In a warm space renovated from an old private house with his own hands,
Made from rice grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers
Tink Tink is a café where you can enjoy a menu in which "rice flour" plays a leading role.

Cafe Attraction

 

　We are seeing more and more restaurants and cafes that are not only well-designed and functional, but also conscious of food safety and security. Such considerations are a key factor in selecting restaurants, especially for women.
　Therefore, in this report, we introduce Tink Tink, a café with a menu starring "rice flour" made from rice grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
　Formerly operating in a commercial building in front of Nobeoka Station, the restaurant moved to its current location and opened in June 2015, hoping to "provide customers with a favorite space where they can freely create by hand and enjoy a relaxing café time. Since its establishment, pasta using "rice flour," rice flour bread, brown rice risotto, and other health-friendly menu items have been popular.

▲Handmade kitchen counter

　The warm space inside the store is impressive, having been renovated by hand by the manager (above image) and his wife and a friend. Also noteworthy is the display of miscellaneous goods that they have collected over the years. Incidentally, the space in the above image was originally a Japanese-style room that was converted to wooden flooring, and a handmade counter was installed there.

　In the report, we asked the manager about his commitment to "rice flour" as the main ingredient, as well as the atmosphere inside the restaurant and an introduction to the recommended menu, in which rice flour plays a leading role.

 

Store Appearance

▲The entrance to the front door. The old-fashioned sliding door frame has been painted ivory, transforming it into a retro and stylish look, and the handmade sign matches.

The spacious garden was maintained by a friend so that you can stroll through it. Trees of spring, summer, fall, and winter have been transplanted in a well-balanced manner, and will look beautiful in each season.

 

interior

The white-based interior made the plants and sundries stand out even more.

▲Table seating right outside the entrance. Although the appearance is a natural European-style design, the dim color scheme was completely changed by attaching individually painted, retro-style boards to the walls of the Japanese-style house.

The terrace seating is located just outside the doorway from the table seating. The super-sized poster (left), familiar to regulars, that was posted next to the counter in the previous restaurant is here!

Sitting at the counter, you can see a variety of goods and items on display right in front of your eyes, and just looking at them makes the time fly by.

If you go down the hallway extending from the side of the ▲ table seats to the back, you will find a spacious tatami room where you can enjoy the café with small children in a relaxed and safe atmosphere. We also recommend spending time at the table set on the porch while enjoying the view of the garden!

Sometimes, products exhibited at the store's general merchandise and food events are displayed and sold directly after the event. Each time, the type and concept of the display changes, so you can experience a different atmosphere!

 

Recommended Menu

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, the main ingredient of "Tink Tink" is "rice flour," and the owner's father is the one who grows and mills the rice that is the main ingredient! The rice is grown and milled by the owner's father in Shukuko, an area at the foot of the "last unexplored region in Kyushu," known as "Mt. The original "rice flour," made from rice grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, is milled and kneaded with only water, giving it a slightly sweet taste with minimal gluten. The menu, created through a trial-and-error process to make the most of this flavor, is popular among men and women of all ages.

 

Pescatore Rosso 850 yen (included) with salad, soup and rice flour bread

　Dessert and coffee +200 yen

　This is a major pasta dish that combines the umami of seafood with the acidity of tomatoes to make it easy to eat. It is served with locally grown vegetables, rice-flour bread, and soup, and is quite filling.
　Unlike commonly used wheat flour-based pasta, rice-flour pasta is characterized by the fact that the noodles quickly absorb the distinctive umami of the sauce, allowing the entire dish to be tasted evenly.

▲ Furthermore, the more you chew, the more the original sweetness of rice spreads in your mouth, settling into a gentle, mellow flavor that is different from that of pasta made with wheat flour noodles. It is recommended for small children and the elderly.

 

Basil cream risotto with organic brown rice 800 yen (included) with salad, soup and rice flour bread

　Dessert and coffee set +200 yen

▲This risotto is rich and thick with plenty of fresh basil and cheese. It is quite more satisfying than its apparent volume.

The texture of the brown rice bouncing around in the creamy cheese cream and the freshness of the basil create just the right rhythm, and despite the desire to enjoy the dish slowly, the pace at which the spoon is advanced seems to speed up unintentionally.

 

Baguette lunch 650 yen (included) with salad and soup

　Dessert and coffee set +200 yen

This set includes an assortment of three types of Tink Tink's specialty rice-flour breads. On this day, it was baguette, sesame bread, and dried fruit bread.

The manager is proud of this rice-flour bread, which is fermented slowly to maximize the unique firmness of rice-flour bread. The bread is packed tightly with rice flour, and when you take a bite, the aroma of rice will softly spread in your mouth. Recommended for a light lunch.

