CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO

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I got into Vietnamese food when I lived in Arlington, Virginia.  There are so many GREAT Vietnamese restaurants there.  My husband and I used to go to “Pho 75” near Roslyn Station.  Their Vietnamese pho noodle soup dish is what my husband would call “da bomb”.  Yum.

I had lunch at this Vietnamese restaurant “DAO” with my friends last week.  It’s one of my favorite restaurants in Okinawa and I like to go there for lunch when I’m in Naha.

I had the today’s special lunch, which you see on the picture above.  It was with beef stew.  The set came with a spring roll, main dish, a small Vietnamese dessert and a cup of coffee or tee and cost 650 yen.  Great deal.  They also have regular dishes such as Pho, which is about 500 yen and if you want to make it a set, you pay a little more like 350 yen for a spring roll and drink or dessert.  I’m sorry that I don’t remember the price so clearly.  Please don’t quote me on this!  They also have Vietnamese curry on their regular menu and I had their Chicken and Lemongrass with Rice before as a lunch special.  That was really really good.

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Photo of a menu taken by Aviva.

Closed: 4th Monday of each month

Hours: 11:00 – 23:00 Phone: 098-867-3751

Directions
If you drive to Kokusai Street, park somewhere near Mitsukoshi Department Store.  Look for Starbucks Coffee on Kokusai Street.  If you stand with Starbucks on your back, across the street from it is Shijo Hon Dori.  This street is next to OPA.   Walk down about 50 meters on Shijo Hondori.  DAO will be on your right.  Look for this sign below.
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Sata Andagi
After you have lunch, how about some, Sata Andagi, Okinawan doughnuts?

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I was told that this is one of the best places for sata andagi in Okinawa.  In fact, I remember seeing this place on a Japanese TV program.  This store tucked in on a very narrow alley.  As you walk in, you’ll see two sata andagi stores right next to each other.  I bought two doughnuts from the one on the right.  There were two different sizes.  Small one was as big as my 3-year-old daughter’s fist and and the big one was as big as my fist.  Huge!  I got two small ones and each was 50 yen.  The huge one is 150 yen each.  They had three different kinds: regular, kokuto (Okinawan brown sugar), and sesami.  You can tell which ones are which from their colors.  I shared the two with my daughter and we ate them as we walked around.  Soooo good!!!  They hit the spot.

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Address: 2 Chome-8-28 Matsuo, Naha

Google Maps Coordinates: 26.2155789, 127.6880698

Directions: Walk further down the Shijo Hon Dori.  Look out for this sign, which says “Shijo Chuo Dori“.  (Left picture below)  It’s right around the corner of the “Kosetsu Market”. You should find it easily, but if you can’t find it, just ask “Shijo Chuo Dori wa doko desuka?”  Remember “doko (where)” lesson?  Take a right at under the sign.  Walk about 50 meters and look for a blue house with this sign on your left.  (Right picture below)

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17 COMMENTS

  1. Dee, I totally agree. Was extremely disappointed with the Pho. It wasn’t served with Cilantro, basil, shoots, peppers…nothing. It was extremely plain. Service was not rude, but cold, and having Ho Chi Minh staring at us was a bit strange. Perhaps it has had a downturn?

  2. I went here and it was ok. It was kind of weird seeing the restaurant owner had picture of the communist leader inside the place being that my dad fought in the Vietnam War for the South. It wasn’t really vietnamese food per say..Not sure if I would come back here again.

  3. Tried DAO today! Thanks for the post. It was delicious but they didn’t have the Vietnamese banh mi sandwich, which is my FAVORITE and is why I made the trip 🙁 any one know where to get banh mi on Okinawa? Have yen, will travel!

  4. Haley,

    You can take the directions listed above. Kinser is before you get to Kokusai St. You’ll take 58 south to Naha…(the main highway.) You’ll take a left to get to Kokusai St. There are several roads to get to Kokusai St. The big road is Kumoji crossing. You’ll probably have to find parking down a side street…then once on Kokusai St., you can take the directions listed above to find the restaurant.

  5. Lan, I believe that the food inside the glass case is real. 🙂
    Kandy, good point… The business hours of the restaurant is 11:00 – 23:00. I added it to the post since that is very important. Thanks for asking it!! Snuff, I agree. It was too hard to pass the 680 yen course lunch though!

  6. Hey Aviva…I think that was the one. Hubby says that still counts as Rockville.

    Cafe su da. Is that the drip coffee with condensed milk? I LOVED that stuff!

    Will have to keep Pho Hoa Hiep in mind for future reference! 🙂

  7. Pho tai, cum nga & cafe su da. MMMMMMM.
    Julia- that Pho 75 – was that Gaithersburg or Rockville? Up on Rockville Pike by Shady Grove Road? That was my first Pho experience back in 1994. Addicted ever since. It’s worth a trip or two to Naha, but nothing will be as great as the frequency and proximity of the Pho Hoa Hiep in San Diego!

  8. I love Vietnamese food and miss the ease of finding restaurants in the states (Maryland, Washington State and Cali…I was so lucky) I remember SEEING this restaurant over a year ago with my mother, but couldn’t remember where it was. Now I have perfect directions. Thank you for finding it and thank you for posting this!
    Oh I’ve missed you pho, bun thit nuong and cha gio. Here I come!

  9. Pho 75!! When I used to work in Rossyln I would walk from my office (SA-20) and go to Pho 75 at least once a week. I LOVE Pho! I can’t believe you found a Vietnamese restaurant and didn’t try the Pho.

  10. I’m Vietnamese and Dang it! I can’t seem to find a good, authentic Vietnamese restaurant here, but thank goodness that you were able to! Can’t wait to try this one out when we’re down south. BTW, is that plastic or real food in the picture? Either way, it looks yummy!

  11. Kaho! Thanks for this post. I miss Vietnamese food so much. And Pho 75!!! There was one in Rockville, MD that I used to go to. It was always packed and the noodles were fantastic. Yum! You’ve brought back so many great food memories! Thanks again! Can’t wait to try this one out.