Date Nights

At the beginning of my stay here we would have at least one date night a week. Either dinner and/or a movie. Well after a few weeks for unknown reasons we stopped having date nights. It was just easier for T since he was working extremely long hours and sometimes not getting home till 6 or later. 

But with my departure fast approaching, date nights were reinstated. Most of the time these date nights included one or more of his friends which just made it even more entertaining as I often would be pulled into conversations only guys would have. This happens all the time but I don't think I will ever get used to it. 

For our first date, we decided to go to a restaurant that everyone must go to at least once while in Okinawa. CoCo's Curry. You will hear about this restaurant from the moment you get there until you leave. Some people swear it is the best and strangely addictive. It was pretty good but not my favorite (best curry later in the post). The salad dressing though was amazing. I don't know what that stuff was but I could have drank that straight from a cup. About the curry though, beware of the spice levels! I love spice and got a level 4 (Level 10 is highest) and couldn't finish it. 

We followed up our next date night at a Noodle & Fried Rice restaurant. It was highly recommended to us and I love fried rice! Jeremy came along. Many restaurants in Japan have vending machines where you decide what you want by pushing the respective buttons for your food and drink. It makes it a little difficult with just a picture and no description but I don't think you could go wrong at this place. 

T and I both got the fried rice, garlic rice, and dumplings. And J ordered a noodle bowl and dumplings. The fried rice came with the egg cooking so you had to stir it into the rice fast so it would fully cook and not burn. The food was delicious and extremely filling. I left with a full tummy and a food baby. 

Tom stirring in the egg

We decided to continue with our Japanese themed date nights. We went to an izakaya just up the street from our apartment. Another recommended place which turned out to have some of the most interesting decor. 

You could eat in huts over water!

My planning skills were off that day and we didn't make a reservation so we ended up sitting at the bar. But I thought it was cozy and I loved looking at all those chandeliers.

They didn't have an English menu but most of the items had pictures. So it didn't seem too difficult. Find a picture that looked appetizing and order it. Between the two of us we ordered avocado slices, taco sushi roll, steak with a spicy soy sauce, edamame, a plate with a variety of sashimi, and well a plate of something unknown. The picture looked like chicken but it definitely wasn't. I delegated that dish to the "only in Japan." 

WHAT IS THIS?!

For our final night out I knew exactly where to go: SomChai (Thai). We have been to this place several times and it was one of the few restaurants we went to when I visited last summer. I love it and will miss this tiny little place for their delicious food.

Every time I go I want to get something else because everything on their menu sounds amazing but I flake because I want their curry. I crave this stuff despite knowing I will likely leave with my mouth on fire. Every meal comes with soup and you can pick rice or noodles with your curry. The soup may be basic (very few veggies in a chicken broth base) but I love it. I even found a recipe so I could make my own.

After we got I food I kind of forgot to take pictures of it. That is just how much I love this place.

We had successful date nights even though it rained every single time. While I am ready to get back to being able to order and understand what I have ordered, there are so many diverse restaurants in Okinawa. Unlike the US staples of Chili's and Macaroni Grill - don't worry they have those on base if you ever need a refresher of what a chain restaurant taste like.