Miyako soba

Miyako noodles skip the hand-kneading step that main-island soba goes through, which leaves them thinner, flatter and straighter, with almost no curl. The broth leans on katsuobushi with some pork or chicken stock behind it, so it drinks lighter than a Naha bowl. The Okinawa noodle cooperative keeps a ten-point standard for Honba Miyako soba, and it requires the noodles to be made on Miyako. Several shops leave curry powder on the table, and regulars shake some in halfway through to change the bowl.

The old way was to lay the pork and kamaboko in the bottom of the bowl and cover them with noodles. One explanation ties the habit to the heavy taxes of the past, since a bowl that looked plain drew less notice. The OCVB says most shops now set the toppings on top. Koja Sobaya in Hirara has made soba since 1932 and still makes its flat noodles by hand, and Hisamatsu Seimenjo serves fresh noodles at its factory counter early each morning.

Shops in Gusukube and Ueno sit along the roads of the south coast, which makes them easy lunch stops on a loop of the island. Mozuku Menya Ntsubata in Hirara kneads local mozuku seaweed into its noodles. On Okinawa itself, Miyako Soba Ai in Koza serves the style through the night.