Hawaiian Poke comes North

 The new trend hitting Toronto is Poke Bowls.  They are popping up everywhere.  The latest Poke spot is NORTH POKE in Kensington Market.  I was invited to sample some of their authentic Hawaiian Poke Bowls.  I entered the tiny shop on Baldwin and was greeted by the owner also named Linda, who wanted to create an true Poke shop and more of a fish market place.  They receive their fish daily and prepare everything fresh and in limited quantities.  Fresh Tuna is very expensive so it makes sense to order only enough for the day to keep the costs down and the fish fresh.

North Poke owner Linda

 It's a tiny shop so a small group of bloggers and foodies were invited to try 3 different poke bowls and Musubi which is a Spam Sushi type of thing.

We sampled 3 poke bowls:

1. The Big Wave - Albacore Tuna, charred Jalapeno citrus dressing, black garlic, shallots and mayo.

2.  Hawaii Classic - Ahi Tuna, shoyu dressing, cucumber, onions, nori, toasted sesame, fried shallots, avocado, macadamia nuts, house aoili, green onions and seaweed salad.

3.  Waimea -  Salmon, togarashi aoili, avocado, edamame, pickled onion, seaweed salad and fried shallots.

I think this is also the order of my preference.  The Big Wave was light and creamy and a nice balance of flavours.

The great thing about North Poke is that it comes in 3 sizes.  A snack size, the regular size and the large size.  The prices range from just over $5 to about $15.

This is a great fast fresh lunch on the run.  Grab a bowl and go.  It's the perfect fast food.  They do all the chopping and assembling and you just eat and go.

The shop is tiny but very cute with little kitchy touches like ukelele's on the wall and Hawaiian inspired art.  This shop fits perfectly in the Kensington market area with diverse original foods that have a lot of whimsy in the spaces.  It's the cutest Poke shop that I have seen so far.

Check it out at:

North Poke
179 Baldwin Street,
Toronto, ON
info@northpoke.com
Twitter @NorthPokeTO
Instagram @NorthPoke