Okinawa soba Tamaya
It was a return from my business trip. I canceled the in-flight mode of my smartphone because the plane landed at Naha Airport and I was able to use all my electronics. My wife sent me a message.
“We go to Tamaya to eat Okinawa soba noodles.”
Tamaya is a popular Okinawa soba shop in Yaese-cho, the former Osato village. Yesterday, my wife asked me “What do you want to eat tomorrow noon?”. I answered “Okinawa soba.” The wife says she will go with her parents and sisters from her parents’ home. I know where the shop is because I’ve been to Tamaya several times, so . It is not far from the airport and close to my home.
My wife picked me up at the airport. Our family arrived at the shop before 1pm. The shop is in a residential area. The parking lot is large because it is in the suburbs, but it was fully parked. I managed to find an empty space. The father-in-law and the sister-in-law who arrived earlier were waving.
We lined up to buy a meal ticket. The parking lot is full. The shop is also full. Several people were waiting for seats to be available.
What should we eat?
This store has many family guests with children. It seems that half of the guests are children. In addition to the tatami room, there are tables and counter seats. This is an adult customer only. Some tourists were surprised a little at so many familie guests.
We handed the meal ticket to the waitress before our seats are available.
“What did you choose?”
My sister-in-law asked me.
“I chose mixed soba.”
“After all, mixed soba is good.”
My sister-in-law said with a laugh.
There are three types dishes in Tamaya: pork rib soba, spare rib soba, and pork legs soba. Guests who want to eat both pork ribs and spare ribs eat “mix soba”.
Mix Soba Noodles
We were guided to the table and took a seat. A bowl with wormwood is on each table. It’s wormwood leaves for toppings. This soba shop is a minority where we can eat wormwood freely.
A small bowl of soup and kamaboko (Japanese style fish sausage) came out. It is a service for children. And it’s not hot. Great. She started to drink the soup when I put a bowl on the mouth of my one-year-old daughter. It seems to be quite delicious.
The waitress carried our mixed soba. Okinawa soba is not a buckwheat. Okinawa soba is made with flour, salt, water and wood ash. Noodles that are different from udon and ramen.
I topped a lot of wormwood leaves.
And I dipped wormwood leaves in the soup while it was hot.
Add koregusu (Akamori pickled red pepper) and add benishoga (vinegared red ginger) to the bowl. This noodle is a flat thin noodle. Since the body is not strong, it is easy for small children to eat. The soup has a light taste. Pork belly is so soft that it melts in my mouth. The spare ribs are cooked well so that the meat can be loosened. The taste of soup, noodles and meat is well balanced and delicious. The smell and bitterness of wormwood is irresistible to me. I drank too much last night so the soup penetrated into my stomach wall. Ah, happy.
Children also like the soba
The one-year-old daughter is also happy to eat soba. She ate noodles very fast. Children eat cooked rice. This also looks delicious. When she eats soba, she shouts “Ah!” Is it delicious? It would be delicious! Dad is also delicious.
I drank the soup. And I changed my daughter’s care from my wife. My wife can finally eat. I made my daughter eat soba. My wife doesn’t like very hot food. While the soup was hot, I put a lot of mugwort leaves on my wife’s bowl. Recently, my daughter has got teethes. My daughter also eats kamaboko well. She ate pork belly deliciously. The downside of Okinawa soba is that it has no vegetables. There is only wormwood and green onion.
We finished the meal and left the shop. The parking lot is still full. This shop is not only delicious. Even if guests come with children, they can eat with peace of mind. This may be a secret of popularity. If you have an acquaintance with a child of the same age, bring it to this shop.
Okinawa Soba Tamaya
Nanjo city, Okinawa
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g1023469-d3216227-Reviews-Sobadokoro_Tamaya_Honten-Nanjo_Okinawa_Prefecture.html
I ate at more than 1,000 restaurants in 3 years!!
I am a Japanese middle-aged man living in Okinawa. I was an office worker until the corona shock. I went on a business trip all over Japan, and sometimes abroad. I visited more than a thousand restaurants in three years. (more info…)
