Words: James Lo

STYLE & AMBIENCE

Like some of the best Japanese restaurants in town, the guys at Naha seem to care more about the food than the decor. The 60-seater room is light, clean and airy, and there are a few Okinawan touches that liven it up, but you’d probably not even notice them. A few shisas (Okinawan dog/lion statuettes) desultorily guard the space, and a couple of traditional bingata textiles try to radiate a bit of colour, but they don’t exactly lift the room from its predominantly beige/brown palette. But that’s not a problem, we’re here for the food.

CUISINE

There are only a handful of Okinawan restaurants in Hong Kong, which strikes me as odd because Okinawan cuisine is kind of like Chinesified Japanese food. Like the Cantonese, the Okinawans proudly proclaim how they eat every part of the pig except for its oink, for example in their Pickled Pig’s Ear Sashimi. And the daily staple champuru is basically a big ol’ stir fry.

Another draw is that Okinawan food is reputed to be incredibly good for you. More people live to 100 in Okinawa than anywhere else in Japan – so much so that it’s even spawned a diet plan. And taking nutritional centre stage is the Okinawan bitter gourd (goya) which is meant to detoxify the blood, fight diabetes, eliminate fat and promote longevity. Okinawan goya are much less bitter than their Chinese cousins, with an almost clean cucumbery taste, so they’re much more palatable. They’re in season during the summer months, and Naha are offering a number of special goya dishes until the end of July.

After learning goya eliminates fat, of course we tried all the dishes. Goya Stuffed with Fish Paste was delicious — the crispness of the gourd complementing the softness of the fish paste. And Goya stir-fried with Black Pork coupled with Goya fried rice somehow didn’t overwhelm the mouth with bitterness. Interestingly though, my favourite ended up being the dish I was most wary of: the goya sorbet was light and zingy and not at all bitter, and the two tiny red bean filled spring rolls it came with provided the perfect amount of sweetness and crunch to round out the cleanness of the sorbet.

Other than gorging on gourds, we tried a couple of other Okinawan specialities. Umi-budo are a type of seaweed native to Okinawa and look like delicate bright green vines laden with tiny grapes hence their nickname “sea grapes”. Dipped into a special soy sauce, they burst in the mouth with a sharp salty tang. Peanut tofu isn’t actually tofu but a deep-fried mash of pureed peanuts. It’s like a richer version of tofu, with a velvety creaminess that you don’t get with tofu, as well as a delicate flavour that’s not so much nutty as the memory of nuttiness.

Naha also has an extensive Okinawan menu, some of which approximates more standard Japanese dishes such as tempura as well as a full range of sushi and sashimi at their sushi bar.

BOOZE

In addition to locally-brewed Orion Beer, Okinawa is famous for its own type of sake, known as Awamori. Naha stocks over 20 kinds, including of course a goya-flavoured one.

PRICE

Reasonably priced with a variety of lunch and dinner sets at about $200 per head. Portion sizes were on the small side, but I guess that’s why the diet plan works so well.

BEST DISH

Bitter Gourd sorbet

BEST TIPPLE

Awamori, which ranges between 30-60% alcohol content.

CONCLUSION

We kind of out-bitter-gourded ourselves this time round, but we’ll definitely be back to try the rest of the menu, in particular their seaweed tempura and pork soba.