Finally the halal foodies in Singapore can try out a poke bowl after seeing our friends try it out for several months. A Poke Theory, the poke bowl shop received their Halal Certification by Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) on Wednesday, 27 June 2018, for all four outlets island-wide and is the first poke-specialty brand in Singapore to be Halal-certified.If you’re wondering why a bowl of vegetables and fish need to be Halal-certified, it’s because the sauces used to marinate the fish like shoyu traditionally contain alcohol. Previously A Poke Theory also served pork as one of their proteins but have removed it months before to prepare for their Halal-certification.
If you are a sashimi lover you will probably love poke bowls (psst … it’s pronounced “POH-keh” and has nothing to do with the worldwide phenomenon that is Pokemon). It’s something like sushi but easier to eat for rice lovers. Poke means “to slice or cut” in Hawaiian and refers to chunks of raw, marinated fish — usually tuna — which is then tossed over rice and topped with vegetables and umami-packed sauces.
A Poke Theory has four outlets located at Telok Ayer, Marina One, Bugis and Kent Ridge. Since they’ve been around for two years, it made sense for them to move towards feeding a community even larger than what they were already catering for.Regular customers will not see a change in menu, as adaptations to include Halal ingredients have already been incorporated gradually over the last four months, so as to keep quality control at its peak. Kalua Pork, once a premium topping for $2, was replaced with a Hawaiian BBQ Chicken option two months ago, in April 2018.“We spent months re-engineering our prized marinades with Halal-certified ingredients to achieve the same taste asour original Non-Halal marinades. It came as a really pleasant surprise when we nailed the recipe, and actually improved the marinade in the process of doing so, “ says founder and tastebuds behind recipes at A Poke Theory, Joey Lee, ”We’re very much looking forward to feeding a huge community that now has access to healthy, tasty poke bowls.”
What is a poke bowl and how does one order it?
There are 4 steps in building your Poke Bowl.Choose from the trendiest ingredients and food toppings and expect to spend $10 to $19 per bowl.
-
Rice or Base:
Customers first start off with selecting a base of either their signature sushi rice, the healthier brown rice, or protein-packed lemon herb quinoa for those looking to bulk up, while those looking to stay away from carbs can opt for romaine lettuce.
-
Raw Fish:
A Poke Theory offers four types of marinated fish depending on your preferred fish, salmon or tuna, and spiciness level: Original Shoyu, Avocado Miso and Spicy Mayo for Salmon; as well as Original Shoyu and Spicy Garlic Sesame for the Tuna.They have seasonal flavours as well for the salmon. In the past, they’ve offered gochujang aioli, wasabi yuzu and ginger miso. They’re offering the wasabi aioli till mid-July and will soon launch the romesco flavour. For vegans, there’s Avocado Poke Bowls for youThe raw fish are marinated twice starting with the Original Shoyu marinade and then coated with the other flavoured sauces like Avocado Miso or Spicy Mayo ensuring a flavourful fish.Each flavour has their own garnish, such as spicy garlic sesame tuna having a garnish of black sesame seeds, and spicy mayo salmon having a garnish of fresh chives. Original shoyu salmon or tuna flavours are garnished with scallions and toasted white sesame seeds.
-
Toppings:
At A Poke Theory, they offer two types of toppings- regular and premium.The regular ones are free to choose from. Choose from cherry tomatoes, Japanese cucumber, honey pineapple, carrot, chuka wakame seaweed, tobiko, furikake and sesame seeds. The Premium Toppings at A Poke Theory include Teriyaki Edamame, Kimchi, Thai Mango, Lime Avocado, Pomegranate Seeds, Smoked Almonds, Crispy Salmon Skin, Kale Chips and a few more. Tell me are you drooling already? The exotic ingredients will add interesting textures to your bowl and makes me want to go and try a few bowls at once. However, each Premium Topping is an additional $1 or $2 per portion so do keep a budget for it!
-
Sauces:
Go crazy with the free flow sauces. A Poke Theory has a bar where you can add as much sauce as you want.The Japanese red chili mixture togarashi adds heat while wasabi is a popular option including japanese grade shoyu and current seasonal flavour sauce. Customise your bowl further with chilli flakes, sesame seeds, fried shallots and wasabi.
-
(Optional) Drinks:
To complete your healthy poke bowl, they offer their homemade lemonade drink, an elderflower spritz and some brewed teas (Lychee Moscato, English Toffee, Oolong Osmanthus, etc), for $2 if you purchase any poke bowl.
They offer Smoothies and Cold-Pressed Juices too.
They have the following coldpressed juices going for $5 each.
You can choose from Kale Chips, Crispy Salmon Skin, Spiced Roasted Cashews and Smoked Almonds. The snacks are priced at $6 each.
If you’re on budget, they’ve introduced a Light size at just $9.90
If your budget per lunch is $10 per day, you can still eat at A Poke Theory. A Poke Theory launches a new bowl size (Light) at $9.90 nett, in addition to their Regular bowl of 100g (S$11.50) and Large bowl for S$15. 
A Poke Theory operates by free-seating, and customers place their orders at the bar by the entrance. Water, cutlery and extra sauces are self-service.
Find them at four spots in Singapore
They’re currently at four different (hot) spots: *add address too*1. Telok Ayer27 Boon Tat Street / Singapore 069623Weekdays 11AM – 8PMSaturdays 11AM – 4PMClosed Sundays & Public Holidays2. Bugis#01-36/37, DUO Galleria, 7 Fraser St / Singapore 189356Weekdays 11AM – 9PMWeekends 11AM – 4PMClosed major Public Holidays3. Kent Ridge#02-12, One@KentRidge, 1 Lower Kent Ridge Road, S119082Weekdays 11AM – 8PMSaturdays 11AM – 3.30PMClosed Sundays & Public Holidays4. Marina One#B2-52, Marina One, The Heart, 5 Straits View, S018935Weekdays 11AM – 8PMClosed Weekends & Public Holidayshttps://www.facebook.com/apoketheory/ Delivery OptionIf you’re a closet Poke fan or prefer having your poke bowls delivered to you, you can order on apoketheory.oddle.me/ apoketheory.oddle.me/We’ll be visiting the shop soon to try out the food on our next halalfoodhunt adventure so keep posted!
