hawaiian Archives - Foodology

In Cafe

Honolulu Coffee: New Summer Açaí Bowls and Beverages

July 22, 2020

Honolulu Coffee is back and they have launched a new Hawaiian-inspired menu of seasonal specialties at its Downtown and Kerrisdale locations in Vancouver.

Available for in-store or takeout service, the new Honolulu Coffee Vancouver summer menu includes a few iced tea and coffee drinks and açaí bowls. We were invited to give these new items a try.

I miss Hawaii, so just having a taste of these new items brings me back to the beautiful sights, sounds, and tastes of Honolulu. Since we can’t travel due to the pandemic, this will do.

Safety Measures

Safety is very important, so they have enforces the following measures to keep everyone safe during the pandemic.

Enforcing in-store one-way flows / separate areas for mobile order pick-up stations
Plexiglas dividers at ordering stations
All tables and chairs sanitized after use
Hand sanitizer available at registers and pick-up counters;
Sanitizing bottles available around seating area for customers
Customer who stay can ask for extra alcohol wipes from a staff member
All baristas will be wearing masks
Social distancing clearly marked and enforced throughout both locations.

Matcha Lychee Soda

The matcha lychee soda is made with a blend of amai matcha sweetened with housemade lychee syrup and topped with San Pellegrino. Mix this us to incorporate all the ingredients in this drink. Very refreshing drink.

Lychee Oolong Iced Tea

The lychee oolong ice tea is made with iced oolong tea lightly sweetened with housemade lychee syrup and offering subtle notes of fragrant gardenia and honeydew melon. Refreshing beverage as well, but would have liked the tea to be stronger.

Honey Coconut Cold Brew

They use cold brew shaken with honey syrup and coconut milk. We love this and would get this again.

Açaí Bowls

They offer 4 different kinds of Açaí Bowls. The frozen base of açaí berries, strawberries, blueberries, bananas and apple juice sweetened with honey. The base of the bowls are all the same, but the toppings change.

You can’t go wrong with any of them as it’s all based on your personal preference.

The Basic

The Basic Açaí bowl is topped with fresh bananas and housemade granola.

The Classic

The Classic Açaí bowl is topped with fresh strawberries, blueberries, bananas, housemade granola and a sprinkle of coconut flakes.

The Hawaiian

The Hawaiian Açaí bowl is topped with fresh bananas, toasted macadamia nuts, almond butter, housemade granola and coconut flakes.

Build Your Own Bowl

If you want to have customizable toppings include fresh blueberries, strawberries, bananas, housemade granola, almond butter, macadamia nuts, coconut flakes or honey, you can definitely make it however you like.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s a great addition to the menu if you want something that is refreshing and healthy. Plus, you’ll definitely be craving to go to Hawaii once this pandemic is over. We highly recommend the Honey Coconut Cold Brew.

Address:
2098 W 41st Ave, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.honolulucoffee.com/

In Delivery

The Hoké Poké: Take Out, Online Ordering and Delivery

April 12, 2020

I love discovering new restaurant I’ve never been to, but during the Covid-19 pandemic, thats a little bit hard at the moment. Now, I rely on word of mouth and social media to figure out what restaurants are doing to innovate their business and keep things going.

The Hoké Poké is located in Kitsilano and they serve poke bowls. They are pretty far from me since I live in Burnaby, but a friend told me they deliver. They don’t always deliver, but you can always message them and ask.

I emailed my order and sent an e-transfer to the owner. Simple and with no issues. Food arrived on time and very fresh.

I ordered 4 regular sized poké bowls for the family to share.

Ohana Bowl

I got this bowl with salmon, albacore tuna, a mix of greens and brown rice, plus the crab meat, seaweed, and ginger as toppings.

The salmon and tuna is mixed with sweet shoyu, sweet onion, green onion, furikake, and cucumber. Nice classic combination of flavours to showcase the fish.

Yuzuke

I got this bowl with salmon, albacore tuna, a mix of greens and brown rice, plus the crab meat, seaweed, and ginger as toppings.

