Shoyu Ahi Poke Bowl: White rice with hot sauce, Shoyu Ahi Poke and Pickled Onion topping
Ever since Tropic Fish & Vegetable closed their doors in Ward Farmer’s Market back in March of this year, I’ve never noticed or heard about any tenant taking their place. Although to this day I continue shopping at Marukai on the other end of Ward Farmer’s Market, the half-open door and relatively small, front-facing banner sign on the front of The Poke Bowl way over on the opposite side never caught my attention. Not to mention, I always park in front of Marukai, then drive away from behind the warehouses, further missing the opportunity to see them.
Only after recently doing a web search on Tropic’s whereabouts, did I stumble upon the world-wide-ed.com local blog site, where Ed Sugimoto wrote about this new place there named The Poke Bowl.
The Poke Bowl opened for business at Ward Farmers Market on July 13, 2008. That long? I just feel bad I missed out on all the ono grinds there, as you’ll soon see.
Of course, poke and me are best friends (in fact I’ve been called that once lol), and after reading about the concept of this place, I just had to head on over there myself to check it out.
Here you see they take up what was formerly the right section of Tropics…
Click image above to view alternate angle
If you’ve been to Tropics before, you’ll recognized some similarities of the space once you enter The Poke Bowl…
Click on image above to see the partitioned-off section of what was formerly Tropic’s produce area
There’s even a few decorative remnants of Tropics still up on an overhang wall above the shop…
The photos are of the owners’ friends’ past fishing adventures.
Speaking of owners, that would be brothers Derek and Craig Uyehara, along with their friend and business partner Blaine Kimura. While this is a full-time venture for Derek, the acting General Manager, Craig juggles this along with his “day job” in construction, while Blaine tends to other business projects, including Aloha Salads in Ward Warehouse.
Here’s Tyrone (“Tunda”) and Derek tending the poke counter…
Tyrone, a.k.a. “Tunda” and owner/manager Derek Uyehara
Derek is a super friendly guy and spent a good amount of time talking with me about their business, so big mahalo for that!
Now what exactly is this “Poke Bowl” concept? Well, this chalkboard menu above the front counter explains it…
As you see, you choose your rice, mild or hot sauce (which is drizzled on the rice before the poke goes on), type of poke and any additional toppings, and there you have it… a Poke Bowl!
I gotta’ admit (and I told Derek this), I’ve NEVER eaten Poke on rice before. Really! Cooked fish and rice, yes, but raw fish such as poke or sashimi on rice? No. Not even Tekkadon. Well OK, Nigiri Sushi, but that’s a little different. I’ve always eaten poke just by itself, pupu style, or along with other items on a mixed plate.
But hey, there’s always a first!
There are two bowl sizes to choose from: small…
and large…
Then you choose white or brown rice, regular or hot sauce (which is shoyu-based, or you can omit that), then choose the style of poke you want on it…
Soy Bean Poke, Tofu Poke and Lomi Salmon
Finally to top it off, you can opt for a variety of toppings for an additional 50 cents each…
Fukujinzuke, Kimchee, Sesame Seaweed Salad and Natto
Natto on Poke, eh? Now THAT’S an acquired taste right there!
Nori, Kyurizuke Pickled Cucumber, Takauan and Ogo Namasu
Cucumber Kimchee and Taegu
Chili (pepper) water, Furikake and chopped green onions
They also have these two toppings for sale by the pound…
Ogo Namasu and Cucumber Kimchee by the pound
I ended up choosing two small bowls to try: the mild Ahi Shoyu Poke over white rice with hot sauce and Sweet Pickled Onion topping, and Spicy Tuna Poke over brown rice with mild sauce and Kyurizuke Pickled Cucumber topping…
Shoyu Ahi Poke Bowl & Spicy Tuna Poke Bowl
Shoyu Ahi Poke Bowl with white rice and sweet pickled onion topping
Spicy Tuna Poke bowl with brown rice and pickled cucumber topping
How is it? I’ll get to that later. Next, let’s see what else this cool little store has.
Sitting atop a counter to the left are a variety of bento lunches and other goodies to choose from…
The descriptive sign cards for each bento remind me of Mana Bu’s…
This is one I’m definitely trying on my next stop there…
Behind the bento lunches and sushi are some interesting products from the neighbor islands, such as these cookies…
Pacific Gold Jerky (from the mainland)
Maui Upcountry peanut butter, mustard, jelly and jam
Then there’s the refrigerated snacks, such as this…
Dry Aku and Smoked Tako
Boiled Peanuts, Fruit Salads and Salsa
Potato Crab Salad and Pickled Onion
Tuna Salad Sandwich (they also sell Chicken Salad Sandwiches, but were sold out at the time of my visit)
There’s also a wide selection of cold juices, energy drinks, water and soda, all at very reasonable prices.
