This season's hot new food trend is a dish best served cold and raw.
No, it’s not sushi, but the next best thing according to fans.
Poke (pronounced po-kay) is a Hawaiian speciality made with raw fish (usually tuna) and mixed with soy sauce, green onions and sesame oil and served on sweet rice in a bowl.
Poke means to slice in cubes, which is how the fish is served. While this raw fish trend has been big globally for years, it has now reached our shores.
Cape Town is home to the first specialised Poke bar and restaurant in the country, Hokey Poke. Located in Church Street in the city centre, owner Max Botha says everything about the place is “pretty casual”.
“The name is all tongue-in-cheek and was the first thing that came to mind,” Botha says.
“Traditionally the Hawaiians pronounce it po-kay while the Americans say po-key.
“Poke stems from Hawaii where the locals used to catch big yellowfin (or tuna), they would cut it into little cubes and serve it on sticky rice, sweet onions, macadamia nuts - that is our number one bowl.”
While the restaurant is quite small, the use of white paint and tiles and minimal decor, makes the space feel bigger. A neon palm tree against the wall serves as as reminder of the origins of the dish you’re about to order. Chopsticks and wooden forks are placed in food cans on each table, which also adds to the casual feel.
At the counter you can see your options and you can watch as your Poke bowl is prepared.
I tried their three popular dishes: the Original No 1, No 5 and No 3 bowls. The dishes come in medium and large size portions and range from R80 and R135.
My favourite was the No 3, which consists of tuna, edamame beans, avocado, mango, crispy onions, pickled ginger and furikake seasoning. With this option you can swop the tuna for tofu to make a tofu surprise.
The mango and tuna combination was out of this world - exactly as Botha said it would be.
I loved the burst of colours with the tropical yellow of the mango and the greens of the avocado and edamame beans.
The different textures of each item in the bowl made the meal very tasty. I also enjoyed the other two bowls, but I will definitely go back for bowl No 3.
Botha, who is very hands on, often finds himself behind the counter preparing meals.
“Everything we do is pretty casual and fun,” he says.
“We don’t take ourselves too seriously, except for the food.
“We are the first specialised Poke bar in South Africa, we focus solely on Poke bowls which consists of sashimi grade tuna and salmon."
Botha says the first time he had a Poke bowl was during a visit to Singapore. However he has been monitoring the trend since it burst onto the scene.
“Being into healthy, clean cut food and sushi I thought this was a healthy alternative,” says Botha.
“It’s hugely different from sushi, it’s sashimi style so people will familiarise it with sushi but it’s very different. It doesn’t have the traditions and set ways of doing it like sushi does.
“In Poke there isn’t really any rules, it belongs in a bowl and if the flavour is good together then you can put them together.
“It has taken on lots of influences from around the world and it’s taken influences from Japan but it’s definitely its own kind of food.
“It’s definitely a trend in South Africa, but it’s cemented itself as a trend globally for a while now,” he says.
Botha says Hokey Poke’s menu was developed around all preferences and tolerances, and it also includes gluten free and vegetarian options.
There is also a chicken and
beef option for those who don’t eat fish.