We have been enjoying our poke bowls lately! It started with ordering delivery a few times from Pacific Poke. As we know how smartphones track our every move, I received a BOGO coupon for The Poke Guy shortly afterwards. This was definitely not a coincidence, we are all being watched Black Mirror style! But I guess I got a free poke bowl from it this time?? Lol!

The Poke Guy is located in downtown, by West Hastings and Richards Street. I’ve been here many years ago briefly, when one of my friends was working here. I didn’t write a review that time but I remembered the poke was good.

The Poke Guy can be slightly easy to miss. You have to walk a few steps down to go inside. Currently due to COVID, they are operating by take out only but they used to have some small tables. They have a menu of their signature poke bowls, or you can create your own bowl.

Aloha bowl: The aloha bowl was a smaller version of their regular poke bowls, and was available as a spring special. I thought it was a pretty good snack size, or if you have a small appetite, this would suffice for a meal. With the aloha bowl, you can choose between the Ahi tuna or Atlantic salmon, and a base of sushi rice or brown rice. The toppings include salad, pineapple, cucumber, tomato, green onions, sesame dressing, fried onions, and furikake flakes.

For myself, I went with the Atlantic salmon and brown rice. This was so delicious. The salmon was fresh and marinated well. The sesame dressing was creamy, and the fried onions and furikake flakes elevated the poke bowl even more. Everything went well together and I would definitely get this again.

Aloha bowl: The fiance went with the Ahi tuna and sushi rice. He enjoyed his bowl as much as I did, if not even more! The tuna was really fresh and also marinated well. Apart from the tuna, he also noted that the fried onions and furikake flakes made the poke bowl taste so much better. Two simple toppings, but delicious!

Prior to The Poke Guy, we primarily ordered from Pacific Poke or made our own poke bowls. After having The Poke Guy, I actually prefer it more than Pacific Poke (although Pacific Poke isn’t bad either). I found that the poke has more marinade here and is more saucy, plus the fried onions go so well with it! We will definitely be back when we are in the area.

I love poke but I normally don’t get it from a restaurant, preferring to make it at home because it is actually really easy! We like to buy the sashimi from Fujiya, then add some simple seasoning sauces and toppings. However, I was browsing on SkipTheDishes one day when I saw that Pacific Poke was having a deal for free delivery and a free coconut drink. I was sold!

DIY medium combo: For the DIY medium combo, you get two scoops of protein and three scoops of toppings with a choice for the base. I chose the salmon and ahi tuna for the protein, seaweed salad/diced mango/basil tomato for the toppings, and traditional sushi rice for the base.

The salmon and tuna were fresh and tasty! The toppings were okay, I wish there were some more sweet toppings at no cost other than diced mango. I wasn’t a fan of the basil tomato so I wouldn’t get that again.

As well, the sushi rice was slightly sour due to the vinegar. There was too many different flavours going on (sweet, salty, sour) that they didn’t taste good mixed together, but that’s my fault for choosing this combination. I did better on my second visit!

DIY medium combo: The fiance was at work so I guessed what he would like. I picked the negitoro and spicy ahi tuna for his protein, cucumber kimchi/pesto pineapple/mango for the toppings, and sushi rice.

The negitoro was really good and I wish I ordered that for myself instead. The toppings were interesting but I wish they had some plain ones instead of the mix, such as plain cherry tomato, cucumber or pineapple.

DIY medium combo: On the second visit, I had a better idea of what combinations I would like. I got the salmon and negitoro for the protein, mango/seaweed salad/pesto pineapple for the topping, and brown rice.

This time, the flavours went better together. I preferred the brown rice over sushi rice because the brown rice didn’t add a sour vinegar taste. Normally I love sushi rice but it was just too many flavours going on!

DIY medium combo: On the second visit, the fiance picked negitoro and tuna for his protein, corn/seaweed salad/miso hummus for the topping, and sushi rice.

The miso hummus was unique and the fiance said he would order it again.

Cocopanda: We ordered this drink on both occasions! There was a promo where this drink was free over $25.

You have to be careful though because Skip automatically charges you for two drinks, and gives you one free. I realized this on the first order but we forgot on the second order, which was fine because we loved the drink a lot.

The cocopanda was a blend of coconut milk and coconut water, and was delicious. It’s pretty simple and easy to make, but delicious and refreshing. It wasn’t too creamy since they use half coconut milk and half coconut water.

Overall, we both enjoyed our two delivery meals from Pacific Poke. We will probably continue to order from them more often, especially since they have the printing with Skip

This review is a long time coming, because I have wanted to try Blue Water Cafe for a really long time. Each year for my birthday or anniversary, I suggest Blue Water but we always end up going somewhere else! 

Well, I finally got the chance to try Blue Water and it did not disappoint! Maki and Nigiri wanted to take us to a nice restaurant for a special occasion, little did I know it was actually the night the fiance would propose to me after our dinner. 

Blue Water Cafe is located in Yaletown. As the name suggests, they specialize in seafood. I found out that night they are part of the Toptable group restaurants, which include Elisa Steakhouse (across the street), Theirry’s, CinCin, West, Araxi, and more!

The inside of the restaurant had a classy and fancy vibe to it, yet was still welcoming and not pretentious.

Our server for the entire night was amazing, I wish I grabbed her name. She was so knowledgeable about all the dishes and paid attention to the little details. 

Bread: We started off with some complimentary bread! It was served warm and tasted fresh. The bread came with a seaweed infused butter, which was well liked by everyone. The seaweed gave the butter some umami taste. 

The other spread was a vegan lentil garlic mix, which Maki and I enjoyed but the fiance and Nigiri didn’t. 

Blue Water seafood tower: The star of the show! We upgraded to the Blue Water seafood tower which came with extra items. All of the seafood was really fresh as expected! 

Top layer: The first layer came with chilled Dungeness crab, tuna tataki, and jellyfish. The crab was super fresh and meaty. The tuna tataki was spicy and had some crunch to it. The jellyfish was well marinated and included some imitation shark fin. 

Second layer: The second layer had jumbo shrimp, clams, oysters, mussels, real crab California roll, and salmon tartare. 

The shrimp were fresh with a nice snap. I love my shrimp and had most of them that night! Everyone else enjoyed the clams, mussels, and creamy oysters. The real crab California roll was delicious too. The salmon tartare came in a marinated sauce with fresh, fragrant dill. 

Bottom layer: The final layer of our seafood tower feast came with spicy tuna roll, more clams, mussels, oysters, jumbo shrimp, and scallop ceviche. 

The spicy tuna roll was delicious and had a spicy kick to it. The scallop ceviche was very fresh too! 

Wagyu beef meatballs: This was a special feature that day! Since it had cheese, I didn’t have any but the others really loved it. They all said it was the most tender meatballs they’ve ever had! 

Lobster bisque: The fiance ordered a lobster bisque as well, which was heavenly. It arrived at the table in an unique way, with the solid ingredients first.

The soup was then poured into solid ingredients which melted the dairy block (sorry, unsure of the exact name). This was a creamy, delicious amazing choice. 

Truffle risotto: This was another feature, but unfortunately disappointing and least favourite. The truffle taste was barely there. 

Overall, Blue Water Cafe surpassed my expectations and I really wish I came here sooner. I am a huge seafood lover and all the seafood dishes were executed with quality and care. 

The service was amazing and although it was a fine dining restaurant, there was no pretentiousness here. I will definitely be back for the seafood tower!