My overall impression here was that most items were competitively-priced, making it even more attractive as a one-stop shop for all your beach picnic grinds. Derek reinforced this by mentioning they want to keep prices affordable for everyone. At just $3.95 and $5.25 for that heaping bowl of poke and rice, gotta’ say, that’s a great deal!
One other note about the poke, as you noticed by the price signs fronting each tray, if you don’t care to have it in a bowl with rice, they also sell it by the pound in 1/4 lb. increments…
Wrapping up this virtual walkthrough of the place, we have a couple of Gyotaku paintings they have on display…
Finally, their Maneki Neko good luck charm, commonly found at the entrance of most businesses here in the islands…
OK, now back to the grinds. I figured, what better way to enjoy this Poke Bowl than to sit by the beachside, so I went to Ala Moana Beach Park, which is just a block away from Ward Farmer’s Market. There I found a spot at a park bench at Magic Island overlooking the surf…
Ah yes, nice place to grind. Itadakimasu (let’s eat)!
As I mentioned earlier, this is absolutely the very first time I’m eating poke with rice, so here it goes…
Well I’ll be damned… it’s AWESOME! I asked Derek if folks are ever concerned about the rice cooking the delicately raw Ahi, to which he said only one person asked about that besides myself. He did say that they try to serve the rice warm, but not piping hot, so that when you eat it, there’s a harmony of temperature contrast without one or the other canceling each other out, such as the rice being too cold or the poke being too warm. Even after sitting around for a good half-hour (covered) before I finally got to eat it (after having spent time talking and stuff), it was just right; the poke was still a bit cool and the rice still on the warm side.
While I have to honestly say, the Shoyu Ahi poke here wasn’t nearly as the “like buttah”, made-to-order poke from Ono Seafood on Kapahulu (the golden standard), it held its own as a very respectable representation of the dish. Especially the way they seasoned it. Very nice. Perfect balance of salty-sweetness to it. What really, really, REALLY took this Ahi Shoyu Poke Bowl to new heights was the sweet pickled onion topping. EXCELLENT CHOICE! If you’re in doubt what to put on yours, get the pickled onions. The sweet, spicy and crunchy contrast of the onions along with the smooth, exotic poke and granular, starchy rice is another one of those marriage-made-in-heaven deals. Simply fantastic. This one alone inclines me to immediately and sincerely grant The Poke Bowl a 5 Spam Musubi rating.
Here you can see the layered “construction” of this bowl…
You can see the spicy secret sauce has evenly coated the white rice. That really did add a dimension to the dish that would have otherwise have been missing. Good call on adding that!
Now let’s try the Spicy Tuna Poke Bowl…
Whoah, this buggah is HOT! After acclimating my palate to the heat, I really enjoyed this one too. I liked the Shoyu Ahi Poke Bowl much more, but this one was delicious in its own right. The pickled cucumber added a refreshing, calming element to the dish, while the husky brown rice stood up well when accompanied with the spicy coating on the poke. Again, this is spicy HOT, so be ready.
Yes, I’m now a converted poke and rice fan, thanks to that seriously awesome Shoyu Ahi Poke Bowl with sweet pickled onions.
Being friends of the Tanoue family, owners of Tropic Fish & Vegetable, the guys who run The Poke Bowl still do plenty of business with them. All their seafood and produce comes from Tropic’s wholesale operation, which is located in one of the adjacent warehouses in back. Tropic Fish Market also still owns the remaining three year lease to their former Ward Farmers Market location, in turn subleasing the partitioned space to The Poke Bowl. Also, all their bento lunches, sushi and musubi are prepared by the same ladies who worked for Tropic’s market.
Derek said they also do catering, where they can provide party-sized trays of just about everything you see prepared here.
He also mentioned every wednesday they have what’s called The Hawaiian Bowl. I’m surprised they don’t do that on Friday, as that’s when most places do their Hawaiian-themed “Aloha Friday” specials. Anyway, this Hawaiian Bowl is made using the large bowl (Hawaiian style!), with white rice and topped with lomi salmon, Kalua Pig and Ahi Limu Poke. Sounds ono to me! I’ll check that out this Wedesday.
For best selection, I’d recommend arriving as early as possible. Many of the bento and musubi items may be sold out if you get there after peak lunch hour.
Oishii Japanese and local style food, driven by a unique concept, streamlined operation, reasonable prices, friendly owners and staff, plus convenient location and hours all make The Poke Bowl a guaranteed WINNAH!
