Do the hokey pokey and get your butt to Toronto’s Lawai’a Poké Bar!

With so many Poké restaurants popping up around the Greater Toronto Area, the region’s Poké game has been officially upgraded from “weaksauce” to “strong”. Nowadays, there are just so many Poke bowl restaurants to keep track of!  This is a good thing.

Poké (pronounced “po-kay”) is a traditional Hawaiian dish which means “diced”.  With ingredients like fresh salmon, tuna, and a selection of vegetables being diced into little, bite-sized cubes, mixed with a delicious sauce (including, but not limited to, soy or mayo-based) sitting on top of a bed of rice or spiralized veggies, this dish exemplifies freshness.

So why do I love this dish so much?  Well, first thing first- it hails from Hawaii, aka my favourite place on Earth!  Eating Poké just reminds me of the Hawaiian sunshine and the ocean waves (*sigh*, I wish I was in Hawaii, right now!).  Secondly, the ingredients are delicious and refreshing, so the meal is filling but you don’t feel like you just ate a plate of burger and fries that needs to be slept off afterwards.  And lastly- Poké is great because you can customize it and really make it your own. One day you might feel like brown rice.  But then the next day you might want a completely different topping on your Poké bowl. It never gets dull!

Recently I found out about a new Poké place in Toronto- Lawai’a Poké.  Lawai’a (Hawaiian for “fisherman”) Owners Aliza Devenyi and Zoe Wisenberg were inspired to open up their own Poké restaurant in Toronto after seeing how many people embraced Poké across the United States.  It started as a takeout- only restaurant, working out of Uber Eats and Foodora.  But as the restaurant started picking up steam and getting rave reviews, Aliza and Zoe expanded their restaurant to a small dine-in restaurant, and now serves hungry Toronto Pokénians (I’ve decided that this word is a thing) some pretty damn delicious Poké bowls.  With so many Poké restaurants opening up all over Toronto, Aliza and Zoe are dedicated to bringing the best and freshest ingredients.

I paid Aliza and Zoe a visit and we built a bowl together. And by “build a bowl”, I mean that I pretty much got every single item that I loved added into my creation.  I added so many ingredients that it was practically spilling over, like a miniature Kilauea spilling into the Pacific.  I really like the fact that Lawai’a doesn’t cheap out on their ingredients. Every single topping was fresh and there was a lot of it.  I usually destroy every single thing on my plate, but this bowl was so satisfying and filling, that I happily took half of it home for dinner, that night!

If you don’t want to think about what ingredients to put in, Lawai’a Poké Bar also has beautifully-curated bowl combinations for you to choose from.

To top it all off, Lawai’a Poké Bar has the cutest Hawaiian decor with a beautiful, lush green plant wall (Perfect for Instagram photos!)  You really have to go check it out!

And now, a little something for the Joyceofcooking.com readers.  Are you ready?

We’ve partnered with our friends at Lawai’a Poké Bar to giveaway 2 free Poké bowls!  All you have to do is:

  1. Follow Lawai’a Poké Bar on Instagram
  2. Follow Joyce of Cooking on Instagram
  3. Tag a friend on Instagram who you will bring if you won
  4. Comment below on how you would customize your Poké bowl if you won!

This contest is no way associated with Instagram. Contest runs from July 23rd, 2017 to July 31st, 2017. Winner will be randomly selected on August 1st, 2017 and will be contacted through Instagram messenger.  If the winner does not reply within 24 hrs, another winner will be chosen.  Winner must be able to claim their 2 free Poké Bowls at Lawai’a PokéBar. Winner must be 13 years of age or older.

What are you waiting for?  Get followin’ and check out Lawai’a Poké Bar!