Last year, Fafa and I finally got to try Okinawa cuisine at an Okinawan restaurant in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
I had a pretty baseless assumption that Okinawa cuisine might be somewhat similar to Hawaiian cuisine, mainly because I once read that both use spam. (Full disclosure: I have never eaten Hawaiian cuisine before, and this feels like me documenting my dumb assumptions just for you to judge)
At the restaurant, we ordered a few Okinawan dishes that sounded familiar on the menu, grew less familiar when they arrived, and became even less familiar again once we tasted them—but in a good way.
A Feast of Okinawa Cuisine
We started with Rafute (braised pork belly). It was tender and flavourful, though not something I’d personally rush to order again.
Next was Okinawa-style omu rice. Rice, meat and lettuce, wrapped in omellete and topped with tomatoes. That one was decent and easy to enjoy.
Then came Gōyā Champurū (bitter melon stir-fry) with spam and egg. This instantly took me back to when my parents used to pay me ten cents to eat bitter melon, then laugh at my reaction (don’t feel bad for me, they fully believed in its health benefits and were trying to “train” my palate. The laughing was just a bonus for them).
This dish turned out to be my favourite of the night. I’ve surprisingly grown to like bitter melon over time, and I wouldn’t mind recreating the Okinawan dish at home. So in a way, my parents kind of won.
Next was a Beni Imo Croquette, the purple sweet potato croquette. I know it’s usually considered a savoury side, but I’d personally prefer it as a closing dish rather than in the middle of the meal.
The final dish was ikasumi pasta (squid-ink pasta, but with a twist: the pasta noodle is actually Yakisoba). I suspect this reflects Western influence in Okinawa, likely tied to its historical and cultural mix, including the presence of US military bases.
I rounded off the meal with a glass of habushu (snake liquor), because… well, when in Okinawa (restaurant) and all that.
There’s something special about experiencing regional food while travelling. It makes me want to explore more of Okinawa’s cuisine and, more broadly, Japan’s regional food culture.
For years, I had been holding onto this idea of travelling to Okinawa with my Singapore friends, only to recently discover they had already gone without me. So in a way, this meal felt like a small part of that curiosity being satisfied. At the same time, it also opened the door to wondering what else Okinawa has to offer—and maybe I can still convince them to go again, this time with me included.
Okinawa Paradise address: Japan, 〒160-0021 Tokyo, Shinjuku City, Kabukicho, 1 Chome−2−16 第一オスカービル 3F.
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