(Photo by Shoji Kudaka/Stripes Okinawa)
Cafe Hanon is a pancake restaurant located in Chatan Mihama.
On a sunny day, eating at this place would feel like some small getaway. The white-walled interior and the nice ocean view from the second floor of the building by the sea offers a Mediterranean vibe. Enjoying pancakes with the water shining in blue would feel almost romantic.
(Photo by Denisse Rauda/Stripes Okinawa)
(Photo by Denisse Rauda/Stripes Okinawa)
On this day, however, the sea looked very rough due to stormy weather, with high waves coming at the shore one after another. Still, the café’s interior felt very cozy, making the storm outside seem like an event in another world.
It was around lunchtime, and there were many customers, attesting to its popularity. We had to put our name on the waiting list but did not have to wait too long before being guided to a table.
Not being much of a pancake fan, I was a bit surprised to find many variations of the sweet food.
In addition to the standard and chocolate chip pancakes, Hanon’s menu had French pancakes, salted caramel ones, mixed berry and brown sugar coconut. The café even had purple yam millefeuille pancakes, a nod to Okinawa.
I was looking for something substantial and fortunately, the café also had some combination plates that included savory sides including eggs benedict, sausage or bacon. I went with “Chili Beans Sausage Pancakes” for 1,520 yen (approx. $9.93), which came with spicy chili beans, a sausage, potatoes, salad, and maple butter. I also upgraded to French Pancakes for an additional 180 yen.
I had lunch with my editor and she chose the eggs, bacon and chocolate chip pancakes platter for 1,720 yen with a seasonal Brown Sugar Apple and Magical Cinnamon Latte for 670 yen on the side.
(Photo by Denisse Rauda/Stripes Okinawa)
Since the restaurant was crowded, we had to wait about 15 minutes before our food was brought to the table. The beautifully plated food looked so enticing that we almost forgot to take photos for this story before digging in.
With the first bite, the fluffy dough hit the spot. It was not too sweet, but when coupled with the maple butter, the combo made perfect sense. The chili beans and the sausage, on the other hand, did not taste as spicy as I wanted. But it was totally acceptable, we were neither at a Taco Bell nor Wingstop after all.
The servings were generous, and we were both satisfied with our selections.
When we finished our meal, it was still raining heavily. Thanks to the tasty meal, however, the weather couldn’t ruin our good mood.
Seaside Cafe Hanon
GPS Coordinates: 26.316178, 127.753850 (On the 2nd floor of Oak Fashion Bldg.)
Hours: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (weekdays, last order at 4 p.m.), 8:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. (weekends, last order at 6 p.m.)
Website
cafe interior (Photo by Shoji Kudaka/Stripes Okinawa)
AloJapan.com