The salmon and tuna is mixed with yuzu ponzu, masago, green onion, cilantro, and furikake. The yuzu ponzu is a nice light sauce and the salmon and tuna still shine through if you want more of the fish taste.

Ono Bowl

I got this bowl with salmon, albacore tuna, a mix of greens and brown rice, plus the crab meat, seaweed, and ginger as toppings.

The salmon and tuna is mixed with sriracha aioli, masago, sweet onion, green onion, crispy onion. The ono was our favourite bowl. The sriracha aioli added a nice kick to the dish and it wasn’t too spicy either. Highly recommended.

Chef Special Bowl

I got this bowl with salmon, albacore tuna, a mix of greens and brown rice, plus the crab meat, seaweed, and ginger as toppings.

The salmon and tuna is mixed with their Chef sauce, green/sweet/crispy onion, cilantro, cucumber, jalapeno, masago, and furikake. This bowl is more saucy, but because of how much rice and salad was in the bowl, it was a good ratio. A good item to order if you can’t decide on a customized bowl.

Final Thoughts

The menu is limited but I don’t mind it at all. You get unlimited topping choices and I feel like the flavours are closer to the Hawaiian clean flavours. Simple and delicious.

Address:
1834 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://thehokepoke.ca

In Hawaiian

[Sneak Peek] Pokey Okey: Luxurious $100 Poke Bowl in Richmond

December 4, 2018

Pokey Okey in Richmond, BC is serving up a luxurious creation – The Ruby Bowl that will sell for $100 from Friday December 7th till Sunday December 9th in limited quantities. We had a sneak peek of what to expect.

This poke bowl takes inspiration from different cuisines that Chef Victor He had from his travels and culinary experiences. Their goal is to elevate the concept of Surf and Turf and to highlight the quality of Canadian ingredients.

What’s in the Ruby Bowl that justifies the $100 price tag?

The Ruby Bowl is made with:

Lobster Rice
Butter Basted Lobster
Torched Wagyu Tenderloin
Frisee Salad
Lobster Hollandaise
Yuzu Daikon Oroshi
Black Garlic Truffle Aioli
Flying Fish Roe
Shaved Black Truffle

When you order in-store, it can take about 10 – 15 minutes to prepare as there are a lot of ingredients that go into this bowl and it’s made to order so you know it’s fresh.

The wagyu is seared to perfection, but it is still rare as the slices are stacked on top of each other with lots of overlap. You can ask them to torch it for longer if you prefer not so raw meat.

The wagyu has so much flavour and the yuzu daikon oroshi really adds a nice acidity.

The lobster tail has the delicious Lobster Hollandaise sauce and shaved truffles. I just kept dunking the lobster tail into this and it was so good.

Under all of this is the lobster rice and boy, it’s good too.

Final Thoughts

This $100 luxurious poke bowl isn’t for everyone since not everyone has that much extra money to drop. It tastes really good, but their regular bowls are just as good with prices ranging from $11 – $16.

Address:
8060 Anderson Rd, Richmond, BC

Website:
http://www.pokeyokey.com/

In Fusion

Pacific Poke: Now Open in Kitsilano

September 15, 2018

Pacific Poke has opened their newest location in Kitsilano, which makes 5 locations in British Columbia and Alberta with more on the way. Since 2016 at their original location in Chinatown, they have grown quickly by serving up poke with a Vancouver twist.

You can choose to build your own poke bowls or choose a premade one off their menu.

Interior

The space is pretty narrow, so there are only so many seats inside. Some people eat here and some take it to-go.

They also do delivery too if you need the convenience.

Build Your Own Poke Bowl

You start with deciding if you want a regular or large bowl.

The regular gives you 2 protein choices and 3 toppings. The large gets 3 proteins and 4 topping choices. Most people can do regular but if you’re a big eater, large is good for you.

Once you choose the size, you can choose your base:

organic brown rice
traditional sushi rice
quinoa salad base
kale salad base

You can mix it up too with half kale salad and brown rice if you want a bit of both.

