Hana-Fu

Dilemma on what to eat? Whether you’re in the mood for yakiniku, shabu-shabu, sushi, or tempura, you’re in luck because this place has got’em all! Hana-Fu is one of two official restaurants of the EM Wellness Resort Costa Vista Okinawa located in Kitanakagusuku. Although the venue is located on a rather hilltop area, the restaurant unfortunately opposites the overlooking view, and so to make up for it, the exterior décor is designed as a Zen garden but turns out, works to its advantage. The Japanese restaurant prides itself on serving four main popular dishes all at the same time with their own interesting personal touch.

To start off, I would like to talk about the yakiniku. On the buffet line, you can see raw slices of meat but oddly, no place to cook it. To my surprise, the waitress brings us each an individual sized mini yakiniku grill with a tiny candle burning underneath. My goodness, how quaint! Perfect for those who do not wish to share their beef, which inevitably happens when using the yakiniku style grills that are on the center of the table. The shabu-shabu (boiling pots to cook meat and vegetables) is located along the buffet line where they have two pots usually one for vegetables and the other for meats. Do not get those two mixed up as it is quite frowned upon. I had to learn this the hard way as an old lady gave me the stink eye as she watched me dip raw pork meat together with her bean sprouts. The sushi is located on the opposite corner as a chef makes them fresh during the whole buffet service. The shrimp nigiri in particular was my favourite. And let’s not forget the tempura. Here is my foodie tip for this place: make sure you ask for it! Tempura will not be served to you unless you ask for it. Nothing shady here. I believe they just do this to ensure that only fresh tempura is served to perfection. As would be expected, they were all delicious. They also have the standard Japanese buffet dishes such as salads, soba, niku-jagga (beef and potato Japanese style), and mochi and ice cream desserts to finish it off. The price is acceptable at around 2,000 yen per person for the lunch buffet. I believe it goes up more for dinner service but it is worth the extra money.

If you’ve never been to EM Wellness Resort, this place might be a bit tricky to find. Although you can see it from Camp Foster as it is the resort located on the hilltop, in order to get there, go left on to route 330 once you exit out of Legion gate. On about the 2nd major intersection, you will see the overpass of the expressway, which is your queue to turn right. Keep going up the hill until you reach the hotel. Hana-Fu is on the ground floor of the resort.

They accept yen, credit cards, and electronic payments such as Waon and iD