Surfboard Tables And Hawaiian Cusine: Pokemoto Comes To Buckland

MANCHESTER, CT — A little taste of Hawaii came to the Plaza at Buckland Hills Thursday night.

OK, it was a pretty big taste as the Pokemoto Hawaiian Poke chain expanded into Manchester. It is located at in the west end of the plaza.

Joe Haddad is part of the ownership group and is no stranger to the Buckland Hills area, having worked there in the past. He said when the investors were seeking a chain franchise, they did the research with their appetites.

"We didn't want to invest in something we weren't going to eat," he said.

He and colleagues then just walked into a Pokemoto in New Haven.

"We said, 'Hey, this is pretty good,'" Haddad quipped. "With poke, the sauces make the difference and these sauces are good. It's good food and it's something we knew we'd keep coming back to."

The group now owns the rights to the "western New England" territory, he said.

That's basically the history of the store's general manager, Helen Loc. She's a Boston native, the daughter of parents who fled Vietnam in a turbulent time with a bit of culinary expertise. They operated Chinese restaurants in the Boston area.

Loc also manages the Somerville, MA, location, but it was when she studied at the University of Massachusetts that she became a fan of poke.

"I have to say that I ... love ... poke," she said.

There was a Pokemoto in Northampton near the UMass campus.

"And That's where all my money went," she said with a laugh. "I honestly could eat there five times a week. So when I saw the opportunity for a job here and I applied."

Poke is native Hawaiian dish, traditionally made up of diced fresh fish served as an appetizer or main course. Modern twists include chicken, tofu, shrimp, or salmon with strong influences of Japanese and Korean cuisine.

A sample poke bowl served up by Loc and the staff was an education and "build your own" was the theme of Thursday's sneak preview.

The choice here was white rice as a base with ahi tuna and lobster as the "proteins."

Next were the mix-ins and the choices were sweet onion, mango, pineapple, edamame and corn.

The sauce of choice was creamy miso.

The toppings were then picked — green onions, seaweed salad, and cabbage slaw and the "crunch" toppings were roasted cashews, garlic chips, tempura flakes and wonton crisps.

It all came together nicely and the large bowl was definitely a meal. Most of those in attendance were raving about the taste of the bowls.

In addition to the bowls, the specialties are salads, burritos, sides and boba teas.

Oh, and the surfboard tables are pretty cool.

An unadvertised soft opening is slated for Friday and the grand opening is on tap for Saturday and Sunday featuring discounts on bowls and boba tea as well as coupons and prize wheels.

See more at:

• https://www.pokemoto.com/