 

Iced coffee with water 400 yen (included)

In addition to rice flour, Tink Tink is also particular about its "mizuidashi iced coffee," which has become synonymous with Tink Tink. 15 hours of brewing gives it a very mild sweetness, with a strong aroma trapped inside. During the summer season, the shop is flooded with orders and sells out so quickly that they took the opportunity of relocating and opening a new location to install an extra-large iced coffee maker that can brew enough for 25 people at one time! Incidentally, when the iced coffee is heated up, the trapped aroma is released, making it very richly fragrant.

 

Genkimaru: 270 yen for 15 pieces

Made with pesticide-free brown rice from ▲Nobeoka (Shukuko Farm) and emperor salt, this snack is safe even for children. You can eat it as it is, but it is also good to serve it with ice cream or in soup!

 

Genkimaru chocolates, 10 pieces, 400 yen

▲This is "Genkimaru Choco" made with organic chocolate. The sweetness of the chocolate combined with a light saltiness makes this characteristic rice chocolate a bit luxurious! It has an addictive taste.

 

Interview with Owner Chef Yoshihiko Katayose

The most important thing is that the "excitement before eating" will stay with you forever, including the taste and presentation of the food and the creation of the space. We would like to continue to carefully create the style we envision, one by one, so that the moment you sit down, you will be reminded of that excitement again and again.

Q: When is the opening?

I and my wife, Mizuki Katayose, the store manager, started in February 2013 at the previous store. Our new store opened on June 29, 2015."

Q: Why did you decide to relocate in two years?

The previous restaurant was a small space with seating for about 10 people. At first, we thought we could just take it easy and operate at our own pace, so we decided to go there, but because we were using a tenant, we couldn't freely decorate the space and the kitchen was too small, so we couldn't create the menu structure, presentation, and expression we envisioned, which became more and more of a problem for us as the days went by. ” Are we really going to satisfy our customers with this? Are we really going to be satisfied with the way we are?” We decided to relocate to a restaurant where we could have more freedom of thought and create a space that we could be more attached to."

Q: You renovated the new store yourself. Was it difficult?

That's a lot of work, but it's actually a lot of fun! I feel a sense of accomplishment every time I make progress, one pile at a time. And many of my cafe friends helped me while they came to see the progress, some friends came every day, and many others extended a helping hand. I don't think I could have made it this far on my own. But I'm still on my way. ......” One after another, I had thoughts of ”I want to do this, I want to do that.” ...... But if I don't accomplish everything, I won't be able to open the store anytime soon (laughs). (Laughs) So, I decided to open a shop here for the time being, and the rest could be done gradually! But I think that turned out to be a good thing. We have customers who look forward to seeing how the interior and decor change a little each time they come in. Seeing their reactions made me realize once again that stores are living things.

Q: What is the concept of Tink Tink?

Pasta using pesticide- and chemical-free rice flour as the main ingredient, risotto made with brown rice pounded in one portion, and rice-flour bread are just a few examples of the safe, secure, and organic nature of our products.

Q: What is the reason for your commitment to rice flour?

My wife's father runs a farm in the Shukuko area of Nobeoka City, where rice and vegetables are grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers using a unique farming method he developed. The crops have a powerful flavor, as if they are filled with the energy of the earth. The rice grown by my father was used to make rice-flour noodles using only water and a proprietary method that suppresses gluten, and the noodles were sold wholesale to some stores in Miyazaki City. I had long wanted to share the beauty of rice-flour noodles with as many people as possible, so when we opened our own restaurant, we decided to make it a safe, secure, and organic café where the rice flour would play a leading role.

Q: What is your vision for the future?

I would like to sell not only the café menu, but also the rice-flour noodles and organic foods that my father makes, and develop this café so that it can become a billboard for such products. In addition, we would like to sell sundries as well, since we have space for displaying them. Today, the number of organic-conscious stores is increasing, but it has yet to take root. Many people who have interacted with us at organic-related events or who have moved to Nobeoka from outside the city because they are attracted by the appeal of Nobeoka's food have a high level of awareness, and we would like to help spread organic culture by communicating such awareness through this store in the form of cuisine and by providing opportunities to interact directly with producers. I would also like to do activities to spread organic culture in the local community."

Thank you for your time.

 

Access

Address: 205-6 Honkoji, Nobeoka City, Miyazaki Prefecture
Phone: 0982-29-3966
Business hours: 11:00-17:00
Closed: Sunday
Parking: In front of the store
Facebook URL:https://www.facebook.com/cafe.tinktink

The location is near the city library. Turn at the traffic light by the library and take the immediate path.

▲About 10 meters ahead, there is a menu board on the right side of the house. If you are driving by, you may miss it, so please take your time and look carefully.

 

MAP

205-6 Honkouji, Nobeoka-shi, Miyazaki 882-0812

 

Interview and editorial staff

Model Report: Nozomi Nakamoto
Photography and production: VOKE Ltd.