There are a lot of protein choices, but my faves are usually sockeye salmon and ahi tuna.

Here are all their protein options:

sockeye salmon
spicy sockeye salmon
ahi tuna
spicy ahi tuna
crab & shrimp
ahi negitoro (ahi tuna belly)
seasonal selection varies

Next are the delicious toppings, which I find are pretty unique compared to other places in town:

cucumber & jicama
tomato kimchi
pickled red onion
spicy seaweed
beets & basil
jalapeno salsa
organic seaweed salad
fresh wasabi peas
avocado nori
tobiko

Don’t forget the sauce to coat your protein and toppings:

sesame miso dressing
citrus mayo
spicy mayo
pacific ponzu
wasabi mayo
sesame shoyu
ludicrous hot

Lastly the crunchy toppings. I personally love the wasabi crunch, but they are all pretty good as it adds texture to the bowl.

Once you’ve built your poke bowl, eat and enjoy!

The Main

The Main is one of their chef creations and a great choice if you’re indecisive on what ingredients to add to your bowl. This has sockeye salmon, spicy ahi tuna, crab & shrimp, jicama & cucumber, avocado nori, organic seaweed salad, citrus mayo, sesame miso dressing, shoyu, yuzu & lime juice, and herbs & sprouts.

Definitely a lot of ingredients packed in here and they all go so well together.

Drinks

After you build your bowl, they tempt you with their awesome beverages – Coco Panda, Yuzu Lemonade, Mango Mint Lemonade, and Yuzu Lemon Tea. All delicious with my favourite being the Yuzu Lemon Tea as my go to.

This time, we had the Coco Panda, which has coconut milk, pandan leaf and young coconut juice. Super delicious and refreshing with the subtle flavour of pandan.

Final Thoughts

Overall, solid poke options at Pacific Poke. One of my favourites in town as it gives you more unique topping choices. Plus their drinks are delicious.

Address:
2151 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC

Website:
https://www.thepacificpoke.com/

In British Columbia

Hanai Family Table: Spam Musubi and Fried Okinawa Sweet Potato Mochi Delivered in Vancouver

September 7, 2018

Hanai Family Table serves up delicious Hawaiian treats – Spam Musubi and Fried Okinawa Sweet Potato Mochi delivered to your doorstep. This was started by Tess and Tom, who were born and raised in Hawaii on the island of O’ahu. With a culinary background, they decided to create Hanai Family Table to share these Hawaiian treats in Vancouver that will put a simile on your face. They can deliver outside of Vancouver, but send them a message to double check if it’s possible.

I saw them on Instagram and decided to put in an order of each item. I ordered 48 hours in advance, filled out the form and paid online. I then got a confirmation email and email to find the best time for delivery. Tess texted me the day of to let me know she was on her way with the delivery and when she arrived so I could meet her. Pretty easy process.

Spam Musubi

The spam musubi comes in a pack of 4 and are cut in half so you get 8 pieces. A classic Hawaii snack that is so damn addictive when done right. The spam has a shoyu ginger glaze, sushi-style rice with furikake, wrapped in nori. This is their twist to spam musubi and it works.

You want to eat these fresh and pop them in the microwave for 10 – 15 seconds. It’s delicious when its a little warm.

Fried Okinawa Sweet Potato Mochi

These were my absolutely favourite item. This is their version of fried poi mochi in Hawaii. It has a super crunchy exterior and chewy mochi interior with Okinawa Sweet Potato. It’s vegan and gluten-free, which is awesome.

When I took my first bite, I could hear the crunch of the outside and saw the beautiful purple colour of the Okinawa Sweet Potato.

You want to eat these fresh to retain their texture and deliciousness.

Final Thoughts

They do the Spam Musubi and Fried Okinawa Sweet Potato Mochi very well and I’m actually glad they kept their options small so they can focus on quality. They put their own spin on their product and it’s awesome. The price is a bit higher than what you would normally find in a store, but it’s delivered, the quality of ingredients is good, tastes amazing and you’re supporting a local small business in Vancouver.

