Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Quaint little Izakaya

Restaurant Review

IMG_3683I peered over the shoulder of a stranger seated in the plane’s window side and the emerald sea jumped into my view below…first time in Ishigaki Island, a semi-tropical island, south of Okinawa. We were more than thrilled.

The parents of our daughter-in-law were waiting for us at the arrival gate, smiling, We waived our hands big through glass wall, I pointed to one of two baggage claim area and motioned that we had to get our luggage first. They nodded, still smiling. We spent three days with our new favorite people in this beautiful island.

That night we’re invited to their cozy restaurant Kurashita (蔵下), short walk  from the city hall, near shopping arcade. The interior of the restaurant has Izakaya feel though, geared toward French (but not limited) because of his extensive training as a French chef. He worked as a chief chef at a top floor restaurant in Ishigaki Nikko Hotel for more than 20 years before opening his own restaurant 10 years ago. This is truly a Mom and Pop shop, chef dad cooks and the mom works as a server.
I don’t remember the names of most dishes (sorry, my bad) but it was marvelous!.

First course – appetizer plate. lots of seafood, loved the sea grape.IMG_3608Sea grapes ( 海ぶどう) Close up!IMG_3609

Second course – seared beef saladIMG_3612

Third course –  Shell fish (see that shell in the pic, don’t remember the name though) gratinIMG_3613

Fourth course – Puff pastry over the soupIMG_3616IMG_3618

Fifth course -  fried sea weed accented this dish.IMG_3621

Sixth course – The chef got us remarkable Ishigaki beef so tender and flavorful! IMG_3623

Seventh course – Rice in soup, packed with umami!IMG_3625

Finale – Purple sweet potato Mt. Blanc cake! Delish!IMG_3627

They showered us with their generosity and kindness throughout our Ishigaki excursion which we’re very grateful! Meeting their group of friends since grade school added to the enjoyment.IMG_3626The next day, they took us to Yakiniku place for dinner and that was also delicious. Check out my new hair do…I stopped coloring my hair 8 months ago. Now my hair is 60% gray! Chic, right?Scan_20150511 (2)

At Yimamura (やいま村). Why don’t we take picture with traditional Okinawa costume? Ah…for real? Yes, really, let’s!  Scan_20150511

Although I maybe biased on the restaurant review (just a tad), I highly recommend this place if you ever have the chance to visit this fabulous Island.

Please visit a Travel blogger, Minoru’ Photo Diary to enjoy spectacular views of Ishigaki.

32 comments:

  1. I am so happy to see you back! I had missed you! This is such a lovely post, and your photos and comments are wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing, and a very warm welcome back! :)

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    1. Thank you Linda. I love visiting your blog and 'meanwhile' I enjoy all the Canadian jokes!

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  2. Oh Akemi, my heart is so, so happy for you. Your son's in-laws seem so nice. They are a perfect addition to your family.

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    1. Thank you Jalna. I agree! They are so nice to us and my son. Are you having a nice mini break?

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  3. こんいちは。 もう石垣島に行かれたのですか。 やいま村の民族衣装のお写真、とても素敵です。
     私のブログも紹介していただきまして、ありがとうございます。 9月に来日するそうですが、お会い出来ると良いです。

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    1. 北海道のポスト楽しませていただきました。私もまた行きたいですというか、何度でも訪れたい場所です。コメントありがとうございます、、、次の旅行予定はどこかなあ、、、楽しみ!

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  4. Thank you for sharing with us the lovely time you had with your family in Japan.
    I used to enjoy those sea grapes with just vinegar and a bit of soy sauce in my growing years, haven't had it for a long time. Nice to be reminded of the past pleasure:)
    BTW...you look different from past photos...definitely growing prettier with grace:)

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    1. Thank you so much Annie. I appreciate the compliment...you made my day! Ha ha ha.

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  5. I see you have had (or are still having?) lots of fun in the south of Japan. How I envy you!!! I have never seen or heard about sea grapes. If I saw them anywhere in Tokyo, I'd order straight away, but they might be a local speciality... They look so tempting! All the dishes look fabulous and they are served in such an elegant way... You will probably bring back lots of inspiring ideas. Thumbs up for grey hair! I love it.

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    1. Thank you very much Sissi! You're amazing! I must try your 7 hours lamb soon.

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  6. Simply damn delicious!!!
    Dedy@Dentist Chef

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    1. Thank you Chef! I enjoyed your cooking. I wish I could taste it.

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  7. Welcome back!! You have been missed :-))
    I love those sea grapes...so cool! You two looked super cute in those traditional costumes.

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    1. Thank you Angie. Love all your new recipes and photographs...Amazing!

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  8. Oh my gracious! Everything looks so delicious! I've never eaten, much less seen sea grape before. That hat looks quite heavy.

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    1. Thank you Kay. Thank you for posting about Nepal.

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  9. Looks like you had a great time at Ishigaki Island; delicious meals with nice people full of sense of hospitality and the beautiful sea show it. You really look nice without hair dye and with that length of hair. I’ve never have my hair dyed but manicured for the sake of health. One of downsides of hair manicure is that gray part looks reddish and my hair becomes mesh (point hair color).

    Yoko

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    1. コメントありがとうございます。奈良はおそらく梅雨に入っているのでしょうね。 雨の奈良も見てみたいです。 素敵な写真をありがとうございます。毎回楽しみにお邪魔しています。

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  10. We came here for some food and beer. We got the salmon tartar which was delicious. At San Francisco restaurants they also gave us a piece of whiskey cake for free! I highly recommend this place if you get a chance to eat here.

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  11. 上手そうですね~ そして高そうだねぇ?
    今回は会えなくて残念 っで、忙しい滞在だったようだね。
    でもしっかり石垣島まで・・・あっ挨拶だったっけ。友達が石垣島で大工やってるよ、川崎時代の同僚で実家は那覇市だけど石垣に住み着いて、もう根っこが生えてるよ20年以上だね。奄美大島がやっと梅雨入りしたから奈良はまだだよ。最近は熊本の家の片付けを先週は二人で・・・諸々はこちらで・・・http://aykikaku2013.blog.fc2.com/ ではまた イケメン旦那によろしくぅ!

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    1. コメントありがとう。 石垣にお友達がいるとはねえ。いつか会いに行ったらいいんじゃない? とても楽しいところでした。 ブログが成功してるようですね、おめでとう! 写真がとてもきれいです。相棒さんによろしく、あはは。

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