Alakai Poke

No idea why there's a sudden sprout of poke bars in town. Tastebuds differ, and my current choice for poke bowls is satisfied at the two-month-old Alakai Poke at Everton Park. BUT, be prepared for a bit of a wait as the fish cubes are prepped and marinated to order instead of being displayed out there in various metal troughs in a glass case.

The only issue- the ordering system on just one screen is clunky, and the scrolling is at a snail's pace. If they don't update that system on the unavailable items of the day, then the cash refunds are going to be a problem when payment is made via NETS. For example, a coffee isn't really a substitute for coconut pudding when people intend to go to Nylon after for better coffee. We went early at 11.45am. There was no one else in front of us waiting to be served. Even then, it was a 20-minute wait for six bowls. Luckily, this is not in the CBD and it wasn't crowded, otherwise they would definitely need more than two staff behind that counter.

We opted to make our own plates of poke, which came up to about S$22 to $27 each. Choose mains of cooked prawns, salmon, ahi tuna, or a mix of both fish. Tofu is offered as a main too. But the silly system didn't offer a mix of tofu and salmon, and I didn't bother to ask. Grrrrrrr. There're the usual choices of white or brown rice, and salad greens. Happy that the flavors were good. Chef-Owner Lon Ho has got some good flavors going on in his house seasonings. Instead of furikake and extra seaweed, I opted for seeds to be sprinkled over my plate. I liked sprinkling the additional shoyu chilli padi for that extra bit of kick in the food.