Website:
https://www.hanaifamilytable.com/

In Commercial Drive / Grandview

Poke Five: Lighting Up Commercial Drive with a Taste of Hawaii

August 2, 2018

Poke Five is Commercial Drive’s newest poké restaurant. It has five owners, five signature bowls, and will officially launch on August 18, 2018. We were invited to their soft launch opening to get a sneak peek of what they have to offer.

Interior

It’s a fairly small space, but one that is well designed to show-off all their fresh ingredients and let you watch your poké bowl being made.

Akuma Tuna Poké Bowl

Akuma Tuna is an aburi poké bowl that has ahi tuna, avocado, kimchi, wasabi tobiko, teri-mayo, shoyu egg, green onions, and matchasabi aioli.

The aburi ahi tuna, avocado, and shoyu egg makes this dish very filling.

Make your Own Bowl

We tried to make our own bowl and chose some unique ingredients they offer.

Base: citrus kale. Protein: shrimp, crab, and scallop. Ingredients: cucumber, watermelon, lychee, edamame, avocado, and shredded carrot. Sauce: teri-mayo. Topping: crispy ramen and tempura bits.

We made sure to try ingredients we’ve never seen elsewhere, including lychee and watermelon. Initially, it sounds odd but they were refreshing and complementary to the seafood taste.

Hoochy Booch Kombucha

They serve craft kombucha on tap! We tried the Mango Ginger Fizz and Cucumber Mint Fizz. Both were very refreshing and pairs well with poké bowls.

Final Thoughts

Their poké bowls are loaded! It’s not quite two meals, but it’s a very large serving so come hungry.

Poké Five is experimenting with unique ingredients that differentiates them from other poké restaurants in Vancouver. I would love to see which ingredients make it to the final menu for their official launch, and if they continue to offer seasonal ingredients.

There are many developments being constructed near the Commercial-Broadway area, and Poké Five is in a great spot to take advantage of the upcoming population increase.

Address:
2247 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

Website:
https://www.pokefive.com/

In Cafe

Musubi Cafe Iyasume in Waikiki: Spam Musubi, Poke and Rice Bowls

April 29, 2018

Musubi Cafe Iyasume is one of the top restaurants to eat in Waikiki. Located under the Aqua Pacific Monarch Hotel is this little cafe serving up musubi, a popular snack and lunch food in Hawaii. It is made up of a slice of Spam on top of rice, wrapped with seaweed. It is inexpensive and tastes great. It’s hard to find good musubi in North America, so when visiting Hawaii, this is a must have.

Interior

The cafe is narrow. One side is the area to order and the other half is seating. There isn’t too many seats but it looked like most people were taking to go. We came here twice on our trip and the first time we ate in the shop and then the last one was back at the hotel. Both times it wasn’t too busy here are we came in the evening around dinner time.

Ordering

When you put in your order, you get an electronic device that buzzes when your order is ready. Then you know when your food is ready.

Spam Musubi

The classic spam musubi has spam with a teriyaki glaze with rice and seaweed. Even with the big mound of rice, the saltiness of the spam and teriyaki sauce work well with all that rice. The texture and heat of the rice was spot on.

Eel, egg, shiso leaf and spam musubi

This is one of the more deluxe musubi was delectable toppings. I loved the eel as it had a great flavour and melts in your mouth.

Bacon, egg, avocado, and spam musubi

Mmmmm bacon. The avocado adds a creamy texture to the musubi, but this makes for a great breakfast.

If you’re out and about, you can grab them to go as it’s all wrapped up in plastic wrap.

Ahi Poke Bowl

The Ahi Poke Bowl is made of tuna, sesame oil, soy sauce, onion and a bed of rice. I thought it was pretty good and not overly marinated. It is a tad salty, so you’ll need to eat it with a bite of rice.

Mini Eel Bowl

The mini bowls are a good size. It has rice, sauce, two pieces of eel, and one piece of tamago. I really enjoyed it.

