Poke at Poku

Poke bowl is the new health food trend of 2017. A traditional Hawaiian seafood preparation, poke bowls have clear Japanese influences and showcase beautiful, thickly-cut fish chunks.

Regular poke bowl with Salmon, $12

The idea at Poku is similar to other places which offer poke bowls (such as health food chain About Life), and it's brilliant in its simplicity:

1. Choose a protein (raw fish such as king fish, salmon and tuna, or go vegan / vegetarian with sweet potato cubes)
2. Choose a base (at Poku the choice is between bamboo rice, sweet potato noodles, zucchini noodles and kale; I have seen barley and quinoa elsewhere)
3. Choose toppings (vegetables, herbs, spices)
4. Add a sauce
5. Optional 'premium' extras such as avocado, fish roe, green mango etc

and voila, you have yourself a poke bowl. 

The one item on Poku's menu which was previously unfamiliar to me was bamboo rice - what on earth is that?! A bit of googling tells me that it's the seeds of bamboo flowers which is of high nutritive qualities and medicinal values. I have a feeling it's going to take over from quinoa as the new super grain. 

There are a few 'signature' bowls which you can choose and go, but when given the choice, I always like to make my own selection. 

I decided to pick salmon as my protein, on a bed of bamboo rice, topped with a double serve of edamame (my favouite thing in the world right now), kale, toasted coconut and puffed wild rice, and drizzled with a creamy togarashi sauce, which is a Japanese 7-spice blend in mayonnaise. 

Bamboo rice, about which I was most curious, had an earthy yet unoffensive flavour, kind of half way between wheat and brown rice. It is very soft. I was rather proud of my selection because it had a good balance of textures, nutrients and flavours. 

The servers were pretty heavy-handed with the sauce, not in an unpleasant way - indeed, the sauce made an otherwise bland meal taste amazing - but it does take away some of the health points of the meal. 

For me, the regular size was enough. I felt very full afterwards and I didn't get hungry all afternoon. If I were being honest, poke bowl prepared in this 'modernised' way is just an upgraded salad. It is a good salad, though. 

Score: 3/5

I enjoyed my poke, but it wasn't amazing. 

Price: considering how easy poke bowls are to whip up yourself, the prices at Poku are a bit steep. 

A regular bowl ranges from $9 (sweet potato as protein) to $14 (tuna as protein); and a large bowl ranges from $12 (sweet potato as protein) to $17 (tuna as protein). That's without the 'premium' extras. The bowls aren't really that large. I was easily satiated by the regular bowl, but remember I'm barely 5 foot. 

Address: Lv 1, Chifley Square, Sydney

Website: N/A