Okinawa Eats

While out walking around town, we stumbled across a Chinese restaurant called Ryu’s Dining that immediately drew us in. The stunning artwork and overgrown foliage around it made it look like a little Hobbit house!

We got there for an early dinner and were immediately greeted by the owner, who is also the chef. He introduced himself as “Dragon,” the English translation from the name Ryu. We were initially the only ones in the restaurant and Ryu was extremely friendly. He explained the practice of Dim Sum to us, which is a style of Chinese cuisine where you order several dishes and share them. He went into great detail about various dishes on the menu, recommending certain ones for us. I’ve never met somebody so passionate about cooking! He travels back to Shanghai and also to Tokyo at the beginning of each month to get the necessary ingredients.

The decor inside the restaurant was stunning, with various light fixtures Ryu had created hanging about the restaurant. Everything was lit up in some manner or another!

The familiar relationship the owner established with us, the softly lit atmosphere, the exquisite food we ordered all made this dining experience truly special for us.

Another place we stumbled across was a little bakery. This was the first time I’d been inside a Japanese bakery, and it definitely did not disappoint! It seemed like a pretty standard bakery to me–lots of bread and different sweets. I’ve attached a few pictures of the ones I got that seemed a little out of the ordinary!

This one was one of my favorites–the strawberries coupled with this sweet white cream (that resembled Cool Whip) made for the perfect flaky pastry.

This one was a pastry shell filled with caramelized pear slices. I’m pretty sure the yellow part under the pear slices was egg, but it didn’t taste like anything, so who knows?

This little guy we just picked out because it was cute! This one was my least favorite, as it wasn’t really sweet. It just tasted like matcha/green tea flavored bread.

This little pizza pie was such a tasty snack! I threw it in the microwave for a quick 30 seconds when we got home, and it was perfect. It was just the marinara sauce, mushrooms and cheese, but the simplicity is what made it so good!

To conclude this food themed blog post, I wanted to share a couple of my favorite drinks I’ve ran across recently. In the grocery store, there are tons of different fruit/veggie juices to choose from!

From what I gather from the pictures on the box, they’re extremely healthy too!

Usually they’re pretty tasty, but there are a couple I’ve ran across that tasted a little too healthy and leafy for my liking!

Look at all the veggies they’ve managed to fit into this drink!

Last but not least is this little gem I found at the local Lawson Station (convenience store). The convenience stores in Japan are incredible! They have everything you need for a quick lunch and the options they have put American 7-11’s food to shame (not to be mistaken for the Japanese 7-11’s, which also offer amazing food that’s to die for). This refreshing drink simply tastes like a liquefied strawberry yogurt smoothie. Lacking the artificial flavor that so many other fruit drinks in the states seem to have, this full-flavored strawberry drink has quickly become a regular item for me to buy when we stop at Lawson!