The Poke Bowl
Ward Farmer’s Market
1020 Auahi Street, Building #1
Honolulu, HI 96814
Tel. 593-1074
www.ThePokeBowl.com
CLOSED FOR BUSINESS
***Updated 3.20.09***
The Poke Bowl is now doing business as THE PAINA CAFE, located across the street in Ward Warehouse.
MENU
Poke Bowls
White or Brown Rice,
Mild or Hot Sauce,
your choice of Poke (as indicated)
Small: $3.95, Large $5.25
Toppings: 50 cents each
Takuan, Nori, Natto, Ogo, Kim Chee, Taegu, Pickled Cucumber, Pickled Onion and more
Island Style Poke
(Market Price)
Ahi Shoyu Poke (Mild/Hot),
Ahi Shoyu Limu Poke (Mild/Spicy),
Spicy Tuna,
Limu Ahi,
Hawaiian Style Tako,
Shoyu Tako,
Kim Chee Tako,
Tofu Poke,
Soy Bean Poke
Bentos and Musubis
Breakfast Bentos: $3.95
Deluxe Grinds Bento: $6.85
Ahi Patty, Sakuraboshi, Derek’s Fried Chicken, Spam, Teri Burger, Furikake Rice
Derek’s Fried Chicken Bento: $4.25
Sakuraboshi Bento: $4.25
Y. Kimura Fish Market Seasoned Ahi
Teri Burger Bento: $4.25
Ahi Patty Bento: $4.25
SPAM, SPAM Egg/Takuan, Shoyu, Tuna, Shoyu Hot Dog Musubi, Luncheon Meat Musubi starting at $1.45
Prices and availability subject to change
The Tasty Island rating:
(5) Superb. Worthy of repeat visits or purchases. (Broke Da’ Mout’!)
Related links:
• www.ThePokeBowl.com – Official site
• The Poke Bowl to open at Ward Farmers Market – World Wide Ed
**********************************************************************************
BONUS content! More photos from around Magic Island yesterday, Saturday, October 11th around 1pm.
Here’s the view I had from the park bench where I sat and enjoyed those delicious Poke Bowls…
This is looking towards Ewa
Looking toward Ala Moana beach from Magic Island…
A family makes their way to Magic Island lagoon…
Magic Island’s lagoon…
This is where the pyrotechnics are set-up for the annual Ala Moana Center 4th of July fireworks displays
The Hawaii Superferry on its daily afternoon return voyage from Maui to Honolulu Harbor…
Ala Moana Bowls on a flat day…
The entrance to Ala Wai Boat Harbor…
The two condos to the left are Yacht Harbor Towers. Next to that with the domed pink roof is the Ala Moana Rennaisance Hotel. The circular-shaped tower on the right is the Hawaii Prince Hotel.
A high roller parks their ride at Ala Wai Boat Harbor…
Mahalo for visiting The Tasty Island!
This is definitely going on my “to eat at” list for next month.
I dunno, I still can’t get my mind around rice and poke in the same bowl. It just looks…weird, but the sushi and bento looked good
The jobos thing is winnah. I got poke bowl and eat the jobos often for breakfast. The Gotteburg sausage (sp?) with the scoop rice inside is a Kauai thing. They sell the sausage at Marukai if you like try make em at home. It’s ono with eggs too.
Isn’t this a Hawaiian variation on chirashi sushi?
Dang.
Looks so ono! Great find!
Poke with rice sound pretty good to me and never been to Poke Bowl. Now I have a reason to go. I like poke very much will check it out.
Oh, I love Gottenburg sausage (or yeah however you spell it)! i guess cuz my dad is from Kaua’i. Can’t wait to try this place next time I go home!!
I have to go wipe down my keyboard now. That looked so good.
Poke with rice . I like it very much with rice and poke. Been to lot of places that sell poke but never to Poke Bowl now another great place to try out.
I am a person who can not make up her mind. I always order half and half. Half hot sauce on bowl and other side regular. Wonder if they do half and half on poke too? Will find out when I head there NOW!
ALOHA!
Half and half sound pretty good ideal for me too. I am going to try it out also and get some bento food also.
Pomai, this place in your entry is not bad at all. After reading blog of other planing to get half and half I will try to order it too that way. Wonder if they will do it of course? I will order their tofu poke and kim chee tako also.
Nate, glad to hear you’ll be back home once again. Perhaps this time we can hook up at the BWS Cafeteria. If so, let’s make it on a Thursday when they have the Oxtail Soup!
Jodi, I had the same inclination upon first reading about it. I thought Poke and rice sounded downright weird, and not so much one of them “no brainers”. Going in with an open mind, it turned out to be FANTASTIC! I think that secret sauce has lots to do with the success of the dish. You really should give it a try.
ilikegrind, really, Marukai sells Goteborg Sausage? I don’t recall seeing it, but I’ll take a closer look next time! Doing a quick search, it says Goteborg Sausage is originally from Sweden. It’s a smoked sausage made with 75% beef and 25% pork.
