Poke (pronounced Poh-Keh) is a native Hawaiian dish that is made from diced raw fish, usually Ahi Tuna, and marinaded in different sauces like soy sauce, sesame oil, chopped green onions, minced garlic and whatever condiment you want to add to it. It is served as a side or main dish in the Hawaiian islands. It's popularity has grown over the last few years that you can find restaurants serving poke in the mainland US and other cities in the world known for their culinary diversity.
Poke is so common in Hawaii that it is sold in almost all grocery stores in the deli section. It is as common as potato salad or cole slaw or pasta salad. They come in as many flavors as the store can come up with. Common flavors are shoyu (soy-sauce), spicy garlic, sesame oil, chili pepper, etc.
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| Poke in Deli Section at KTA Express, a local grocery store in Hawaii |
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| Poke at the Safeway Store |
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| More Poke at Safeway's |
One of the most popular poke restaurants on the Big Island is Da Poke Shack. It has an extensive menu (click on link to see pictures) of poke dishes. It is located, not in the main town area where all the other popular restaurants are, but in a touristy beachside condominium. When we arrived during lunch-time there was a long line waiting outside the restaurant. Because of COVID-19 restrictions only 5 customers are allowed inside the restaurant at a time to order take-out only. There are a couple of picnic benches where you can eat your poke or take it somewhere where it's comfortable. We waited for about 40 minutes before we entered to order. You have a choice of a bowl or a plate. The difference between the two being the number of poke selections and side dishes that you get. The prices are not cheap. We ordered a bowl and a plate and the price came up to almost $70.
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| A Poke Bowl with side dish of seaweed and rice |
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| A Poke Plate - 4 types of poke, 2 side dishes and 2 rice |
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| The restaurant is part of a beachside condominium |
What does Costco have to do with Poke? Nothing. It just happened that this is our first full day on the Big Island and we want to go to Costco after lunch. I am a big fan of Costco and I want to try to go to a Costco warehouse when I am in a different city because they always offer something local and different. This is the only Costco on the Big Island and it's on the Kona side. One thing I noticed right away is that the price of a hot dog and soda is $1.50, just like anywhere else. Rotisserie chicken is also $4.99, an incredible bargain considering how expensive things are in Hawaii.
They also have locally grown pineapple, mangoes, bananas, purple sweet potato, etc. I wish they have Hawaiian pineapples, bananas, and mangoes in Arizona. They taste much fresher and better than the ones imported from Central America and Mexico. There are other local delicacies as well: shrimp chips, tuna jerky, frozen Chinese char-siu bao (buns), guava and mango cheesecake and many others.
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Hawaiian Apple Bananas
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| Mango Cheesecake |
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| Guava Cheesecake |
On a second visit a few days later we did find poke at Costco. They seem to price a little higher than Safeway's but perhaps they are better quality. I don't think you will find poke in other Costco stores on the mainland.
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