Poke on Maui: A Tale of Two Safeways...yes, Safeway

I'll readily admit that I was sniffing around for Poke from the moment our plane touched down.  There are many creative and tasty version of this classic Hawaiian dish on the Mainland, but many times I just want simple down home Poke, made with fresh ingredients, and with the classic flavoring that I grew up eating. The Missus has also been caught in my "Poke madness", on a vacation with Her girlfriend on the Big Island last year, She ate Poke at least once a day(even 3 times on an occasion). They basically lived out of KTA Superstores..... I've been known to haunt Tamashiro's, Tanioka's, Foodlands, Als Moana Farmers Market, and on and on......

Which lead to our first stop for Poke....Safeway(yes, Safeway) Kahului.

We marched into Safeway, and searched for a Fish Counter. The Market has to have a fish counter. Sorry, but prepackaged Poke won't cut it with me.

When we arrived at the Fish Counter I noticed something interesting....

There was Poke made with fish with a "previously frozen" tag as well as Poke made with "fresh" fish. Of course we went with the fish labeled fresh.....

The Ahi Poke(Yellowfin or Big Eye Tuna).

Dry and a bit off tasting.

Aku Poke(Skipjack):

Aku is known to be a "fattier" Tuna, and thus will have a stronger flavor. This poke had alot of the white tough and inedible connective tissue. It was also on the "dry" side. Not very good at all. Makes me think I maybe shoulda tried the Poke made with the previously frozen fish?

One of the Missus's new obsessions; Tako Wasabi. Raw Tako marinated in a slightly sweet-wasabi marinade, this was as good as any I've had.

Even though the Poke was lousy, we did a return visit so the Missus could get Her Tako Wasabi fix. The service was rather disinterested, and this really did show up in the flavor and quality of the Poke....Auwe!

Safeway
170 E Kamehameha Ave
Kahului, HI 96732

So having been truly disappointed, we started asking around....and got alot of "this place makes good sashimi", and that sort.... Finally, a few locals recommended Safeway, but "not da' one stay in Wailuku...but right hea' in dis mall". Which happened to be the Lahaina Cannery Mall.

By this time we were a bit doubtful, until we marched up to the fish counter, and started ordering.

At which time this Gentleman put the brakes on the ordering.

He froze me with His steely gaze, and said "how do you know what you like, if you nevah' tasted?" And held up samples of the different versions on toothpicks. He went on to explain on how he made each version, how fresh everything was; "we get da' fish at 430am, clean 'em and......." Now this was a Guy who was proud of the fruits of His labor!

So the Ahi Limu:

Very clean and refreshing, with flavors of the ocean. The fish was fresh, and the texture(crunch of the Limu, meatiness of fish) pretty good, though the Missus thought it was under salted.

The Ahi Shoyu was by far the Missus's favorite, to the tune of going back for this four times.

Great balanced flavor, not too salty, with a touch of sweetness provided by the uber-fresh medium quality fish.

The Tako Poke.

The Missus didn't care for the large pieces of Tako, but I enjoyed the sweet onion.

The Ahi Poke was my personal favorite. This Ahi Poke was updated with the flavor of wasabi, so it had a slight kick. Delici-yoso!!!

The Kimchee Tako Poke was pretty good, though maybe a tad too sour. But it still disappeared....

Well how's that? Two Safeways, two different Fish Counters, big difference!

Safeway
1221 Honoapiilani Hwy
Lahaina, HI 96761

For more info on Poke; Alan, who does the Food Blog Ma'ona has written what I think is probably one of my favorite posts ever on Poke. And just for the heck of it, here's my humble Poke Recipe.

One morning the Missus, My MIL & FIL decided to take a walk down at the end of Office Road. We walked along the edge of the Golf Course which featured a nice view of Fleming's Beach.

After skirting along the edge of the Golf Course we came to the lava formation called Dragon's Teeth. Created during one of the last lava flows on Maui, the forces of the wind and sea created this novel lava formation.

This pleasant little walk provided glimpses of nature's, and man's creations. As viewed by this maze we found.

At the end of the walk is Makalua-puna Point, capping off a walk with the glorious view of the ocean's power.

If taking this walk please respect the Honokahua Preservation Site, where ancient Hawaiian burial sites were discovered when ground was broken for the construction of the Ritz Carlton. In it's time the discovery created quite a stir.

Comments

[Ben]

I've read twice about Poke but had never tried it. This certainly looks like my kind of food. I don't think there are Poke places in Vancouver -- never heard of it. How much does each costs normally?

