Poke – Page 6 – mmm-yoso

Poki One N Half

July 11, 2016 mmm-yoso Poke, Seafood

I mentioned this place in a post back in May. During the Fourth of July weekend, I noticed the place had opened. And while I cringe a bit at those places that misspell "poke", I decided since this place was close enough to work, I should check them out.

Much like San Diego Poke Company; there's that fast-casual assembly line set-up. They feature three bowl "sizes" (small – $7.99, regular – $8.99, large $10.99) and a wrap ($8.99) Basically a 5 step process clearly outlined on signs behind the counter. Choose your base (here you can even get chips), step 2, add-ons (i.e. avocado, onion, surimi – sorry no Flamin' Cheetos here), protein, then sauce, step 5 are toppings, which I found to be a bit confusing with considering step 2, until I saw the difference in portioning. Looks like they are keeping things simple for the assembly line Keeping with "my rules" for checking out these poke places, I had to go with the tuna…..but man; that was the brightest cherry red (courtesy of carbon monoxide), saku (which you can even order from Amazon) fish staring me in the face.

Part of the dining area is set-up with a very industrial style tables and stools.

Even though the tuna turned me off rules be rules, right? To hedge my bet, I got some Hamachi, and some scallops with my bowl, with the "original sauce", which was a slightly sweet soy, with sesame oil and a bit of acid.

In all honesty, the best part of the bowl was the edamame, avocado, and the sauce, which wasn't too cloying and didn't mess up any of the flavors. The Hamachi, while slightly mushy wasn't too bad; the scallops had no flavor and I really missed the briny sweetness of scallops. Everything else was fine; the rice, the almost namasu style cucumbers. I could have used a bit more onion, but that's ok.

In terms of portion size; I'd say that this regular bowl was in line with San Diego Poke Company; though there might have been a tad more seafood in this.

And while I do have an issue with the sign; especially the "Poki (or Poke)" portion and I think they've taken the "salad bowl" portion out of context. They should be made to read Rachel Laudan's fantastic The Food of Paradise especially if they think they're providing information.

Still, the folks here were quite nice; even the older gentleman, who I believe is probably the owner or some reasonable facsimile who tried with all his heart to get me to put seaweed salad on my bowl. So I made it a point to return, the next day as a matter of fact.

This time, I went with the Tuna, Albacore, and Hamachi, with the "Hot" sauce, which wasn't very hot in my opinion. I did like the fact that they don't over-sauce anything. I decided on half and half; rice and salad.

The tuna was better this time around, but not by much…….way too much "sugi". The albacore looked a bit dry and was. The Hamachi was again the best of the three items. No off flavors though.

I liked the standard issue salad mix, though I wish these places would work on dressing the salad a bit if they're serving that. The rice was really bad this time around; dry and hard.

Ok, well, another one down. I'm getting a bit tired of all this saku fish. You know, I thought about asking how they named this place….but after consideration I decided not to since; if you'd compare this place to some of my favorites back home; it wouldn't even be one-third. So why bother? I actually prefer it to San Diego Poke Company, but that's not really saying much.

Please check out Kirbie's post on Poki One N Half here.

Poki One N Half
8055 Armour St
San Diego, CA 92111

Funny thing; I had a chat with Tommy from Catalina Offshore about all these poke places recently. He's decided not to do business with them, basically because it seems to be a "reverse arms race to see who can get away with serving the cheapest product possible." He also asked me if I was "insulted at the low quality and how they're defiling such a great food item that I have ties to." I told him that right now, I'd just be happy if they spelled "poke" correctly.

Anyway, I still think you might want to check this place out. The prices aren't bad and the folks are nice. And hey, if you live in North Park, you'll have a location near you soon.

Tokyo Deli

June 28, 2016 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Poke

**** Tokyo Deli has closed

I gotta say; as years have passed, the longer I live in San Diego, my reception of what's going on over "the coconut wireless" gets more and more faint. I think most folks use the four lettered word site to get their info these days. But here's one I got a day after posting on San Diego Poke Company. Anyway, he who wants to remain silent told me the poke at this tiny little, mostly take-out shop in the East Village was worth a try for the poke. I was warned off the nigiri and he knew I don't do the rolls thing. Which is how I ended up at Tokyo Deli.

Loved the shop which was sparkling white; the crew all Japanese, there are a few brands of soy sauce and other Japanese items for sale in a small retail area.

The drill is basic order at the counter and get your food. The folks are professional.

