Getting pokey with it

As Melbourne temperatures finally start to rise, both locals and visitors to Melbourne are craving lighter, cleaner food, characterised by a freshness of ingredients – often with little, or no, cooking required.

The poké trend, which quietly bubbled up over winter, is set to take over the city this summer. This Hawaiian dish (pronounced ‘poh-kay’) combines fresh fish, hot sushi rice and diced vegetables.

The trend kicked off at Windsor’s Tokyo Tina, and its menu features both an avocado salmon poke and a snapper version with wasabi. 66a Chapel Street, Windsor, +61 3 9525 2774.

Over at Kobe Jones, poke makes its way onto the menu as a ‘shot’ of salmon, tuna and kingfish in poke sauce, with shallots and roasted garlic. 16/18-38 Siddeley St, Docklands, +61 3 9329 9173.

To date, there are only a couple of Melbourne restaurants serving the dish exclusively – one is Pokéd, which features salmon, tuna, prawn, chicken and even tofu versions. Diners who prefer to go ‘off menu’ can choose their own protein, base, sauce and toppings. Shop 3, 551 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne.

In Hawthorn, Poki Time offers a range of bases (including organic kale) and seafood and tofu toppings, with delicious ‘add ons’ such as avocado, adamame and seaweed salad. Shop 20, 674-680 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn

And for delivered deliciousness, there is Mahalo Poke – by the team behind Richmond’s Botherambo and at this stage only available via Uber Eats. Their speciality is yellowfin tuna with ingredients such as tobiko, shoyu and togarashi thrown in. But there are also chicken and tofu options for those not a fan of raw fish.