[joey]

i recently stumbled onto your site from a chowhound link... thanks for sharing your sd dining experiences...

i wish i could remember the name, but there is a poke counter operating out of one of the supermarkets near the airport in maui.... i recall it was a japanese name..... anyhow, they had all types of poke, including a dungeness crab claw poke that i have been craving ever since i was there last year (2005)... if you find it, please critique so i can see if i'm not off base

when you get back to sd, i found that bristol farms in la jolla makes ahi poke fresh daily, they have two types regular and spicy although, the spicy is not at all spicy that i can tell... bristol farm's poke can't compare at all to maui poke so make sure to have your fill while there

enjoy the rest of your time in maui... looking forward to reading more of your posts

[kyle]

Hey Kirk,
You got me on my speed again! Here we go, my fav supermarket poke is...Foodland! Yep, my personal fav is the masago wasabi!! Yea baby! Followed closely by the shoyu poke. I remember KTA on the Big Island being the first store to offer poke in the 'supermarket'. Did you check out Oshii on Ruger Mkt?? They are good too but $$$.
Kyle

[Mark]

Hi Kirk, welcome back and sorry about your break in. Have you found good Poke in SD? I believe there is restaurant of the same name in the gas lamp. Where would you reccomend for great poke?

[mizducky]

Raw fish--yum! :-) Oh, and love the landscape shots--the one of that maze is really trippy-looking!

[Chubbypanda]

Poke! Panda want!

I need to find some good poke here in OC to slake the cravings inspired by this post. I think I'll swing by my local Marukai this weekend.

BTW, Cat thinks you're a bad bad man for what you do to my diet. I call you my Lil' Maui Scapegoat. "But Kirk made it sound so goooood~..." =)

- Chubbypanda

[Jack]

Nice find Kirk. I've had a miserable poke meal at the Star market in Kihei. I'll have to remember this for future trips.

And the best poke in SD? That would be in your kitchen! It's all about the ingredients and how you like your poke. Man, I'm going to have to make some poke this weekend!

[Kirk]

Hi Ben - Prices vary wildly, based on what type of seafood(Tako, raw crab, what kind of fish) - it usually runs from about $7/lb all the way to $20/lb. You don't need much, inless you're a pig like me. But Poke and Rice...is very, very, nice!

Hi Joey - Thanks so much for taking the time out to comment, I appreciate it! We were actually on Maui during the first week of October, and have kind of taken a short break after. I don't recall seeing any other makret other than Star and Safeway, but I could've missed something.

Hi Kyle - I can almost live out of KTA! I'm from the Kaimuki area so I know Ruger Market real well - I was amazed at how expensive it was! Itai....

Hi Mark - Are you thinking of Mr Tiki? It was really lousy. As to where to get Poke in SD? I've yet to come across good Poke in San Diego - two main ingredients are missing - Ogo and Inamona. Sammy will make you Poke if you want, but it's pretty expensive.

Hi Mizducky - Yeah, it was funny to be walking along...and suddenly seeing all those concentric circles.

Hi CP - Hey man, please don't blame me if you can't fit in you tux! Cat will hunt me down and kill me......Go to Marukai and buy Ogo and Maguro, and you can make your own Poke.

Hi Jack - You're absolutely right!

[Pam]

ah yes--the lahaina safeway! i needed a snack one afternoon so i made isaac take me there. i got the ahi limu--gotta agree w/ your Missus--it was a bit undersalted. i wish i knew i coulda sampled! i ate that ahi limu poke with some maui potato chips and leftover wedding cake on our hotel lanai overlooking kaanapali beach. totally random, but it was great and totally relaxing at the time!

[Kirk]

Hi Pam - Maybe this Guy wasn't working that day...I mean he really wanted us to sample everything. Poke, Chips, and Cake...what an interesting meal!

[elmomonster]

I'm salivating at that glistening poke! KTA market is going to be my campsite when I get to Hilo next week.

[Kirk]

Hi Elmo - I hope you have a blast.

[ed (from Yuma)]

You don't know how tough it is looking at all that wonderful poke (and tako wasabi) out here in the desert. Out here though, I can get dozens of different kinds of carne, peurco, & pollo marinado from markets. But no poke. go figure.

[Kirk]

Hi Ed - Hope is all is well...other than the scarcity of Tako Wasabi in Yuma! I think you'd have a field day with all the Poke......

[Galute]

Hi Ed, Great site...I am trying to make Poke right now and checked your blog out for tips. One thing I found puzzling though...I read not long ago that all fish sold in US supermarkets have been frozen at some point. In fact this is supposed to be better as it kills any unwanted worms etc...It was an article in NY times (no I don't live there)

thx

[unknown]

next time you come back maui go to sack-n-save poke is mo betta

[Local]

On Maui go to Takamiya market in Happy Valey.