The poke bowls can be made on rice, as a salad, or half and half. They start at $9.80 with two toppings gratis and an upcharge extra items or even more for avocado and/or cream cheese…..cream cheese….on a poke bowl. So, no Flamin' Cheetos toppings or any of that stuff here, after all, did you want all kinds of "stuff" or fish, eh?

There's a glass display of items from the menu…..no, it's not plastic food.

Wanting something basic to determine how good the fish was; I went with the rice bowl, with tuna (of course), the sesame soy sounded closest to shoyu poke, with onions and cucumber.

It was delivered to me in a little plastic bowl, with a couple of butter lettuce leaves and shredded purple cabbage. This is not a big eater portion size, but it was enough for me. First things first, the fish was good quality, nice meatiness, no tough or mushy pieces. This wasn't too salty, decent balance in salty-sesame oil, but there was a wasabi kick to the sauce; but it wasn't a gooey-watery mess either. The rice was excellent, cooked perfectly. The onions and cucumbers did the job; pungency with a nice clean palate cleansing. The really nice woman who brought me my bowl also dropped off a cup of water; a nice touch.

Which if course, meant I went back; this time for take-out.

This time I went for the half and half; half rice half salad with tuna, the ponzu sauce, avocado ($1 upcharge), onion, and cucumbers.

There was a nice generous portion of avocado; but this bowl seemed a bit lightweight with all the greens; which by the way, wasn't dressed, and that sauce for the poke really didn't extend to all that kale. Also, the fish just didn't seem as good in quality this time around; low in fat and oil, and quite a bit of "that pink" bled onto the rice. The ponzu was ok, it could have had a bit more zip and I thought the fish needed to be dressed a bit better.

Now the really nice guy who recommended Tokyo Deli also asked me to try the Sushi Burrito……something I usually wouldn't go for. He also instructed me to get a whole one ($10.80) since half really would only do for a small snack. So, I went with the tuna sushi burrito (yeeesh) and since I was going to defy that little voice inside of me going "wtf", I chose the spicy aioli as the sauce. Man, this fish was dark, the texture was still good, but it was just getting to the edge of shelf life for me as I could make out a mild "smell". Still, it wasn't bad.

As before, the rice was prepared well. This was basically an uncut makizushi with poke as a filling, which wasn't too strange to me. It was kind of light on the fish; they piled everything in the middle before rolling, so the ends were tapered, with hardly any fish. The spicy aioli; was more aioli than spicy. At least to me. At least you'll get some greens and a nice portion of avocado. I did get full; but mostly on rice.

So, what do I think? This place is decent and would stretch to good if they can get consistently good fish. The place is clean and spotless and service reserved, thoughtful (remember the cup of water?), professional, with a certain dignified, understated approach that seems so Japanese. I like that. The portions aren't very large, but as a whole ok for me. They also serve Edomae nigiri sushi; which looks a bit better than what you'd get at a Japanese market. Sorry, I don't eat it there other than kappa maki and natto maki, so you'll have to try it yourself. There are also various rice bowls and the inevitable California and Philadelphia rolls on the menu as well.

I'll eat here again.

Tokyo Deli
871 G St
San Diego, CA 92101
Open Daily
11am – 7pm

San Diego Poke Company

June 20, 2016 mmm-yoso Poke, Seafood

**** San Diego Poke Company has closed

I know, it’s kind of rough doing a post on one of these fast-casual poke concept places right after doing one on the great, inexpensive seafood on rice in Hokkaido. But that’s the breaks. I’ve got really mixed feelings about the recent poke boom on the mainland. On one hand, it’s great that something I’ve eaten since “small kid time”, we’re talking almost half a century here, has gained general acceptance and popularity. On the other hand, much of it looks more style and hype over substance, jumping on the latest bandwagon, remember cronuts? Or maybe fro-yo? Or maybe (fill in the blanks). I’m not one who follows fads and I’ve always said, I’d never get poke from a place where I wouldn’t eat the fish without all the sauces or what not, but there I was in front of San Diego Poke Company. Mainly because one of their regular customers from their Farmer’s Market stall emailed me saying it was quite good.

I’d kind of made up my approach to trying these places on the way to this shop. Because I always like to experience the food at any eating establishment at its best, I’d never go on Sundays and Mondays (since I don’t know when their fish is picked up/delivered). Because, to me, poke is traditionally ahi/aku, Ala’e/sea salt, limu, inamona, and because of my background, shoyu, and onions, though I guess these days I make it all kinds of ways, I’m going to stick with fish from the tuna family at first.