Final Thoughts

You’ll definitely want to come here for the musubi, but don’t forget about their other items on the menu. If you want something small as well, try their mini bowls. The eel bowls, curry bowls, and poke are good too.

We Rate Musubi Cafe:

Address:
2427 Kuhio Ave, Honolulu, HI

Website:
https://www.facebook.com/musubicafeiyasume/

In Four Beakers

Fresh Ideas Start Here: Sustainable Poké Bar

March 16, 2018

Fresh Ideas Start Here is a great local store to get fresh sustainable seafood in Burnaby and Kitsilano. They recently launched their sustainable poké bar with 6 different poke bowls or your can build your own. There isn’t space to eat in here, so it is all for take-out. I bought mine and headed home and has it for lunch.

The prices are higher, but you definitely get quality items in your bowl. All the fish is Oceanwise certified, which is really nice. I preferred to build my own bowl since I like to keep my poke as simple as possible.

Step 1: Pick your base
Japanese White Rice, Brown Rice, or Salad Mix

Step 2: Pick your fish
Wild BC Sockeye Salmon
Cooked West Coat Octopus
Pacific Yellowfin Tuna
Pacific Yellowfin Negitoro

Step 3: Pick your toppings
Salsa, cucumbers, seaweed salad, pickled red onion, Oshinko (pickled radish), kimchi, pickled ginger, imitation crab meat, sweet inari, masago, edamame, or Squid Salad.

Sauces:
Classic, spicy mayo, Korean Chili, or Thai style

Step 4: Pick your finish
Green onion, Furikake, fried onion or toasted sesame seeds.

All the ingredients looked really fresh and I couldn’t wait to dig in at home. I got a regular bowl and then a snack sized bowl.

Pacific Yellowfin Tuna

For the snack-sized bowl, it comes with one type of fish, 2 toppings and a finisher. I got the Pacific Yellowfin Tuna, seaweed salad, cucumber, furikake and the classic sauce on mixed greens.

Wild BC Sockeye Salmon and Pacific Yellowtail Negitoro

A regular bowl gets you 2 types of fish, 3 toppings and a finisher. I got the Wild BC Sockeye Salmon, Pacific Yellowtail Negitoro, edamame, seaweed salad, tobiko, toasted sesame, brown rice and the classic sauce.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed the poké bowls and the toppings are simple and complimented the fish well so it still stands out. The best part about coming here for poké bowls is that you can also go shopping for good other seafood items if you want to make dinner.

We Rate FISH:

Address:
#180 -7515 Market Crossing, Burnaby, BC

Website:
http://www.eatfish.ca/

In Hastings-Sunrise

Riz Sushi and Poké in Vancouver

January 25, 2018

Riz Sushi and Poké is located in a small plaza on Renfrew and Broadway in Vancouver. Their main business is catering, but they serve up lunch and dinner at their shop. You can find sushi combos, poké, udon, teriyaki and appetizers on their menu. We were invited to check out their poké bowls.

Interior

They have this epic mural on the wall of iconic artists. Even Kanye kissing Kanye can be seen.

Order up front and then you can find a seat and wait till your order is ready.

Onsen Egg

The onsen egg is delicious as it’s a egg cooked in a low temperature and then it sits in a soy broth with some green onions and tempura bits. We slurped it up and was tempted to get another.

Poké

We got one bowl with salmon and then another with tuna. I like the simplicity of the topping choices as you don’t really need too many toppings to over shadow the rest of the bowl. I personally found that there was too much sauce added to the bowl that you can barely taste the fish or the ingredients in the bowl. You probably want to tell them to go light on the sauce. As the tuna seems to be marinated in advanced, it created a gummy texture that I didn’t really enjoy.

On the other hand, my husband did enjoy their poké bowl with all the sauce. It all comes down to personal preferences. I’m a purist when it comes to poké so clean crisp flavours and my husband likes it saucy.

Final Thoughts

Both of us couldn’t come to a consensus so we agreed to disagree. Their hours of operation is 12pm – 8pm during weekdays. They are closed during the weekends.

