Only 14 minutes drive from Naha Airport. This is a new type of dessert store located along Kokusai-dori Avenue. The exterior looks like a jewelry store and is so simple that at first glance it is hard to tell what kind of store it is. The yellow “Q” on the signboard makes one wonder what kind of store it really is.
Point 1: What kind of restaurant is “New Q”?
New Q” is located in the middle of Kokusai Dori in Naha, Okinawa, next to Hotel Collective and Lantana.
New Q” is a coined word combining “Ryukyu,” which represents Okinawa, and “new,” which means new.
It opened in July 2022, but there must be many people who passed by it but didn’t know what it was and didn’t go through it.
Actually, I am one of them! I remember somehow passing by it, but I thought it was a jewelry store? I thought it was a jewelry store, but I had no idea it was a food store!
All I saw was a yellow sign with a unique letter “Q” on it, and I peeked inside, but I had no idea what kind of restaurant it was.
I peeked inside, but could not see what the shop was about.
When I went inside, I finally saw that inside the showcase there were tarts to take home and samples for eat-in.
In fact, the first floor is only for ordering and checkout, while the eat-in space and photo spot are on the second floor!
Nevertheless, the beige walls and the counter painted in light purple. It’s counterintuitive that they don’t have any products on the year besides the showcase on the counter.
The interior of the store is painted with “Kucha,” a natural Okinawan rock mud, and the texture of the paint is used to bring out the best in the store. They do not use chemical paints!
It is amazing that they even pay attention to the natural materials inside the store in this way!
Point 2: What is the menu lineup for “New Q”?
So what is the menu at “New Q” like?
The pineapple sweets sold at “New Q” are not ordinary pineapples, but “Tida pineapples” from Ishigaki Island.
Incidentally, 1kg of the frozen ones by mail order costs about 2,980 yen, and they are so rare and sweet that they are called “phantom order”.
Introducing the products sold in order, the “Pineapple Soft” (750 yen, tax included) comes in a cup and is a refreshing and light pineapple soft, topped with Okinawan mango sauce, Tida pineapple, and a pineapple sandwich tart, which is two layers with pineapple sauce.
Both mango and tida pineapple are a luxury!
The Pineapple Pudding in a jar (420 yen) is a smooth, light milk pudding with an apricot flavor using Okinawan brown sugar as a disguising flavor! The apricot flavor is the key!
And the Pineapple Tart (580 yen) is a mild cheese cream made from cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, and fresh cream in a fermented butter flavored tart dough made from Okinawan brown sugar. This tart is generously topped with Tida pineapple.
Cream and pineapple, rich x thick and happy~!
And pineapple juice with Tida pineapple (580 yen). It’s chilled with pineapple cubes instead of ice, so it doesn’t thin out over time. It’s an idea!
That’s all we have on the menu at the moment, but we look forward to adding more to the lineup in the future!
Point 3: What is the “New Q” photo spot?
On the second floor of New Q, there is a “photo spot” in the eat-in space.
This must have been created with the idea that people would take pictures and upload them to “Instagram” in mind from the very beginning!
The “photo spot” is this cute little picture of a Shisa.
There are two types of Okinawan Shi-sa, realistic and cute, but the Shi-sa here is a cute one to look at!
The Shisa here are cute to look at, and the different expressions on them make it hard not to take a picture of them.
The product packages and to-go bags are also in the same style and are so cute that it would be a shame to throw them away.
The store is not only delicious, but also very well thought out, from the naming of the store to the exterior, interior, and product packaging. It is worth a visit to experience the “new Okinawa.