The drill here is ordering perhaps a “specialty bowl”, or doing the fast-casual, have it your way thing, a base of starch plus seafood item, sauce, then any variety of toppings. Like Kirbie mentioned in her post, the world is your oyster, you can get anything from avocado to Flaming Hot Cheetos (whatever…) if you make it your own way.

Nice group of folks here, quite friendly. On my first visit, I went with the large OG SD ($11.95), which looked like a modification of shoyu poke. I thought the amount of fish used was much more generous than what I had at Poke Go back in August of last year. It also had a ton of rice.

The fish seemed to be better quality than what I had at Poke Go, though obviously not top grade. There were a couple of pieces that had quite a bit of “suji” (connective tissue) and a few pieces smelled a bit off, so I didn’t eat those. The sauce was a simple shoyu – teriyaki-ish based sauce which didn’t mess too much with the fish. Love onions in my poke, though this was a bit too much. The avocado added a nice creamy component to things. Way too much rice for me though, so I made note to just get a regular bowl the next time.

I like a good Poisson Cru and had two somewhat similar versions of it in Hanga Roa recently, so I thought trying the Koko Loko (regular – build your own bowl $9.95), a coconut, citrus, and sweet chili sauce base would be nice. Though when I asked the guy at the counter if this was similar to Poisson Cru or ‘Ota’ika, he looked at me weird and said, “no, this is koko loko….” Okay……shame on me for expecting he would actually know a bit more about something very similar. Food nerd malfunction.

The sauce was a bit too heavy in coconut for me, also a bit too sweet, and I thought it needed a bit more citrus. Cucumbers are a must for this type of poke/ceviche and I wish tomatoes were available. The fish was actually even better this time around, though I noticed that it looked like two different batches thrown together as there were some mushy pieces. For me, avocado always adds a bit of creaminess, even with the coconut based sauce, the masago adds a nice crunch as does the seaweed salad, though this “bled” all over the rice making it green. I stopped the guy after one scoop of rice in my bowl, that was enough for my carb needs.

In the end, while it wouldn’t make me forget places like Ono Seafood, Tanioka’s, or any number of places back home, this was better than other versions I’ve had in San Diego. Think of it as “Poke Chipotle”, which I guess is better than “Poke Micky D’s”. It’s worth a stop if you want something a bit more healthy and are in the area.

San Diego Poke Co
10387 Friars Rd
San Diego, CA 92120
Open Daily 11am – 9pm

Midweek Meanderings: Coming Soon – Pokeland and Crab Hut (Mira Mesa), Plus a Quick Look at The Market Hall

March 2, 2016 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers, Poke, Seafood

A couple of things for hump day……

Coming Soon – Pokeland:

Sounds like some kind of amusement park, huh? Anyway, this one is courtesy of "FOY" (friend of yoso) and frequent commenter "JanFrederick", who was nice enough to send me an email about the place.

Located in Mira Mesa Mall right across from L&L.

8270 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA, 92126

And Crab Hut (Mira Mesa):

Right around the corner is the new location of Crab Hut.

Looks like they'll be ready fairly soon

8280 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA, 92126

Man, the interior of this mall looks kind of depressing…….the Mandarin Garden location stands looking quite alone……

A Quick Visit to the Market Hall:

**** The Market Hall has closed

I was in the East Village area so I did a quick visit to The Market Hall a few weeks ago; a grocery/restaurant concept that originated in Seattle.

Not much in terms of meat, seafood, or produce when I visited.

Decent, but not outstanding selection of cheeses and quite a bit of prepared food. In fact, the friendly folks kept asking me if I'd like to try something.

The place was rather empty, except for the coffee bar which was doing some nice business. and while I really don't see anything that compels me to return…..I get most of what I need in terms of cheese/meat/wine/beer/seafood closer to home, I think this is great for folks who live in the East Village!

The Market Hall
969 Market St
San Diego, CA 92101
Hours:
Mon – Fri 7am – 10pm
Sat – Sun 9am – 10pm

Poke Go

August 25, 2015 mmm-yoso Poke, Seafood

**** This location of Poke Go has closed

There seems to be a little revolution going on in LA and the OC…..poke, something I've eaten….well, being born and raised in Hawaii, basically all of my life has really gained a foot hold. Places like Poke District, North Shore Poke Company, Pokinometry, and of course Costco and Whole Foods, plus erstwhile food bloggers like Elmomonster, means that it's getting full coverage in the OC. It was only a matter of time until a shop specializing in poke opened here…….so, I wasn't surprised to read about one opening in Eater…though I'm not sure Hillcrest is the best location for it. Still, I was intrigued, so I headed up to Hillcrest to try out Poke Go.