We Rate Riz Sushi and Poké:

Address:
2887 E Broadway, Vancouver

Website:
https://www.rizsushi.com/

In Hawaiian

Easy Tuna Avocado Poké Bowls

September 18, 2017

One of my favourite go-to meals to make is my Tuna Avocado Poké Bowls for a quick dinner. The hardest part is finding good sashimi-grade ahi tuna as it’s not always readily available. Talk to your local store to get advice on finding the right product for poké bowls. I try to find Oceanwise Certified ahi tuna as it’s more sustainable, plus I know it’s better for us too.

[tabs tab1=”Recipe”]

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Makes enough for 2 bowls.

Ingredients:

170g Sashimi Grade Ahi Tuna, Cubed
1 Avocado, Cubed
3 tablespoons Low Sodium Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons Sesame Oil
2 sprigs of green onions, sliced
Pinch Sesame Seeds
1 teaspoon Fine Red Pepper Powder
2 Cups of Rice

Directions:

Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, and red pepper powder to made marinade.
Add ahi tuna and avocado to marinade and mix together.
Refrigerate mixture for 30 minutes.
Serve on top of rice
Top with sesame seeds and green onions for garnish.
Eat and enjoy.

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In Downtown

Pokerrito is open on Hornby Street: Review

July 25, 2017

Pokerrito has opened their second location on Hornby and Nelson. They serve up Hawaiian poké with a Japanese twist in burritos, bowls, and salads. I was watching Wonder Woman with friends and we needed quick bite to eat before the show. We love eating on this street since so many other restaurants have popped up in this area.

Interior

The space is larger than their original Dunsmuir location. It has a similar look as well. All that matters is the food right? As long as both locations are consistent.

Poké Bowls

Hawaiian Classic has marinated ahi tuna green onion, romaine lettuce, lemon, seaweed salad, and sesame seeds. It was supposed to have edible flowers in it, but I guess they ran out of them. Instead, they put sprouts on top. I got it as a bowl with a salad base. I really prefer this combination without all the other toppings as you can really appreciate the marinated ahi tuna without other strong conflicting flavours. When I usually customize my poké bowls in the past, I would load it with anything that would make bowl worth it.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it’s good to see they are expanding, but there is another poké shop located right next door, so it should be interesting competition. All my other friends ordered poke bowls with a mix of rice and salad as the base. Then, they added their favourite toppings. Love how it’s highly customizable for all taste buds.

We Rate Pokerrito:

Website:
http://www.pokerrito.ca/

Address:
991 Hornby Street, Vancouver

Website: http://www.pokerrito.ca/

In Cafe

Honolulu Coffee in Downtown Vancouver

January 5, 2017

Honolulu Coffee opened their first shop in Canada on Nelson Street in Downtown Vancouver. They have plans to open more locations in the near future. They bring to the Vancouver scene a twist on the regular coffee shop by having a taste of Hawaii. They are located beside Gyu Kaku, and Guu Garden.

Interior

The interior is a good size and beautiful. There are lots of seats but limited spots with outlets. Time spent at a cafe should we talking to others and enjoying their company, but sometimes you can’t help but crack open your laptop to check on something.

Coffee

One of their signature items – Hawaiian Latte has coconut, macadamia, espresso, and milk. I found it was a bit sweet even at half sweetness. You get a subtle taste of the coconut and macadamia in the latte.

I got my latte with banana bread. It came prepackaged, but it would have been better if they offered to heat it up.

I also tried the Chocolate Macadamia nut cookie and it was ok. It was packed full of chocolate chip and nuts, the cookie was dry and hard. The Cheese Scone was also mediocre.

Overall, I didn’t really like Honolulu Coffee, but it was mostly because of my personal preferences. I tried things I normally wouldn’t order because it was their signature items. Next time, I’ll stick with a cappuccino and cake.

