Since Edmonton seems to be stuck in a perpetual winter, sometimes it's nice to ignore the weather beyond the window and dream about sunshine and sand between your toes. Alas, not everyone can get on a plane and travel to faraway lands whenever they so desired (it's called responsibilities and/or lack of funds). Thankfully, Splash Poke offers a temporary summer escape with their take on Hawaii's popular poke (pronounced poh-kay).
Poke to Hawaii is as ubiquitous as beef is to Alberta. It's a big deal. Raw fish is cut into cubes, marinated, and tossed together like a salad. When you're on the Islands, you can find poke in restaurants, supermarkets, even roadside gas stations! When poke hit the mainland, it became an instant hit.
While I was in Vancouver in 2016, I remember poke shops were popping up like weeds and left wondering when the trend would finally reach Edmonton. It didn't take too long. Last summer, two independent poke shops opened up in the downtown core (literally within weeks and within blocks of each other), with Splash Poke being one of them.
Their downtown location is situated in the Mayfair building, directly on 109 Street and Jasper Avenue. Thanks to their success, they've recently opened up a second location southside, right off Whitemud and Calgary Trail, and have plans to open up a third location in the the phase III food court of West Edmonton Mall. Not too shabby for their first year in business.
LT and I were in the area Sunday afternoon and decided to check out Splash's southside location for lunch. Free parking out front is a plus for those who don't want to deal with the headache of navigating downtown.
Splash is fast-casual, following the "Subway" model, meaning you order at a counter and watch a worker assemble your food. You can choose between seven Splash favourites (pre-set bowl options) or build your own bowl, from an array of sizes, bases, proteins, sauces, mix-ins, toppings, and garnishes. What you're left with in the end is a customized bowl that is filling and relatively healthy.
For regular appetites, the double splash ($14.95) will suffice as a meal, which includes two scoops of protein and one serving of each topping. If that doesn't cut it, the triple splash ($17.95) includes three scoops of protein, and if you're more snack-ish, the lil' splash ($10.95) is plenty with one scoop of protein and two toppings.
After picking out the size of your bowl, you choose your base, either white rice, brown rice, salad, or vermicelli noodles. Proteins are next: salmon, tuna, ahi tuna (+$1.00), and scallops (regular or premium +$1.50). For those squeamish about raw seafood, there's also shrimp, chicken, or tofu. The proteins are mixed in a metal bowl, with your choice of sauce (aioli, sesame, unagi, shoyu, spicy garlic, etc.) and mix ins (sweet onions, green onions, cucumber, cilantro, seaweed, jalapenos). The marinated fish is poured over the base, and toppings and garnishes (nori, corn, tobiko, etc.) are carefully arranged over top.
LT went for a double splash with white rice as her base. Cubes of salmon and tuna mixed in a combination of unagi sauce and shoyu with sweet onions and green onions. For toppings, she chose seaweed salad, tobiko, and corn. She garnished it off with nori, sesame seeds, and a drizzle of sriracha aioli. She thought it tasted great, but as you're in control of what goes in your bowl, the onus is really on you if you don't like the outcome.
As for me, I also went for the double splash on a bed of white rice. Unless you're trying to cut back on your carb intake, rice is the way to go! It definitely makes the bowl more filling and helps soak up any extra sauce from the poke. For protein, I went for salmon and scallops, and mixed together cucumbers with sesame and unagi sauce. Unagi sauce might seem unconventional, but the sweetness helps to temper the salt content somewhat, unlike traditional shoyu which might be too salty for some.
Lastly for toppings, I chose crab mix, tobiko, and corn, and for garnish, a drizzle of sriracha aioli, nori, and a smattering of panko for a little bit of texture. Fast, filling, and fresh!
I've never been to Hawaii (yet!) so I'm not an expert by any means, but I know that there are purists who scoff at the build-your-own poke concept that Splash (and most other mainland poke shops) offers. They'll tell you that fish is supposed to be marinated beforehand and that there shouldn't be any superfluous toppings. Rather than poke, they think of it as more of a glorified salad. At the end of the day, it's good eats and people seem to like it. (I mean, I do.) At $15, it's also cheaper than flying to the source.
But if there's one thing we can all agree on, a little more sunshine in Edmonton would be nice!
Splash Poke (Summer Breeze)
4112A Calgary Trail NW
Edmonton, AB
(825) 410-8760
- CT
0 comments:
Post a Comment