Upon entering and seeing the owner; well, I cracked up. It was the guy who used to own Convoy Sushi and Fish Market, Moby Dick Fish Market & Grill, Ocean Harvest Seafood, etc….etc…. He does love creating new restaurants. The "concept" as he calls it, is quite simple, poke "bowls", called "platters" here, Korean influenced rice based dishes, as a quick stop is the objective. Select your fish, Ahi or Salmon (have you ever seen me eat salmon poke?), Rice (White or Brown) or Salad, and then your "spice" (aka da' sauce or seasoning), finally a "side" completes your "platter".

Of course, I went with the "Shoyu Hawaiian" style Ahi on White Rice with Mac (here called Tartar Macaroni) Salad. The menu price for this is $8.99, but during the grand opening period it's $7.99. So here's what I got…..

The first thought that entered my mind when I opened the cardboard carton was "wea's da fish"? This looked like a glorified seaweed salad with a few cubes of fish in it. There seemed to be maybe two ounces of fish in this thing. For the price, I didn't expect anything near, say what I make at home, or even what I make for the Missus. But it was decent, if not great quality fish. What I managed to pull out of the seaweed salad was on the bland side, nowhere near what anything in the islands is like. The sesame oil flavor permeated everything.

The "Tartar Macaroni" was terribly dry and not dressed enough as well.

I did return and to try the version with Kimchi sauce….."extra spicy" they said.

I will say that there was much more fish in this one. Plus, I really enjoyed (gasp) the brown rice; nice and nutty and it went well with the furikake. The fish was on the dry side and fairly bland as before; not too much "suji" (connective tissue), but still kind of chewy. It wasn't very spicy at all. There was kimchi at the bottom of the fish…..which looked like a lot; but one bite in and it was quite apparent that this was perhaps just a bit more than what I had previously.

I will say that the portion of "Kanikama" (surimi) was quite large, but I'd have appreciated a bit more effort in flavoring. I got full on that alone.

So here's what I think. If you don't mind getting full on rice, salad, and seaweed salad, with a few ounces of fish…then this will work for you. I'd gladly take it in place of a fastfood lunch. While this stuff would never fly back home. I've definitively had worse here in San Diego.

As to whether it's Poke "no" or Poke Go….well, you'll have to make up your mind yourself.

Poke Go
3614 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Coastal Crave

April 29, 2015 mmm-yoso Beer, Chicken Wings, Gastropub, Poke, Pubs and Pub Grub

**** Coastal Crave has closed

Back in March I noted the impending arrival of Coastal Crave. I was pretty happy, this space had been empty for years. The business was going to run by the owner of the now defunct Skybox Sportsbar, which I'd been to a few times after moving to the area.

Then other news came trickling in….the kitchen was going to be run by the original chef of Common Theory. 'Nuff said. So I held off on coming for a bit, but finally decided to give it a go a couple of weeks back.

It was a Sunday and the bar was full and the really nice patio area was half full….and there was one poor guy running the bar and the dining area, a really nice guy named Danny…..I felt for him.

The beer selection was a bit limited, but had 2-3 items I was ok with. I went with a Port Brewing Shark Attack Red Ale, then turned it down when my food arrived.

The menu seemed a bit pricey, but it's hard to make that determination when you haven't tried anything, so I went full steam ahead. And of course, being from Hawaii, I love my poke, so I thought it would be a good place to start ($9.50). I think for most, this would be ok. Me, well, I'm not a big fan of saku fish….that boned, skinned, pre-cut, vacuum packed, and frozen stuff has a texture I don't enjoy.

I would have appreciated a bit more shoyu and less sesame oil. And I thought the "wasabi pesto" needed more wasabi.

I went with the Garlic Parmesan Wings, which was basically simply fried wings with a dollop of a garlic-cheese paste on them.

The wings were a bit greasy and the flesh dry. There were six wings total….guess how much this was? $11.50……are we soon going to have $2 wings? I rue the day I actually complained about the price of wings at Kyochon!

Man, that was a not so great first visit. Still, I decided to visit again. This time I saw the sign for $1 off draft beer during "Happy Hour" – 4-6pm. It's nothing like, say, Iron Pig's half price happy hour. It was also kind of a bummer when I was told that Sculpin and the Shark Attack Red were excluded from happy hour pricing…..it's only a dollar, but really……

This time around I asked for a recommendation with regards to one of my dishes. Queried about my tolerance for "heat", the Habanero Calamari ($8.50) was recommended.

