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| - Henderson is finally home to the hottest raw fish in town.
Poke Poku is a growing chain that offers what I feel is the best take on the trend/fad of customizable "poke bowls." They also have salads, sushi burritos, various appetizers, and desserts. Located on the northeast corner of Stephanie and Wigwam in an unfinished plaza, this is their 3rd and smallest store so far (thought I wouldn't find an open seat). Those who have tried Poke Poku recently will have noticed on their placemats that they plan to build several more all over town.
One of my Hawaiian friends will completely shun this type of food preparation, and perhaps you should too if you want true poke in the Hawaiian fashion. There's a menu option here called Hawaiian poke, but purists may instead want to visit a long-time local vendor a couple blocks away on Stephanie, just south of 215. However, if you're in Henderson and you just want some delicious bowls featuring raw fish, rather than a soapbox, then you've gotta come here. It's a great alternative to sitting down for sushi, and I always get full at Poke Poku anyway.
The poke bowls are pretty much the only thing which I'll order because I enjoy them so much. They can be customized with a variety of toppings and sauces as you walk down the line as follows:
0) Not listed as a step, but you'll actually ask for a certain dish and size at this point. You'll get differently sized plastic bowls (with lids for to-go orders or for unfinished food) or perhaps boxes depending on what you're getting
1) Base. I always go for brown rice because it's more interesting than plain white rice. I haven't gotten the mixed greens, which would be the basis for the salad box.
2) Sides (2 included, extras +$1.50 each). I like my shrimp tempura and fake crab meat dressed with mayo. Others may want to sacrifice protein for seaweed salad, edamame, or avocado, or they may want the spicy "crab meat" instead.
3) Proteins. Choose from ten raw seafoods, depending on the size of bowl you specified. I almost always order large bowls ($13.50), so I'll get to choose 4 proteins, and I'll usually select tuna, salmon, and yellowtail. Soft shell crab was today's 4th, but maybe next time it'll be something like scallop, red snapper, or octopus. You'll see why these get placed in a separate, metal mixing bowl soon enough.
4) Mix-ins. Nine options ranging from veggies to fruits to masago and tofu (totally unrelated). Pick as many as you want. These and the sauce get hand-mixed evenly into the proteins. I got masago, red onion, white onion, cucumber, mango, and cilantro.
4b) Sauce. They have 12 recipes with various components. Sesame oil is almost always included, and you can find sweet, savory, and spicy components available. I've sometimes asked them to tweak recipes slightly, but I've been happy with Poke Poku style (my choice today), Chinese style, and perhaps LA style in the past. The variety of flavors imparted by the sauce is part of why this particular rendition of the poke bowl business is so successful, in my book.
5) Toppings. About a dozen choices to get scooped, tongs'd, or poured into the bowl (which now has everything else already in it). My choices today were green onion, crispy onion, roasted garlic, tamago, bonito flakes, corn, and two different colors of tobiko. (Note to self: maybe try to special-request that some of these actually be mixed in next time?)
Drinks and desserts are available for purchase, but I usually stick to the complimentary teas on the side. Jasmine tea always seems weak, and while barley tea is nice, I'll usually get roasted corn tea. There's also free miso soup included for people who dine in, although the foam container for that has shrunken quite small as of late...
My bowl today was as delicious as expected. Proteins had the right textures and flavors, and were all coated with sauces and mix-ins. Because they mix (with gloved hand) all of these items evenly, you'll get even amounts of sauce and several mix-ins in every bite. That's far more difficult for the consumer to achieve at most of their competitors, who just scoop everything into the bowl and drizzle sauce on top.
I was able to try their mochi ice cream due to a public grand opening promotion. They offer it in green tea or vanilla, and my green tea version came with azuki (red bean) atop the smooth green tea ice cream, with a few mochi balls on top of that. Great flavors all-around, and mostly good textures, although the mochi felt a little too soft.
This Poke Poku is as delicious as their other locations, and it's more convenient for me in the event that I have a craving while at my Henderson home on the weekend. They're still the most successful take on this particular trend in my experience thus far, in town or anywhere else for that matter.
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