Starting this blog has brought me many friends. Some that I've met in person, some that I only know through e-mail. I am very fortunate.During our week in Okinawa, we stopped in Chatan to visit Nate of Hwn Pake Okinawa. I've met Nate for lunch in Hawaii--he has a lot of knowledge about different types of foods and places in Hawaii.
We met him for dinner and went to his favorite restaurant, Sabani. (He lives 2 minutes from this place) By the way, Sabani is the okinawan word for fishing boat.He's written about this place several times, so if you are interested about other dishes there check out his blog.
Nate had the butteryaki--a deep fried fish of your choice then topped with garlic and butter. The fish that Nate chose was Gara in Okinawan or Papio in Hawaiian. He enjoyed this dish as well as the sides.
Satoshi chose the Sabani teishoku. This dish came with a fish of your choice simmered in shoyu and mirin and half a lobster. The fish that Satoshi chose was called Ta-man (in Okinawan), Hamafuefuki (in Japanese) or Spangled emperor (bream) in English. (In the picture above, Satoshi's fish is the one with yellowish fins. Nate's fish is the silver one in front.) Satoshi also ordered some sashimi.
I ordered the chirashizushi. This dish was huge! It was served in a 10-12 inch bowl...Lots of sashimi and umibudou (literally sea grapes, the greenish bumpy thing in the bottom right). Umibudou is found in Okinawa. I heard that you cannot put this into the refrig or it will shrivel up.Everything was delicious and we had a nice time chatting with Nate. Sorry, I don't know how much it all was because Nate was generous to treat us. (Thank you Nate!)
After dinner, we went to check out Nate's huge apartment (he has a 3LDK) and he also gave me all these goodies. Bacon, King's sweet bread, Best Foods mayo & Goji berries.On our first morning back from our vacation, we had the bacon, sweet bread (with butter & guava jelly), egg & shiquasa juice (I'll post about shiquasa later) for breakfast.
Although our visit with Nate was short, it was nice to see a familiar face and spend some time together. (Thanks again Nate!)
great to hear that you had a great time, with friends and family... anyways, welcome back! next vacation, you should hit california so that *we* can hang out =P
ReplyDeletewill definitely let you know if we head your way, Ila :)
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat
What a fun night--dinner sounds wonderful and what a haul from Nate. Do you like goji berries? I find I can eat them in things (like trail mix) but I am not crazy about them on their own.
ReplyDeleteThanks Deb, it was fun indeed. I usually add them to yogurt, like you, I'm not too crazy about them on their own.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat
I should have taken a picture of the bones of the gara!
ReplyDeleteNate
Yeah, that would made a great photo, Nate :)
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat
It's really nice to be able to make friends all over. Glad you have a nice time with Nate. The food looks delicious! Love the photos.
ReplyDeletePaz
Great dinner choice!! It must have been very filling!
ReplyDeleteThanks Paz & Phoebe, isn't blogging the best way to make friends??
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat
What fun to be able to go out to dinner with Nate on his turf. One question though, what is 3LDK? Sorry, I'm totally clueless on that one, no matter what I try to come up with. Score on the goodies!
ReplyDeleteNo problem Rowena, 3LDK stands for 3 rooms, plus a living, dining & kitchen this is how the Japanese write up their real estate properties. e.g. If you see an ad for a 3DK, you know it will not have a living room. Hope this clears things up.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat
Aww that sounded like an awesome trip Kat! ^_^ I've never heard of umibudou before - what does it taste like?
ReplyDeleteThanks Kathy, Umibudou pops in your mouth like tobiko (flying fish) roe does and it is salty in taste. Hope this helps :)
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat
Sounds like a great restaurant! That's cool that you can choose papio as your entree. Don't see that too much here.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lori, apparently Okinawa doesn't have rules on size so this papio showed up as part of "catch of the day".
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Kat