And this was probably the best item I had at Coastal Crave; tender, nice spice, cooled by a decent aioli. It was on the greasy side….but this is pub grub, right?

I also decided to try the Bone Marrow ($15).

This seemed a bit over-priced and the marrow looked really black. It wasn't too bad, but in spite of the color, there were quite a bit of red, under done parts. This actually made the Wagyu Bone Marrow at Copper Onion seem amazing.

Pretty uneven, almost like the place is over-reaching a bit. I'm glad that it seems the neighborhood folks are coming out and supporting the place, but I wish the food was a bit better and the beer selection more interesting….though I saw most people drinking Bud Light, Corona, and Shock Top……

As you can tell. I was ready to call it quits….but for some reason, I decided on one more try. I saw a nice looking sandwich go out on my previous visit, so I thought I'd order it; the Duck Melt ($13).

I really enjoyed the melted Havarti cheese, slightly milky, creamy, it really added to the sandwich. I thought the duck confit needed a bit more flavor, and the whole thing was super rich. I wish the pickles were a bit more assertive; it would have been just enough acid to cut the richness. The habanero aioli actually detracted from the overall flavor and seemed out of place. Also, the bread had been griddled a bit too long and some of the areas were bitter. The fries were nice and for some reason….maybe the acid component, the ketchup tasted really good.

The folks here seem very nice, though the service can be a bit slow.

I'm glad that places like this are opening in the neighborhood. Like I said about Luce's, I'm not the kind of guy who is just "happy to have xxxx in the neighborhood". And while the menu seems "interesting" (extra " " on this) with stuff like "Gator Cakes" on it. I'm just going to have a burger next time. I'll probably be better off. I hope…..

Coastal Crave
3065 Clairemont Dr
San Diego, CA 92117

COMC – Oahu: All those familiar places – Fresh Catch and Tanioka’s

February 11, 2015 mmm-yoso Honolulu, Oahu, Poke, Travel

Funny, the Missus says that my demeanor changes as soon as I get off that plane and the island humidity hits me. Something happens. I'm able to fall right back into my "old self", relaxed, laid back…and then the pidgin starts!

Of course, the next thing we're looking for is poke. Like I've mentioned before, I'm a "townie"….to me there's only one decent place to get poke in the Waipahu/Ewa Beach area and that would be a place i've posted on several times before….

Tanioka's Seafood and Catering:

We always visit a couple of times…….

Much has changed over the years….the question used to be, "limu or shoyu?"

Nowadays, it runs the gamut….

Not the prettiest presentation….Styrofoam and sauce "all ova' da' place."

But it hits the spot.

Tanioka's Seafood and Catering
94-903 Farrington Hwy
Waipahu, HI 96797

We also hit a place around my old neighborhood. Usually it's Ono Seafood, but the Missus wanted some smoked marlin, so here's another I've posted on before.

Fresh Catch:

Man, I remember when this was Pizza Hut!

We actually prefer the smoked seafood and stuffs like taegu tako to the poke here…..

Fresh Catch
3109 Waialae Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816

Man, I'm craving some poke now…….

Midweek Meanderings

September 17, 2014 mmm-yoso Markets & Grocers, Mediterranean Restaurants, Poke

Just a couple of quick things to get us over "Hump day".

Poke at Costco Mission Valley:

I've seen them in Costco's back home in Hawaii, but never in San Diego, until a recent visit to Costco in Mission Valley. Of course, other than gas, I really don't get to Costco that often. It just so happened that I needed enough toilet paper to last until the next millennium.

It looked to be part of the Seafood Fair. Did I buy any? Well, no….heck I don't even buy the stuff they sell in Costco in Hawaii. I did ask the guy if the fish was "gassed", that is, treated with carbon monoxide. They guy looked at me strangely and shrugged his shoulders….whatever that means.

Anyway, I guess Costco now has poke…..

Some new stuff at Nijiya:

I've noticed some interesting new stuff at Nijiya over the last year or so. First, they started selling their bentos with brown rice. I guess the "brown rice revolution" that I first noticed on one of my trips home to Hawaii, now has a foothold. Heck, even Okan offers brown rice as an option with lunch. Then I noticed Shio Koji chicken. And then it was….drum roll please……

And while you'll never catch me eating this stuff….though I've been known to have brown rice on occasion to please the Missus (don't get the Brown Rice Shio Koji Chicken…it's a double whammy), I thought it kind of neat that Nijiya is really working on keeping up with things.

