Eating Clean

Poke bowls are one of the best things that have happened to Singapore, methinks. And Poke Doke sure nailed the concept. There were 10 choices of poke (including an vegetarian option), of which I picked the Original Salmon and Hamachi with Oriental sauce, the latter a seasonal topping. Both were well-marinated and were silky-smooth in texture.

Apart from your base (rice/salad/soba) and 4 regular add-ons, there are also premium toppings available, such as avocado and onsen egg at $1.50 each ('course I had to get both!). Not cheap, but I'll gladly pay for it when the craving strikes.

The first time I tried an acai bowl was at Project Acai, where I decided that eating clean wasn't really for me. Am glad I gave it second go at Haakon, because I found theirs to be really enjoyable, like a berry smoothie in a bowl with none of that grassy taste I'd experienced previously. Love the caramelised notes in the crunchy granola; the coconut chia seed pudding added a subtle fragrance and texture to it as well. Jazz up your bowl with add-ons ($1 each) like cacao nibs and almond butter—I recommend the latter, which adds a delicious nutty & savoury edge to it.

I'm no organic food loving hippie, but I could definitely taste the difference between Mahota's organic vegetables and the conventional ones. The light mushroom & tomato soup (konbu vegetables and pork broth also available) broth brought out their naturally sweet flavours, as it did the rest of the ingredients that came with this set -- mushroom medley, konjac noodles, multi-flavoured homemade tofu, tender pork slices, and quinoa chicken balls, which had a weirdly soft texture which I couldn't quite appreciate. These went really well with the variety of sauces which you can help yourself to at the self-service counter -- the nutty black sesame, punchy spring onion & ginger, and tangy "five elements" sauce were my favourites. At the end of the meal, they serve you a fruit vinegar shooter, supposedly to help with digestion. I was really impressed by the level of service provided by the crew, who were mostly warm, intuitive, and attentive. The ability to anticipate a customer's needs based on behavioural cues is one thing; service from the heart is another which far surpasses it.

Everything that I love and more! A relatively new item on the menu, the Maple & Genmaicha-Cured Salmon is similar in texture to gravlax, except it carries a tinge of sweetness and deliciously toasty fragrance. Their fresh salmon sashimi never fails to delight as those fatty omega 3s dissolve gloriously in your mouth.

The set also comes with nuts, ebiko, salad, and an onsen egg. Managed to swop the mixed grain sushi rice with soba, and ginger balsamic sauce to truffle balsamic vinaigrette instead. So, so satisfying 😌

A multi-coloured party of flavours, just what's needed to perk up any blah day. Tender thyme seared wagyu and pesto were a perfect match completed with sweet flavour bursts from roasted pumpkin, chargrilled furikake corn, cherry tomatoes, and zucchini. The carbs -- a blend of quinoa, bulgur wheat & pearl barley -- had a lovely bite to it and doesn't leave you feeling like a lump after.

Their homemade sourdough is the bombz. Soft & moist with a delicate yeasty sourness. One for dunking into the tomato & feta soup and the other simply with butter 👌 #burpple

So many goodies in a single bowl: Teriyaki roasted cod, 8hr pulled pork, marinated mixed mushrooms, furikake charred baby corn, sous vide egg, Thai marinated fungi (white fungus). Spiced lime cashews were supposed to be in there too, but it was missed out. The vibrant flavours make eating clean such a pleasure.

The price of your bowl varies depending on the no. and type of ingredients you pick (generally hovers around $15~20). Mine came up to $24.90 due to additional options such as cod and pulled pork.