Poké is ubiquitous in Hawaii. Virtually any restaurant serving island food will have it on the menu. It is typically made with raw yellowfin tuna (ahi poké). Combined with sea salt, soy sauce, sesame oil and limu (algae), it’s a distinctively Hawaiian creation. Variations include other seasonings and aromatics. While it has been a popular food staple in the island diet since the 1970s, it wasn’t until Sam Choy introduced it on his TV show and featured it in his cookbooks that poké became more widely known in the States. In the Seattle area, Choy has a food truck called Poké to the Max.
In 2010, I ate a very good version at Poké Stop (in Waipahu), which also included Maui sweet onions. The truth is that it’s hard not to have a decent poké anywhere in Hawaii since the ingredient that makes or breaks the recipe is the freshness of the tuna. And tuna right out of the sea is readily available. On our trip to Oahu last year, my wife and I tried in vain to find Ono Seafood that makes the best poké in Oahu, according to many. While it’s located on arguably the best restaurant avenue in all of Honolulu for local food (Kapahulu), others have had equal difficulty in spotting it, for it’s set back, almost obscured by a Shell gas station, on the bottom floor of an apartment building. But, my sister-in-law knew exactly where it was. While there are two picnic-style tables outside, most customers order takeout, which we did. Be warned that there are only a handful of parking spots in the lot. The rest have tow-away signs.
The inside is quite small but colorfully painted in turquoise. The menu and pictures are prominently posted on the wall. There are exactly eight styles to choose from, permutations of ahi or octopus (tako) and seasonings. The thing about Ono’s is that the poké is made to order, which means that there aren’t deli displays of their seafood already prepared in advance. What’s the big deal? Sea salt, a prominent seasoning in poké, will draw out moisture from seafood and toughen it. Looking over the menu, my wife and I decided on the shoyu ahi, simply prepared with tuna, soy sauce, green and white onions, kukui (candlenut), dried chile peppers and sesame oil. The accommodating server went so far as to omit the chile peppers for my wife. There is also a choice between white or brown rice, regular size or super bowl, and a choice of drink.
We ate our dinner in the condo where we were staying. Let me be quick to say that it was the best poké I’ve ever eaten (☆☆☆☆). The ahi melted in the mouth, buttery in texture and sweet. The other ingredients were added in perfect proportions, not too much soy sauce to make it too salty, not too many onions to make it too harsh and sulfurous, not too much chile to make it overly spicy, with just enough limu to provide crunch. My brother-in-law and nephew were so enamored of Ono’s poké that they had to pick some up en route to the airport to eat on the flight home. Now, that says something.
Ono Seafood
747 Kapahulu Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 732-4806
zoomeboshi 
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