Experience I FOOD TREND
Experience I FOOD TREND
Poké
Where to eat PĀ´INA CAFÉ Three locations in Honolulu painacafe.com
HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS, POKÉ – A RAW FISH DISH HAILING FROM HAWAII – HAS AUSTRALIA’S TASTEBUDS TINGLING
MORIMOTO WAIKIKI The Modern Honolulu, 1775 Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu morimotowaikiki.com
WORDS TATYANA LEONOV
KOBE JONES Locations in Sydney and Melbourne kobejones.com.au
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cai bowls? Coconut water? Kale? Quinoa? You’re living in the past. It’s all about poké (pronounced pohkay), a Japanese-inspired Hawaiian raw fish dish that has health nuts (and everyone else) talking. Poké essentially means to slice or cut crosswise and refers to diced pieces of raw fish. The fish – traditionally ahi (yellowfish) tuna – needs to be extremely fresh, and paired with the right
dressing in this delicate equation. This classic pupu (snack) has been eaten in Hawaii for centuries. It started off as a simple meal composed of reef fish scraps, but has developed into a snack Hawaiians enjoy anywhere and anytime. Although traditionally Hawaiian, Japanese influence played a key role in poké’s evolution. When the Japanese immigrated to Hawaii they added shoyu soy sauce, other marinades
This classic pupu (snack) has been eaten in Hawaii for centuries and sauces were introduced and people began experimenting with different fish, octopus, crab, squid, abalone and even tofu. “Originally, poké was limited to just the few ingredients readily available in Hawaii, but it has continued to evolve
based on increased access to more ingredients,” says Matthew Gray, head honcho at Hawaii Food Tours. “Nowadays, you’ll see ingredients like wasabi-dusted sesame seeds, mayo, hot sauce, watermelon chunks and many other additions that have helped bring poké into the 21st century.” 'Poké bowls' are a relatively new concept. “We were the first to launch the concept in 2008,” explains cofounder of Pā´ina Café, Blaine Kimura. “We noted
PHOTOGRAPHY SIMON SHIFF, POKE COOGEE
LEFT TO RIGHT: Tokyo Tina's take on poké; the integral shoyu soy sauce; fresh salmon used at Coogee's Poke.
how quickly the buildyour-own burrito concept grew, so figured that people might like to build their own poké bowl. The bowls are built around the base of rice, choice of poké, sauce and optional toppings.” With one week in Hawaii I try as many poké varieties as I can. Supermarket chain Foodland stocks a whole counter of assortments, so I pop in every day to try concoctions such as king crab or spicy ahi poké; food trucks are all the
rage in Honolulu and I make a point of sampling poké whenever I see a vendor selling the snack; I enjoy chef Masaharu Morimoto’s inventive take at fancy-pants restaurant Morimoto Waikiki in The Modern Honolulu – Japanese bigeye tuna, marinated in soy sauce and bonito chili flakes, with bocconcini and avocado wasabi sorbet. Back in Sydney I start noticing poké on menus. Kobe Jones has been serving poké-style dishes since 2003, and recently other eateries – including Henrys in Cronulla and Manly's Showbox Coffee Brewers – have added the tantalising dish to menus. Simon Blacher, director at Melbourne’s Tokyo Tina, decided to start serving poké bowls in November last year after he noticed the dish had an almost cult-like following in Los Angeles
and New York City. “We were looking for a dish that wasn’t necessarily sushi, but that was based on seafood and rice,” he explains. “Aussies jump around new and healthy ideas, the climate and market is perfect, and it’s a great go-to lunchtime meal.” Candice Wu and Sam Constantinou (the couple married in Hawaii, which is where they first discovered poké) opened Australia’s first pokédedicated restaurant, simply called Poke, in beachside Sydney suburb Coogee last April. “We fell in love with poké in Hawaii and were surprised at how difficult it was to find here, so we started serving poké to friends, then selling poké at farmers’ markets, and finally we opened our own store,” Candice says. Poké bowls are packed with choices of lean protein, healthy fats, vegetables and healthy carbs (Candice and Sam
HENRYS 1 Ocean Grove, Cronulla, Sydney henryscronulla.com.au SHOWBOX COFFEE 19 Whistler Street, Manly, Sydney showboxcoffee.com.au POKE Shop 3, 55 Dudley Street, Coogee, Sydney lovepoke.com.au POKÉD Shop 3, 551 Little Lonsdale, Melbourne poked.com.au TOKYO TINA 66a Chapel Street, Windsor, Melbourne tokyotina.com.au
replaced white rice with organic black rice). The concept was a hit, with health-conscious foodies lining up from the word go. Melbourne wasn’t far behind, with university students Thomas Hu, Justin Huang and Sam Kothari opening Pokéd on Little Lonsdale in July. “Poké is on trend,” Justin says. “It’s healthy and tasty… it’s what Australians want.”
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