3rd Anniversary dinner at Hapina

Some of you may have heard Joe and I talking about the wonderful dinners at Restaurant Hapina at the Hamahiga shima Resort Hotel. Joe has taken me there for my 26th birthday and our 3rd anniversary; my parents dined there with us in March 2010 as well. Each time we visit we have a beautiful meal, complimented by beautiful scenery.

Hamahiga shima island is north of the White Beach peninsula of Okinawa (if you Google maps Hamahiga shima island you'll see where we were).

The resort is perched on a hill on the edge of Hamahiga shima island.

We were seated at "our" table promptly at 6:30 pm (so we could enjoy the sunset). The restaurant is surrounded by windows, so all you see is the Pacific).

I'm looking forward to staying overnight one day, so that I can sit on this outdoor patio with a drink, or swim in the infinity pool!

Each time we have visited Restaurant Hapina we opt for the 7 course Ryukyu dinner. We have seven courses of whatever the Chef wants to prepare. Every dinner is a delight! Here's what we had on Saturday, June 26, 2010:

First Course (amuse bouche): Salmon tar tare

Second Course (cold appetizer): Seafood Gazpacho

This was delicious! A variety of fish (tuna sashimi, scallop, prawn) served with greens in a heavenly tomato bisque. It was so fresh!

Third Course (hot appetizer): Eel fois gras

Pan seared eel served over fois gras and Japanese eggplant. I loved the plating!

Fourth Course (soup): Cold potato soup

This might have been my favorite dish. The soup was light and creamy and pure. I can't even describe it! Heavenly!

At this point in the meal it was beginning to get dark and the moon (a honeymoon actually!) appeared. As the moon rose over the Pacific it really did cast moonbeams on the ocean.

Fifth Course (first entree): White Snapper

This pan seared piece of White snapper was a delight! The skin was perfectly crisped and the meat juicy. It was served over Japanese anchovies (if you watch Iron Chef America, Chef Morimoto used this little fishes to make a taco one time!) and vegetables.

Sixth Course (second entree): Quail

Joe and I have never eaten quail before. It was very tasty, but rather difficult to eat. We wanted to take the little leg and use our fingers! (very American chicken-wing I know). It was served with vegetables and a quail sauce. These were very complex, rich flavors.

Seventh Course (dessert): Banana crisp

Another fantastic dessert! Fresh bananas served with almonds & crumble. A small scoop of homemade chocolate ice cream was on the side. mmmmm!As you can see, by the time we had dessert it was dark. We stepped outside on the patio after dinner and there were so many, many stars!

After paying and thanking the chef, staff and restaurant manager, Mr. Imura (who, by the way, continues to treat us royally! He knows us by name and takes an extra effort to translate the menu for us each time. He is really too kind!) We started our trek home and came across the most unusual thing -- crabs! They were all over the place on that little island -- mostly in the road. We didn't hit any, but sure came close! There were quite a few Japanese out fishing on Hamahiga shima, but no one wanted the crabs --