Location: Awase, at the port north and slightly west of the Awase Communication Station. See map 20 in the phone book and find the 85 that travels along the water (if you follow that same road south, it becomes the 227 and head to the Prefectural comprehensive park). On this portion of the 85, there is an intersection marked with signs for SanA, MosBurger, "Japanese restaurant" and Kanehide. The stoplight marked on the map north of that is right by the port - turn in there and park. There are alternative directions on the Okinawahai site.
Hours: restaurant 11a-unsure, closed Sunday
http://www.okinawahai.com/my_weblog/2008/09/awase-fish-mark.html
This place is really popular with the locals, so we had to try it. Basically, half the fish market is set aside for this restaurant, which has an open kitchen with line chefs, a counter where you pick up your food, and picnic table seating. There is also covered outside seating. As you wander through the tables you see the most popular sets are the lobster with sea urchin sauce, the fried whole fish, the fish tempura, and the fish soup. You approach the register and they will give you an English menu, so you can easily order and pay. You then get a number and hang out in front of the counter until the food arrives. The sets come with rice, miso soup, and tuna sashimi, with all-you-can-drink tea in a teapot. The first time we went, we ordered the lobster set (1800Y). This is a half lobster, covered in sea urchin sauce, and grilled. The Japanese appreciate sea urchin sauce as a delicacy, and put it on a lot of seafood dishes. For the unaccustomed (which includes us), the strong and creamy seafood flavour is a bit overpowering. We ended up scraping off the sea urchin sauce and eating it with the rice, and then eating the lobster plain. The lobster was, unfortunately, a bit overcooked. The tuna sashimi had fantastic texture and taste, and the portion was quite substantial for a side dish. After our first visit, we had to wonder if any of the fish sets were better than the lobster. So, we returned to try the other popular sets - the fish soup (1000Y) and the sauteed whole fish (1200Y). Both of these were disappointing. The fish was overcooked and was covered in a heaping mound of minced raw garlic. The herb in the fish soup was bitter and unpleasant, and the taste of it permeated the broth. The fish tasted vaguely of dirt. Really, the only nice part of the meal was the sashimi.
So, it is unclear to us why this place is so popular with the Japanese. Surely there are other restaurants that do a better job with seafood? Anyway, we will not be returning for a third visit.