NatenAnnie, Craig likened the concept with Donburi, which I’d be even more specific that it would be like Tekkadon.
Robyn, I was so caught up in talking with Craig, I overlooked what exactly I was photographing, only now realizing I missed picking up one of those Goteborg Musubi packs. Darned it. Whether the “Kauaiians” call it “Jobo’s” or “UFOs”, I can’t seem to find any web resources on it. I’ll certainly return this week to get some!
Spotty, sorry but The Tasty Island isn’t responsible for replacing drool-flooded keyboards. lol
Michale, same here. This is the first place I’ve ever been to that’s serving poke this way.
Amy, Dana and Erica, I’m pretty sure they’ll make it however you want, including mixing stuff. Just keep in mind, the toppings (like takuan, pickled onion, cucumber, nori, etc.) are an additional 50 cents each.
I tell ya’, the mild shoyu ahi, with white rice, hot sauce and sweet pickled onion on top.. das’ da’ 5-SPAM Musubi broke da’ mout’ combo’ right there!
They should make an Edamame (Soybean) Poke using SHELLED Edamame. That way you can put that on rice, too. I bet that’d be ono!
Pomai – Only Thursday open is Nov. 20. I come in on the 13th which is my BD so it’s set with my family, and the 27th is turkey day again with my family. Let me know by e-mail if OK and I’ll be there.
Your scenic shots are awesome, Pomai, as are da food shots, of course. The concept of poke and rice doesn’t bother me because it does remind me of nigiri.
Man, if I were there right now I would probably get the kim chee tako with spicy sauce and some takuan to cool the tongue. What do you think of that combo?
Wow. Oahu grinds kill me.
I come to your blog for escapism for both the food and Hawaiian scenery, this post really showed both elements beautifully! You should be happy to know that I looked up flights from LA, which were cheaper than I had thought (but who knows when I will get around to making it out there?). Rest assured you are doing your part to encourage Hawaiian tourism!
pomai! another great write up–got me drooling here at 1AM PST. awesome pictures too!!! rock on!!!
I didn’t know Kauai had a special word for Goteburg sausage. I thought UFOs were sloppy joes at the bon dance. I think they are pressed so the bread is sealed up all around the edges… haven’t seen it myself, only heard from aunty.
Pomai, Will you ever a entry on Nijiya Market on Puck Alley? I heard it getting very popular.
Nijiya Market is in many places in California. I go to one in San Francisco and their bento boxes are such a good deal. 20% off on 29 each month on meats is super. There no place in San Francisco sell poke and always looking forward when in Honolulu and now know of Poke Bowl.
That poke bowl look ONO. I like try em’ with the poke seared on the outside lil’ bit…I bet brok da mout!
Betty, Bristol Farms, the upscale grocery store in the basement food court of the Westfield Centre (Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom) generally has two types of poke available — regular and spicy (I say generally, because I haven’t been there in a while, but assume they still have them).
They look good, but I haven’t tried them because I take BART in to SF, and I figured it probably wouldn’t travel well.
Thank Debbie-chan for the infor. I head on there right away.
This food blog is AWESOME! I added you to my blogroll by the way. The pictures and descriptions made me miss Hawai’i soo much! I moved away for college and a good job two and a half years ago and miss home…especially the food! I’m on the east coast so we no mo’ poke and spam musubi! At least in Cali and even Vegas you can find some! Aww, I am so craving Hawai’i!
Great stuff!
Derek’s fried chicken bento is delicious, the chicken has the perfect balance of flavor and juciness.
All the poke is awesome, but my fav. is hot shoyu limu ahi with pickled onion.
I place phone orders here like every other day for my coworkers and I.
hey u know that guy Tyrone . . . is he from kaua’i?
Keleolani, yes, according to Derek, he is indeed from Kauai.
have you found a new location….we’re sad you moved from Ward Farmer’s Market.
please let everyone know where you are….we are ono for your fabulous, awesome, tasty grinds!
Casey, one of the owners is/was Blaine Kimura, who also owns and operates Aloha Salads. If you’re intent on finding the whereabouts of The Poke Bowl, trying emailing him at their website….
http://www.alohasalads.com
the poke bowl is back… i went to ward warehouse and found them operating under a new name Paina Cafe… still the same winna poke bowls. plus a new larger menu. check them out next to the chowder house…
Makai, mahalo for updating us on that! I’ll have to make my across the street and check out Derek’s new dig. Apparently Aloha Salads – Blane’s company – is looking for a larger space where the Paina Cafe has now taken over.
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