| As Okinawa prefecture used to be an independent kingdom long time ago, the culture and customs in Okinawa are unique and peculiar. Recently such individuality of Okinawa has been drawing the attention of public, and lots of things associated with Okinawa have gained popularity among Japanese. Foods are no exception in that. Okinawa foods are believed to be healthy and macrobiotic, and the ingredients that are rarely seen in the main land of Japan and unique recipes are also popular. Today we introduce to you the Okinawa food's restaurant "Umi-budo" located at Tsukiji. The name of the restaurant "Umi-budo" (Sea grapes) is an indigenous food material of Okinawa. Have you ever tried it? It looks like a very small grape, but it's not a fruit but a kind of seaweed. When you eat them, tiny round things are burst in your mouth and it makes you feel fun. You can eat Umi-budo only at Okinawa food restaurant. And balsam pear is one of typical vegetable in Okinawa. The most popular dish with  balsam pear is a "Goya Champuru", which is a fried balsam pear
mixed with egg, meat and Tofu (bean curd). "Goya Champuru" of
this restaurant includes luncheon meat as well. Luncheon meat is a canned
ham that is commonly eaten in Okinawa. "Umi-budo" offer us several kinds of Champuru (fried dish) besides balsam pear. "Papaya Champuru" is one of them. Hope you can discover a new taste.  And we recommend you to order "Roughty" (the cuts of pork boiled with sugar, soy sauce, sweet sake and salt), that is also one of the typical dishes in Okinawa. A lump of pork boiled with aged wine is so soft that it is loosened easily by the chopsticks and the fat of the meat will be melt in your mouse tenderly.  Other than those dishes, there is variety of Okinawa foods that give an
edge to your appetite. Tacos flavored rice and Soki noodles are some of
them. Soki is pork spareribs, seasoned with soy sauce and sugar, which
is put on the noodles as a topping. The noodles are middle thick (thicker
than Ramen and thinner than Udon), chewy, and the soup is moderate salty
and clear. The Sparerib and noodles are assorted nicely with the soup.Furthermore, you can enjoy Okinawa's special sweets, round doughnut or cookies or red potato ice cream, etc after the dinner. Okinawa dishes are reasonable prices, so they are good for your health and value for money.  Umi-budo Okinawa Sakaba GajumaruTel: 03-3544-1254 B1F Tsukiji Tamura Buildg. 2-7-6, Tsukiji Chuo-ku, Tokyo [Access] About 2 minutes on foot from Tsukiji Station, Hibiya Line / Shintomicho Sta., Yurakucho Line |
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