Saturday, July 23, 2016

Shikoku Autumn 2014 四国秋季之旅 - Genmai Shinshoku Aisunao 玄米心食 あいすなお

Visited 14.11.2014


Best food? One of the best memories I had of this smallest main island of Japan is the numerous delicious food it has to offer. Aisunao is one of the many restaurants that I will recommend or even return again if I ever visit Naoshima again. Located in Honmura area (本村エリア) of Naoshima where most of the houses are still preserved in its original state - some are part of Art House Project which converted some of the abandoned old houses here into contemporary art exhibition. Aisunao serves vegetarian cuisine and this 80 year old traditional Japanese style house it resides in was formerly a residential unit. The restaurant is easily recognised by this eye catching noren (curtain) with a picture of a bowl of brown rice is hung in front of its doors.


Menu. Dropped by here for lunch and was given a window seat. Menu comes with pictures and English translation. Ordered Aisunao lunch set (アイスなおセット), which comprised of a bowl of fragrant brown rice, miso soup and several seasonal vegetable dishes - steamed carrot and sweet potatoes, crunchy burdock root, radish and cabbage salad with Japanese dressing/vinegar, beancurd with enoki sauce. All the dishes were well seasoned, appetising and even meat lovers like myself enjoyed the meal very much. Ordered a hot somen set (すすりこセット) for my parents and they liked it a lot as well. Set comes with a bowl of hot somen soup, a brown rice ball and beancurd with enoki sauce. Somen is thin wheat noodles and Aisunao uses good quality somen manufactured from the nearby Shodoshima. Smooth noodles accompanied with a soy sauce based soup filled with vegetables and flavoured with sesame oil. Aisunao also serves desserts such as cakes and soy milk ice cream. Overall, this vegetarian lunch meal was very satisfying; and even my mother will reminisce about the delicious bowl of hot somen she had every now and then and hope to eat it again!

Aisunao lunch set - 850 yen
Hot somen set - 900 yen
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Genmai Shinshoku Aisunao 玄米心食 あいすなお
香川県 香川郡直島町761-1
Opening hrs: 1100 hrs onwards
http://aisunao.jp/

How to get there? 
By town bus. From Miyanoura Port (宮浦港) Bus Stop 2, take the town bus heading for Tsutsujiso (つつじ莊) and alight at Nokyo mae (農協前). About 3 mins walk from the bus stop.
Bus timetable: http://benesse-artsite.jp/uploads/access/naoshima_bus_timetable.pdf

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