Located in the middle of bar district of Matsuyama, Naha, Tenka provides authentic Edo-style tempura courses over the counter. Enjoy the crispy light tempura right out of the fryer.
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Lunch buffet with organic local fresh vegetables by a former greengrocer. Comes with organic tea and coffee too. Great place to be stuffed with energetic veggies.
Many visitors say Okinawa doesn’t have good fish. I used to say that too before I moved here. It seemed that the cold weather made animals put on fats that we all appreciate if it’s fish or beef. And Okinawa was tropical. Fish had no reason to wear fats. That’s what I thought. The fish I had at restaurants here was nothing like what I could have in northern Japan or in distribution central Tokyo. But I moved to Okinawa and started fishing in these waters, and I totally changed my ideas. There’s a deep-sea trench along Okinawa islands and there’s cold mineral-rich deep-sea currents flowing around here. This […]
We just came back from a week trip to USA. And we were drawn to Hachi Ren Ramen for lunch again. Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen with green onion and sprout topping. The spicy flavor comes from their housemade spicy oil with fried shrimps. Gorgeous soup. The straight medium-heavy noodles is silky and chewy. Today I celebrate my return with rice with a raw egg. It came with 2 different soy sauce, which is naturally brewed by a traditional soy sauce maker with some 400 years of history. Very round and rich flavor. I always eat noodles first. It’s a crime to let noodles sit in the soup and become […]
We have been chasing after oysters lately. We searched at Tenpusu in Ginoza this time. They have such great Dashi. If you have good broth like that, everything tastes so good. There it is!!! They have oysters from Itoshima, Fukuoka. Itoshima is a home of oysters, the most famous port for oysters in Kyushu. JPY250 a piece. Sashimi or steamed. They told me they fly in oysters on Tuesday and Thursday. Here comes Oysters sashimi. It’s sitting in Pon-Zu. Pon-Zu is a Japanese seasoning made of citrus juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar and dashi. They make their own Pon-Zu here and it’s brilliant Oyster’s so delicious […]
In the late afternoon yesterday, we dropped by our favorite little cake shop in Ginoza, Kino Store. They were busy making cakes and cookies for mail orders. Yes, they pack every cakes and cookies of the week, about a dozen of them, and ship to you. If you are in Okinawa, JPY3100 per pack, including freeze shipping. They are very popular with this mail order. If you want to order, send me a message and I will help you. info@fullofokinawa.com These holiday cookies are included in the mail order of the week. Their signature Lemon Cake JPY150 Black and White Cookie, JPY150 Hawaiian Coconut Mochi, JPY200. […]
The oyster season is hitting Okinawa now! Who should we go to see first to cook the oysters for us, but Kato-san? We are here at Kato Shokudou. Oysters in Ajillo. Usually they cook with oysters with potatoes which would be so delicious by absorbing the flavor from oysters. But we ordered some other things that come with potatoes, so Kato-san did us a favor to change it to snap peas and okura. Perfectly cooked with right temperature. So tasty. This is from Hiroshima. The most famous place for Japanese oysters. It comes with baguette. The olive oil carries so much flavor of oysters and we love dunking pieces of bread into […]
Okonomi Yaki is like a Japanese pancake containing a variety of ingredients. There are some regional variants. Osaka and Hiroshima are probably the most famous. They are very different styles. YuYu is from Kobe. And Kobe style is different from them too. She also says every families have different recipes and different secrets. I’m from Yokohama, and it’s not my thing. When I ask too many questions, YuYu would just shut me down. So I try to stay out of her thing…! Don’t argue. Don’t ask. Okonomi Yaki is really a soul food for those from those regions. I think her Okonomi Yaki is brilliant, the best I’ve ever had. But she […]
Pasta Pasta Pasta Deli House is just called “The House” most of the time. They got nothing to do with one of the nation’s biggest food manufacturers, “House Food”. It’s a little Italian restaurant specializing housemade pasta. Located on the hill in Urasoe, it looks down on downtown Naha. I just realized that I forgot to post this up. This is actually a while ago. A cozy, but stylish, space that feels like visiting a friend’s dining room. 2 kinds of assorted antipasto, 1 salad, and pastas all the way. They say they have over 20 kinds of housemade pasta. And they are meant to enjoy energetic vegetables and […]
Kato Shokudo is our favorite place. We wanted to go to Aroma Onsen in Ginowan to warm up our bodies. Kato Shokudo happens to be near… Well, we could use any excuses to come here. Chicken liver mousse and pork patty. We just can’t miss it. So tasty, so creamy. No edgy scent. We can’t miss this one either. We don’t know why, but we just can’t get enough of these fries here. We don’t know what. We think they put in something addictive. (just kidding) It’s just so good. We decided to go for the day’s specials today. The first to come was this. Grilled fig with […]
There is a Okinawa soba place in the central Nago we like. Yae Soba is very much loved by the local, the old people mostly. Nice to park at Nago City Market and walk from there. If you buy something at the market, it’s free. There’s a little coffee shop for that. If not, JPY50 per 30 minutes. Nothing. Walk through this backstreet into the deep Nago. Goofing around the weird night clubs on the way. And here we are. The menu is simple. Okinawa Soba with pork back ribs. With pork belly. With half ribs and half belly. And Jushi, Okinawan mix rice. I had […]
We came to see our friends. Masami-san and Jimmie at Miyabi Chaya. Miyabi Chaya is a ohagi cafe but they serve lunch too. Sui-Ton Ton. Sui-Ton Lunch set is JPY850 which comes with an ohagi and a drink. Add JPY300 for Agoo pork, Okinawa’s unique species and a brand pork, Sui-Ton Ton. Yuyu had miso base. Agoo Pork is fatty meat. The fat carries sweet taste. Soft in texture, richer in Umami components. Low in cholesterol. The fat melts at lower temperature. I strongly recommend to add Agoo because it makes the whole bowl tastier with Umami components. Sui-Ton is originally from Northern Japan. It’s like Udon in different […]