It seems like there might just be some confusion about the En (宴) Groups Restaurants somehow. Not entirely unexpected, knowing that they open up and close or change tactics and shop names on a regular basis in Asia.
I ended up writing this review on this Linkage because its I think its the more proper and recent one. EN Groups seems to have separated into 2 business models lately - namely the Okinawa food based restaurants, also the Dining and Grilling Group restaurants (with a new shop in Central). There's also a Wagyu Grilled Meat restaurant. IN REALITY, they're all inter-mixed somehow as most shops carry some Okinawa food, whereas in this shop, it also carries normal Izakaya food as well as ALL YOU CAN EAT Hot Pot.
Ordered the following, which was a fair while ago roughly 4 months before.
Please note that I do not know how to re-write these items in Japanese, as the Okinawan language and food names are completely different from the mainland and without much resemblances. Its even more difficult than the Kyoto or Hokkaido food terms somewhat! The most I know about Okinawa is 安室內美惠!
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Starter - A Hijiki seaweed salad from the kitchen.
Fermented Red Bean Curd - Slightly sweet, very similar to 腐腐 and 南乳 in taste but much milder. I have had this before but I was impressed again by this re-visit, really enjoyed it.
海葡萄 - A typical popular dish just like Peanut Tofu (not ordered tonight) when eating Okinawan food, this actually resembles green Tobikko roes a little bit but it was sweetish and refreshing, its a type of seaweed - like 海底椰, its purely Vegetarian. Note that the similarly named 海菠萝 is actually a 'live seafood' in comparison. Came with a vinegary sauce which worked well together.
Pork Shabu Salad - This has a typical Japanese name so not sure if its Okinawan in nature. Very nicely done with a accurately balanced sesame dressing. Everyone loved it despite it being a simple dish, as the pork was sweet and the salad dressing spot on.
Okinawa Squid Ink Noodles - This isn't the normally available off the shelf noodles mixed in with pre-bought squid ink, it was hand-made and rolled in with squid ink then cooked in the respective sauce. The noodle texture was spot-on perfect, its about half way between a Ramen and an Udon in size and texture. Came with Garlic Shoots and Calamari, mixed in with a bit of garlicky sauce and chilli influence. This isn't the first time I've had it but its addictive whenever I eat this version and here, they're got it very spot on perfect. Only gripe = it was slightly too tepid in temperature.
Fried Goya (Bitter Gourd) Chips - Not ordering the more normal stir-fried Goya with eggs and pork dish that night, we wanted to try this as we were going to have a lot of beer and this suited it better, plus Bitter Gourds out of season in March/April would have been too bitter with our Asahi's. This was topped with Bonito. Again, a very simple dish but very expertly executed, it was slightly too oily though but expected. Loved it to death, especially the bitter gourd flavour penetrating through from inside the crispy texture.
Deep Fried Fresh Prawns - These actually looked like non sea-water prawns so it was a bit misleading. Having said that, these prawns had a lot of prawn meat taste and they had a really good, bouncy texture. Again, we were amazed how this was executed perfectly, with just the right amount of batter and seasoning was spot on.
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Perhaps coming here without much expectations, everyone on the table felt the food was of a very high quality and worth a come back whenever there's a Okinawa food craving (although I'm not a big fan). Not sure if the other En shops are like this but I personally thought everything that night was perfect and tasted very Japanese authentic somewhat, one of the most authentic and accurate meals I've experienced locally.
Service was top notch as well, the Chinese Waitress, Japanese Waitress and a Japanese Waiter/Manager were ultra friendly yet professional, it was like dining in a high class izakaya in Tokyo. Even the beers were ice-cold and didn't lose any of its original flavours - which you can't take for granted with Draft Beers (nor Soda Machine made Colas). The dining setting was also classical modern Japanese. In fact every other customer on that night were Japanese bar us.
I think normally I wouldn't give such a place such high praise, especially knowing that this is part of a bigger group and also the Okinawa food style isn't exactly rocket science stuff - in normal circumstances I would have given it a '4' at most. However we simply couldn't even find 1 major flaw tonight except the fried Goya being slightly oily or the squid ink noodles being a bit cold. We all left very happy, in fact we contemplated re-ordering more 'repetitive' dishes on that same night. It was certainly better than some Okinawa meals I tried in Tokyo, although I have never been to Okinawa before.
I will stick to marking it a '4' but it probably deserved a mid-'5' that night, due to cooking and seasoning being so spot on alone. Will be back again for certain, let's see if it performs as before or we were just lucky that night! **Not rating the All You Can Eat Shabu Shabu or other Izakaya dishes though, that will be another story.** LOVELY MEAL THAT I WILL REMEMBER.
Hijiki perfectly seasoned.
Hijiki perfectly seasoned.
Burstingly Fresh, sauce perfect.
Burstingly Fresh, sauce perfect.
Pork Slice Salad. Again, beautiful dressing.
Pork Slice Salad. Again, beautiful dressing.
Not hard to make bad ones yet this was exceptional
Not hard to make bad ones yet this was exceptional
Too Oily but great with Beer
Too Oily but great with Beer
Very fresh texture and tasting Shrimps.
Very fresh texture and tasting Shrimps.