Western-Style Wonders in Okinawa

Although convenience stores are everywhere in Hong Kong, they pale in comparison to those in Japan. In the latter, you can buy a much wider range of products including clothes, concert tickets and most importantly, an excellent selection of food.

In Okinawa, I was excited to try an onigiri with Spam and egg for breakfast one day. It was very delicious, though practically drenched in mayonnaise. As in Hawaii, Spam is popular in Okinawa from the post-war days.

For dessert one evening, I also got an amazing cheesecake from the convenience store Family Mart. It was so reasonably priced compared to Western desserts in Hong Kong. But for my health, it's certainly better that I can't buy it here!

Another Western-influenced dish we tried in Okinawa was taco rice. Basically, it's an old-fashioned ground beef burrito bowl predating Chipotle. At my first bite, I was transported back to the Midwest taco salad of my childhood. Although those didn't include rice, it was otherwise the same wonderful, not-at-all Mexican food.