Poke, Coogee

On our recent trip to Hawaii, my bf and I fell in love with Poke (pronounced Poh-Keh), a Hawaiian version of sashimi. It involves sashimi grade fish cut into cubes and marinated in Japanese inspired flavours, served on its own or with rice. Coming back to Sydney, the cravings for poke did not go away so we were super excited to hear Poke had opened up in Coogee.

The decor had a modern Hawaiian feel, a bright space with fresh flowers adorning the table. Aside from poke, they also serve other well-known Hawaiian cuisine such as Kalua pork and Huli Huli chicken. But our eyes went straight to the poke of course. There were three sizes of poke bowls to choose from. We opted for two medium bowls which gives you two choices of poke flavours, one side and black rice. 

Two packed and colourful bowls soon arrived at our table and we couldn't wait to dig in. Bowl #1: Go Nuts tuna and the Spicy mayo salmon (today's special) with white kimchi and black rice. We devoured the chunky cubes of sashimi which tasted very fresh.The tuna was marinated in soy sauce and adorned with sesame seeds and crushed macadamia nuts, which gave the dish an added crunchy element. The spicy mayo goes well with the salmon and the black rice was great to mop up all the sauce.

Poke Bowl (Medium) with Spicy mayo salmon and Go Nuts - ahi with shoyu sauce topped with roasted macadamia nuts and sesame seeds; white kimchi and black rice $18.90

Bowl #2: The Aloha Way (Salmon with soy and sesame dressing and cherry tomatoes) and the Go Nuts tuna with raw slaw. The addition of the cherry tomatoes made it quite refreshing and added a touch of sweetness.

Poke Bowl (Medium) with The Aloha Way - salmon with soy and sesame, sweet onions, cherry tomatoes and green shallots; Go Nuts - ahi with shoyu sauce topped with roasted macadamia nuts and sesame seeds; raw slaw and black rice $18.90

The poke bowls were filling but still felt light. It is a great alternative to normal fast food...if only there was one closer to home!