We Rate Honolulu Coffee:

Address:
888 Nelson Street, Vancouver

Website:
http://www.honolulucoffee.com/

In Fusion

Poké Time on Robson: More Poké, No Problem

November 30, 2016

Continuing my poké adventures in Vancouver, another poké shop is Poké Time on Robson Street. I came here during my lunch break to grab a bowl to go with my coworkers. You can have you poke on a bed of rice, salad, nachos or eat it as a burrito. What I like about them is that you can do pick up or delivery and put your order in advance.

Interior

There are single seats by the walls of the shop, but you won’t find any tables here. Most people do take out.

I also love this pineapple wall. Very cute.

Build your own bowl

I find that getting the bowl is worth the price. I got the poké bowl and you can choose 2 scoops of protein, salad or rice or half, mixers, sauce, toppings, garnishes, and crunchies.

It was hard to figure out what to add on, but I got a little bit of everything and the staff are very generous with how much they put in it.

It’s so huge! I was surprised how they were able to close the lid on top.

Eating the Poke Bowl

I got salmon and tuna as my protein and then seaweed salad, crab meat, mandarin oranges, edamame, corn, carrots, cabbage, greens, onion crisps, cucumber, masago, green onion, nori. I got the tarty ponzu sauce and it was nice that it lightly marinated the protein so it wasn’t overpowering the fresh fish.

We Rate Poké Time:

Address:
1258 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC

Website:
http://www.poketime.ca/

In Brunch

Bao Down: Hawaiian Brunch

September 27, 2016

Bao Down has a Hawaiian Brunch every weekend at their Olympic Village location. Since Hawaiian cuisine is all the rage this year, I thought it would be great to check it out with a few friends.

One thing I’ve always adored was their amazing painting on the wall. So bright and vibrant with the rustic decor.

Drinks

Coffee is a must at brunch since we are all still waking up. They have drip coffee with milk and sugar.

They even have espresso-based coffees too if you want something a bit more fancy.

Thai Iced Tea was a cool item on the menu so my friend ordered it. When it came to the table, the drink was super sweet, so she asked if they could do it half sweet, but unfortunately it’s pre-mixed, so they can’t adjust the sweetness. They were nice enough to take this off the bill.

Island Brunch

The Swartz has crispy corned beef and potato hash with 2 eggs, garlic fried rice with tomato and onions.

Under Pressure has panko fried spam, 2 eggs, garlic rice, hash browns, sweet shoyu, tomato and onions.

I found this dish to be quite heavy for brunch. It was pretty hard starting the day off with fried foods and rice. I thought there would be a few lighter items on the menu, but most of them were meaty and heavy.

Overall, I didn’t really take a liking the brunch items we ordered. I prefer their lunch menu with poke as it is more light and fresh.

We rate Bao Down:

Address:
115 West 2nd Ave. Vancouver

Website:
http://baodown.net/

hawaiian

Safety Measures

Matcha Lychee Soda

Lychee Oolong Iced Tea

Honey Coconut Cold Brew

Açaí Bowls

The Basic

The Classic

The Hawaiian

Build Your Own Bowl

Final Thoughts

Ohana Bowl

Yuzuke

Ono Bowl

Chef Special Bowl

Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

Interior

Menu

Build Your Own Poke Bowl

The Main

Drinks

Final Thoughts

Spam Musubi

Fried Okinawa Sweet Potato Mochi

Final Thoughts

Interior

Menu

Akuma Tuna Poké Bowl

Make your Own Bowl

Hoochy Booch Kombucha

Final Thoughts

Interior

Menu

Ordering

Spam Musubi

Eel, egg, shiso leaf and spam musubi

Bacon, egg, avocado, and spam musubi

Ahi Poke Bowl

Mini Eel Bowl

Final Thoughts

Pacific Yellowfin Tuna

Wild BC Sockeye Salmon and Pacific Yellowtail Negitoro

Final Thoughts

Interior

Onsen Egg

Poké

Final Thoughts

Interior

Menu

Poké Bowls

Final Thoughts

Interior

Coffee

Interior

Build your own bowl

Eating the Poke Bowl

Drinks

Island Brunch