Foodventure: Okinawa edition pt. 1
I am a girl who enjoys the simple pleasures in life such as eating. And when I say eating...I LOVE TO EAT. I'm always open to try new foods and restaurants. I'm not really fond of eating alone but that's kind of しょうがない when you live alone.
Quite possibly the most foodventurous thing I tried was whale while I was studying abroad in Tokyo. I had gone with a few study abroad friends on their last day in Tokyo...we tried whale in all forms that day (sorry to anyone if this makes you feel uncomfortable, I'm not shy when it comes to sharing food photos):
Since being in Okinawa, I haven't had a lot of opportunities to venture outside of my Family Mart diet (I live right across the street from one) but I have gotten to try some Okinawa staples such as Okinawa soba and umi budou (sea grapes). I'm kind of curious on trying the goat sashimi or the goat stew which I heard has a strong gamey flavor. Gaminess never bothered me so I think I might like it? However, I think I'll wait until Okinawa gets much colder before eating goat sashimi. The last time I ate raw oysters about a month ago, I got food poisoning 🤢.
Umi budou literally translates in to sea grapes. It's a type of seaweed but when you eat it, it's just like eating tobiko.
The price of vegetables in Okinawa, like the rest of Japan, is really expensive. I hate to say that I've been lacking the nutrients I usually get from my favorite green plants like spinach and broccoli. Avocados are also insanely expensive here so anytime I eat avos here is if the menu item comes with it. For example, I ordered a hamburger steak with half an avo with a salad combo. When the server took my order for that, she reminded me that it would have no rice and I told that's okay, I don't want rice. I consume so much rice in this country, I hate it ><. The most recent thing I ate was a donburi that had avos in also had an uneven balance of carbs and protein 😅.
It's been a little difficult to really venture out to try new places since I don't have a car so sometimes when I'm out and about it, I try to eat at the first restaurant I see. A few weeks ago, I tried this Korean restaurant which seemed like a mom and pop shop. I could see what I think were a mom and a dad around the restaurant with their kids running about. The last time I had Korean food in Japan was in Tokyo and it was quite expensive which their serving sizes are very different from Hawaii. However, this restaurant offered teishoku sets which are usually lower priced. I ordered the pork belly set which came with quite a bit of food.
Here's a pin of it if you'd like to check it out. It seems like it'd be a fun place for groups too. I think I'll be going back if I'm ever in that area again.
To conclude this foodventure post, here is a photo dump of other things I've eaten while being in Okinawa:
