Poke bowls are popping up everywhere in Vancouver now! When they first started to appear, I wasn’t sure what the hype was about. But now, I’ve grown an inkling to poke bowls because they are a healthy and filling alternative.
So far, I’ve only tried two poke places in the city. The second place I tried was The Poke Shop, which opened a few weeks ago. It is located in Gastown, just by the steam clock.
It is a basement suite and you have to walk down some stairs. Once you get in, the decor is very cheerful and artsy, with a big mural on one side of the wall!
The long wooden communal table is also custom made, one of a kind too. I really liked the interior and it was spacious and comfortable to sit and dine.
I haven’t been to enough poke shops to judge the prices, but I would say it’s fairly average? The only other place I’ve been to is The Poke Guy, and The Poke Guy is a bit more expensive because it is ocean-wise.
There are two sizes, large & super large. The large didn’t look filling enough for a meal, so most of us at the media tasting ordered the super large for dinner. But you’ll see soon enough that we were proven wrong!
Pictured above are the proteins! You can pick from ahi tuna, spicy albacore tuna, spicy Atlantic salmon, wild sockeye salmon, spicy baby scallop, unagi, grilled organic chicken, or roasted organic chicken.
After selecting your base (purple rice, white rice, zoodles, spinach, or pick half/half) and protein, it is on to the toppings! I’m not going to list them all here because there are too many! But you can see from the picture above.
Super large bowl w/ unlimited toppings, $15.95: For my two proteins, I got the albacore tuna and wild sockeye salmon. I chose purple rice as the base. Unlimited toppings were pomegranate, mango, watermelon, spinach, cucumber, corn and topped with shoyu dressing.
The proteins come pre-marinated, which seems to be the preferred option for most as it is the authentic method of making poke bowls. I found that there was only a slight marinated taste for the tuna and salmon, it tasted mostly like plain sashimi which is not necessarily a bad thing! Both proteins tasted really fresh.
As for the toppings, I liked the inclusion of both fruits (mango, pomegranate and watermelon) with veggies. It gave the bowl a burst of sweetness!
Even though it doesn’t look filling, there is a LARGE amount of purple rice at the bottom. After all, I did order the super large! I didn’t end up finishing the rice because there was such a big amount, and I wanted to eat the proteins & fruit/veggies first.
Here are other poke bowls that some of the food bloggers ordered!
Left to right: 3 berry & lemon soda, pineapple plantation iced tea, iced matcha green tea w/ honey, all $3 w/ poke bowl, or $4.50 solo.
I ordered the 3 berry & lemon soda, which was basically berry & lemon infused 7-up. My goodness, was it delicious! I was one of the only bloggers who ordered the soda, and received many comments about how good it looked.
I didn’t try the other two, but heard the pineapple plantation iced tea was okay. The iced matcha green tea was a bit disappointing, as we were expecting matcha. It tasted more like a sencha, or regular iced green tea.
Overall, The Poke Shop was good and I would recommend giving it a try! The portions are generous, while the restaurant is spacious with great interior design (a dining experience also includes the ambiance).
I would recommend getting the large bowl, as most of us who ordered the super large bowl couldn’t finish. As well, you are getting the same two scoops of protein in both sizes.
Yay!
I bought this in a gift set that came with a travel sized body wash, body lotion, and nail polish. Out of the four products in the gift bag, I liked this hand cream the most!
One thing I didn’t like about this hand cream was the packaging, but they have since repackaged it. The old cap did not close properly because the neck was too short, resulting in product oozing out around the edge. I am really glad they repackaged because I have no complaints about this new one!
The restaurant was very clean, new, and spacious. In particular, we awed over the beautiful plate art wall that was behind us. It looks like they glued a bunch of Asian plates into a nice pattern. I can certainly spot some plate patterns that my family and relatives own!
P4, Pho Tai, Large, $9.95: There are many different pho combinations to choose from, as with most Vietnamese places. The boyfriend chose p4, which just comes with rare beef. There was a pretty generous amount of rare beef, as well as onions.
P7, Pho Nam Bo Vien, Large, $9.95: I ordered the opposite of the boyfriend, aka all cooked beef – beef balls and beef brisket. As with the other bowl, they were pretty generous on the meat toppings and onions.
The lip liner comes in a light plastic packaging. It is pretty thin, which means the pencil is even thinner. I’m cursed with broken lipsticks/liners if you saw my previous Stila Stay All Day Matte Lipstick post, so I was extra careful with this thin pencil!
I have the shade cabernet, which is a majestic deep plum red. It reminds me of a nice, dark wine. The pencil is very smooth and glides easily. It is also very pigmented!
Here is a picture with from the lip challenge, wearing this liner. I think it lines my lines very nicely and makes them look slightly more plumper!
And another picture! I love how clean and precise the line looks, and brings out my cupid’s bow.
In September, I attended the Estee Lauder media preview and was exposed to many different Estee Lauder foundations. There was also a super pretty foundation bar that showcased many of their foundations!
What it says (Taken from Sephora):
Application: I was a bit wary of the bottle packaging ever since trying the Covergirl Clean Foundation, which also comes in a glass jar.
Wear: Throughout the day, I was expecting the foundation to smudge off. But, I was really surprised at how flawless it was even after 7-8 hours! It did not require a touch up, and my skin gets pretty oily. I removed the foundation at night after ten hours of wear, and it still looked pretty good!