I also noticed Chicken Karaage being sold with various sauces. I do enjoy chicken nanban – basically chicken seasoned with vinegar and, yep tartar sauce, though I try to get the sauce on the side when I remember to. A little goes a long way. I thought a sauce made with kurosu, a brownish vinegar made from unpolished rice might be really good on karaage. I was wrong; the sauce had been thickened too much, it was too sweet, without enough sour tones. Not my thing.

Still, it's quite interesting to visit and see new things, which seem to quite often….I usually grab a bento or something for lunch here about every other week.

Nijiya Market
3860 Convoy St Ste 109
San Diego, CA 92111

Can you guess the restaurant?

Had dinner with some good friends a while back….not my kind of place, though the portions were huge….. Much of it was dry, overcooked, tough, and seemed like it had been lying around for a while. I hadn't been here in ages and now I remembered why.

Enough to feed an army though…. Can you guess where?

COMC – Never made the cut, the travel edition

March 28, 2014 mmm-yoso Airport/Airline/Cruise/Rail Food, Burgers, Food Trucks, Hawai'i - The Big Island, Honolulu, Madison, Wisconsin, Oahu, Poke, Travel, Tunisia, Tunisian Food

Not everything makes it into a post, I've deleted many photos for posts that never got started….that Mariscos place where I got ill, that very good fine meal with no lighting….though unless we're travelling, I usually don't even break out the camera for those type of meals. And the one's I just never got around to…. I've done these "Never Made the Cut" posts before. Here's another batch…..

Recently, "Kha" sent me an email for some Hawaii recommendations, which included some requests for the North Shore…….

One of the places was Mackey's Shrimp Truck…….I sent him a photo and realized I never posted on the place.

Which made me realize that I had photos from meals during our travels that I never posted on. Too much time had passed…..

Sometimes I even had a very good meal, but the lighting was just too bad……like this revisit to The Old Fashioned.

Pickled Pork Hock…pickled egg…..

Nice burger…..and cheese curds of course….

And an adorable Server…….

But that lighting….ick……

I just plumb forgot about our revisit to Fresh Catch….

We enjoyed the poke much more this time around….

The Missus loved the really aged poi…..which was a surprise…..it was really funky.

This last one is from Tunis. It was a surprisingly decent meal……

This was pretty inexpensive as well…. in the Airport in Tunis! Airport staff and flight crew were on the other tables….so I guess this is the place!

So that's it….another Clearing Out the Memory Card post! Have a great weekend!

Honolulu: Keeaumoku Seafood

August 15, 2013 mmm-yoso Hawaiian Food, Honolulu, Oahu, Poke, Travel

Man, I didn't even notice I hadn't done this post….time to catch up!

After returning from the Big Island, we had maybe a full day to get our grinds in….the Missus wanted to make the most of it and I had wanted to check out Keeaumoku Seafood, and tiny shop just mauka of Beretania Street. Oh….yes, in case you didn't know, we never used East-West-North-South while I was growing up, in fact, I was kind of confused with those directions when I first started working, then living on the mainland. Back "home" we use "mauka", toward the mountains, or "makai" towards the ocean.

Anyway, the shop it a tiny one with barely a handful of parking spaces right in front of it. Funny, I still remember when Nippon Theatre was across the street from here….man am I getting old!

Anyway…we wen' score one of the spaces right in front of the place.

From the cold case, it seems that this place makes poke in small batches, which is not a bad thing. The poke did look a bit dried out as well, but we weren't here for poke. There was a rather stern mannered Korean woman working and a very sweet young lady who was Filipino. She really did a nice job putting together our plate.

I'd really come here for one thing…….this:

No…it's not the brown rice, ok? The Missus did insist on that to counter-act the rich and wonderful fried Ahi Belly. Man was this good! A slight resistance before melting away in your mouth. This being Ahi, not Aku, the flavor wasn't too strong for the Missus.

You also get an order of poke with the Ahi Belly. I chose the sesame oil poke, which was coated with masago. sadly, it wasn't very good. The fish was tough and this was strangely lacking in flavor.

The Missus really wanted to balance out the scales and we ended up going to Whole Foods in Kahala, where She built a massive salad. We had our meal at one of the tables right outside the market.

Man, we're still talking about that Ahi Belly…….

Keeaumoku Seafood
1223 Keeaumoku St
Honolulu, HI 96814