the roaming belly: hawai'i: tanioka's seafoods and catering for some poke lovin'

Monday, April 25, 2011

hawai'i: tanioka's seafoods and catering for some poke lovin'

my first trip to oahu was possibly one of the most relaxing, belly stuffing experiences ever. something about the clear blue hawaiian waters, the lush greenery, and the 24/7 warm weather brought out my ultimate relaxed state of mind. and as you might know, when one feels relaxed, one indulges.

thanks to misty and a few other resources i scrounged up, as soon as humanly possible, i searched for my first gustatory indulgence; poke (!) and was lead to tanioka's seafoods and catering in waipahu for some ono poke. OMG. ono is right.

there's all kinds of ono eats here which explained the crazy long line, but i was determined to stick to the poke plan. i mean, i know it's my vacation and all, but i didn't want to be mistaken as a beached whale when i lie on the beach. moderation is key. yes? besides, there were many days of eating to be conquered.

the variety of poke offered at tanioka's was rather amazing so i decided to order a bit of everything with a few extras thrown in. even though it was a bit pricey, the freedom to choose as much or as little as you want since it was charged by weight gave me some leeway with my wallet.

i settled on six different poke flavors; the alaea poke, onion with limu, onion poke, lomi ahi, limu, hot alaea poke, seaweed salad, and spam musubi. i was determined to experience a poke overdose...and i did.

what a fantastic spread! everything looked so fresh too! and the ahi was so chunky....yumz.

the alaea poke had this deep redness to it and was mesmerizing to look at. taste-wise, it was rather light and one dimensional since all i really tasted was the alaea sea salt. i must admit, not a favorite of the bunch but so pretty to look at!

the limu poke on the other hand, had great texture to it. the crunch and saltiness from the sea algae was a pleasant addition to the ahi.

but the best tasting poke in all that bunch was the hot alaea poke. i really enjoyed the spicy sweetness to it and the supple fish was just plain pleasurable in my mouth. i aggressively finished the whole container on my own without sharing and will definitely go back for this baby when i visit oahu again.

and to round out our first official hawaiian meal, i ended the poke overdose with my first spam musubi on the island. not the best that i've tasted but satisfying nevertheless. but boy, tanioka's poke has left quite an impression on me. i shall return.