantro, remember to tell the boss first, or go for a Japanese stamp of no cilantro - sip a cold drink after the curry slowly stimulates the mouth, and it is chilled in the mouth. Looking at the beautiful seascape at the same time is really a great enjoyment in life.

Red taro Mont Blanc is one of the few items sold here that is related to Okinawa. The soft cake body is filled with red taro cream filling. a world.

booking

There is currently no online reservation, so you have to call. The clerk speaks simple English, so communication should be smooth. The phone can be found on the official website , and it will appear in the lower right corner after scrolling.

transportation

Public transportation in southeastern Okinawa is relatively underdeveloped, and we went there by motorcycle. Starting from Naha, follow the Japanese National Highway 331 all the way to the southeast. After reaching a fork in the road, turn right for a short distance. The road after turning right at the fork will have a steep uphill (really steep), and the road is also small. Please pay attention to driving safety.

After driving up, you will enter a relatively broad platform. Cafe Turmeric has its own parking lot, so it should not be difficult to find.

からあげやカリッジュ

Translation: Fried Chicken Kali Chirp

Recommended level: ★★★★☆

This fried chicken restaurant, which only serves take-out, was taken by the coach when we returned from diving on the fourth day. It was a fried chicken restaurant that won the Gold Award of the 4th Japan Fried Chicken Association . I checked and found that at the beginning of this year, a store was actually opened on Yongkang Street in Taipei to test the water temperature, but unfortunately it was closed later.

Because the dive site is moving northward, we went to the Nago shop in the northernmost part of Okinawa this time. If you want to eat, you don’t have to travel so far. There are two in Naha city.

Their menu is very simple, basically fried chicken and seasoned with various powders or sauces. Since it was the first time, I ordered the most basic original and spicy flavors. I have to say, it's really delicious, and I recommend everyone to eat the original flavor. Their original fried chicken has a very strong flavor. Sprinkling with spicy powder is even more fragrant. I thought that adding sauce might ruin the fried chicken itself. smell.

Their fried chicken is crispy on the outside but not so hard that you think you'll scratch your mouth if you bite into it, the inside is completely different, tender and juicy, really juicy, I almost dived The coach's car was dirty. Fortunately, the coach kept reminding me to spray juice before eating it.

I'm a little curious about how this is differentiated. For example, Taiwanese fried chicken will be coated with a lot of flour to lock in the gravy, but their fried chicken is not coated with so much flour but can maintain this tenderness and juiciness. ,superb.

transportation

The Nago store is very far away, so I won't introduce it here. If you are interested, you can Google it yourself. There are two stores in Naha, the Matsuyama store and the Shintoshin store behind the Okinawa Prefectural Museum.

Grilled meat workshop group

Recommended level: ★★★☆☆

This yakiniku restaurant is also a store that you will find when you search for "Okinawa yakiniku". It does not have the exaggerated decoration of the chain store and the large number of waiters, but the quality of the meat is not inferior to the chain store.

Simplified Chinese menus will be provided in the store, which is not very understandable but better than reading all Japanese. It can be a single order or a set menu. We ordered a "group" set meal for two and a single beef tongue. The set menu includes two bowls of rice, grilled vegetables, and two plates of meat (beef loin and rib).

meal

The portion of the rice is quite large, the portion of the meat is average, and the vegetables are basically supporting roles, so there is nothing to say. The rice is very delicious. It can only be said that it is indeed Japan. Even the rice in the barbecue restaurant is so delicious.

The power of Japanese wagyu is also serious and powerful. The last time I had such delicious beef was Lao Che in Kaohsiung (but the price was much higher). The soft and tender beef without fishy smell naturally emits a cream-like aroma after roasting; although I don’t like the taste of beef tongue, the characteristic of beef tongue itself is sometimes soft and sometimes crispy.

The only pity is that the beef we ordered, other than the tongue, was drizzled with sauce before it was served, and the store didn't seem to provide salt. This is really embarrassing for people who like to eat the original meat slices, they will provide an extra plate of soy sauce, not sure why they want to drizzle the sauce on the good quality meat slices, otherwise I will recommend this shop.

transportation

You can take the monorail to "Owusan Park" station and walk for about 20 minutes. There is a parking space in front of the store, so those who drive or bike don't have to worry.

Jingzhao Kiln

Recommended level: ★★★☆☆

It advertises its own soba noodles. One night we were counting what we didn’t eat in Okinawa this time. There were ramen noodles, barbecued pork, and Japanese light meals, but there was no soba noodles. A restaurant to eat without doing your homework.

The main items sold in the store are soba cold noodles, soba soup noodles and tempura, and there are also many Japanese-style side dishes. The dining space is not large, and it seems that guests are allowed to smoke in the store (the smell of smoke in the store was a bit heavy at that time). If you are interested, please consider visiting. At that time, we were the only tourists in the whole store, and everyone spoke very quietly. It felt like a noodle shop that locals would go to.

meal

At that time, because of the smell of smoke and I was rushing back to the hotel, I didn't take any photos carefully.

It's not too much in terms of portion size. The vegetables in the tempura are fresh, and they won't be fried too old. The oil doesn't have a strange taste. It is very appetizing with the refreshing Japanese soy sauce. I'm not sure if it's because of the noodle soup. The soba noodles themselves are soft, unlike the cold noodles that we usually eat, which are very chewy, and the taste of the soup is light. If you come to Okinawa to eat too much fish and meat, I think it would be good to come here to eat some soba noodles with simpler cooking methods and tastes.

transportation

You can take the monorail to "Xiaolu" station, and you can walk there in about five minutes.

There are really many small shops in Okinawa that look amazing, whether it is an izakaya, a small noodle shop on the side of the road, a home-run roast meat shop... etc., all make me want to break in, although I have planned before departure. About what to eat, when you arrive at the local area, it is easy to be attracted by the restaurant next to it. Planning first has the advantage of planning first, but the easiest way to get to know a place and the first way to implement it must be foraging. Keeping a little space for "see what to eat" is a good way to explore Okinawa.

Except for the bitter gourd burger, there is basically no thunder, even the worst-looking Nagaru Island BBQ grilled meat set is better than some treacherous and even chain grilled meat restaurants in Taiwan. If the situation permits, I also encourage everyone to come to an intuitive restaurant hunting, maybe you will find a food paradise that no one has ever been to!