Sam Choy’s Poke To The Max

Maybe I’ve been spoiled with the poke I had in LA, but I could not stand the taste or texture of the ahi tuna. I ended up throwing out 90% of what was in bowl. My coworker got the salmon poke bowl and that was decent. The search continues for good poke in Seattle!

The décor and setting is absolutely beautiful and clean, but the food is a little pricy for a small portion of poke. The poke bowl serves a good portion of rice and side of choice, but again a small portion of poke! Waitress forgot my avocado and gave a mere 3 thin slices for an added dollar.

Poke to the Max listed their location as 964 Republican today (on their website). I arrived a little after 11, trying to beat the line. No truck. No phone number, no Twitter/​Facebook/​Instagram/​website update. Phone number for their Rainier Avenue location is incorrect. No information anywhere. Frustrating experience for an overpriced lunch. Moral of the story– don’t go seeking this truck out, grab food if you see it.
Their poke is just fine. The platter comes with way too much rice, ask for one scoop instead. Flavor is good. Things taste fresh. I prefer the salmon to the tuna but others who get the tuna say there’s no difference.
If there’s a line, it moves pretty slowly. Not worth the wait, IMHO.

I was able to try the Ahi rice bowl and the Salmon Poke rice bowls recently on a lunch run to the Starbucks HQ grounds.
SO, SO GOOD! :D
I’m a huge fan of poke and we all know it can go sideways when poor quality ingredients (the ahi itself usually) are used. They definitely have great quality in their food. The poke was fresh, seasoned perfectly, and even the seaweed salad (that of which I am normally not a huge fan) was good. Both my coworkers who got the poke rice bowls raved at how delicious they were. One of the girls was even having poke for the first time ever and she became a fan!
They’ll definitely be seeing me around more often.

I probably eat at the truck once a week (sometimes twice =P) when they are parked at Occidental Park Tuesdays and in the International District Thursdays, both 11−2pm.My favorites are the salmon poke salad bowl, shrimp boat sandwich, and the garlic chicken with a side of Mac! My sisters favorite is the reconstructed spamusubi!
This truck is one of the more popular ones in the park and the line gets long if you don’t come early enough. Don’t be hangry and come early!

Quick, reasonably priced poke downtown? Yes please!
We tried Sam Choy’s Poke Truck downtown Seattle truck which usually floats around downtown between Westlake, SLU, and the terminus of the S.L.U.T. during lunch time. The line gets a bit long if you show up at peak hours, but it moves pretty quickly.
We both ordered poke salad with avocado and were thrilled at the fresh, quality ingredients in our bowls. The only reason this was 3 rather than a 4 star review is that the actual flavor of the poke was missing a little something. There was a lot of soy and a bit of ginger and a wee bit of sesame, but it was just missing the real depth of flavor I was looking for. Will definitely try it again as it may have just been a slightly off day.

My usual go to place on a Tuesday for lunch in pioneer square! I have had pretty much everything on the menu :)
They don’t just serve Poke, don’t despair — in fact the majority of the menu is not Poke, but a twist on a list of hawaiian local favourite grub. Spam musubi, loco moco, garlic fried chicken etc. Good for tying one over until he/​she gets to return to hawaii!
The Poke bowl though is also great, I am partial to salmon so the Salmon poke bowl is what I get most of the time :)
Check it out if the truck is in your neighbourhood!

Delicious Hawaiian poke is hard to find, but Sam Choy’s Poke to the Max was worth seeking out! We had the ahi tuna and tofu poke bowls with mixed rice (white and brown) and a fried egg. Both were divine and generously portioned. My favorite part was the seaweed salad on the side. And what a treat for me to find a vegetarian version of poke, for once, in the light but hearty cubes of tofu in my dish. We were instantly loyal fans of this truck and we’ll seek it out again and again!

Had to add another star for a new review. I tried them again. Had the Aloha bowl with a fried egg. So good! Will be going back next week and get the same thing. This may turn into an addiction.

I was soooooooooooo stoked to finally try this place out, but I was underwhelmed. I ordered the ahi tuna poke which came with rice and seaweed salad. The quantity of the food was good, but the taste of the poke wasn’t what I expected. I personally prefer the poke at Costco, Metro Market and Uwajimaya over this food truck. The seaweed salad was good though. Probably the best I’ve had in a long time! I also ordered a side of mac salad which was just ok. Definitely have had better mac salad at places like Kona Kitchen, Aloha Plates and Lumpia World.
With all that said, the person taking the order was really nice and I got my food really quickly which was great because it was getting a little chilly outside. There were some things on the menu that I’d still like to try so I’ll probably check it out again and update my review if those dishes taste better, but for now… 3 stars.

Enh… Is the first thing that comes to mind. After reading a lot of the reviews I was hesitant to try sam’s food truck. I got the shrimp sandwich it was okay I really enjoyed the namasu inside. The spam musubi was good but not worth almost $ 8! My husband thought his garlic chicken was okay too. Our general thoughts are it’s okay but not worth the money! Most reviewers who are from Hawaii didn’t like the poke so we didn’t even bother since Hawaii peeps know good poke. I would rather go to the box any day. Also it would be nice if they opened on time instead of making a bunch of people wait out in the cold when you’re supposed to be open.

This is by far one of the best food trucks that I’ve ever bought food from.
I ordered the Salmon Poke Rice bowl and it was delicious. The salmon was marinated perfectly and I loved the seaweed salad that it comes with. We also ordered the Musubi which was amazing. It was a nice twist to the normal spam musubi. I wish they had these types of food trucks back in Chicago.
The service was really quick and the quality of the food is amazing. I would def come back here when I’m back in the Seattle area. Life changing food!

Tuesday afternoon I decided to try out the Poké truck at Harrison & Boren. I came at a good time since it was stormy. Their menu had many options. Aaron, my cashier, had his aloha spirit on and was very helpful and friendly. Anyways, he made my decision easy. I ordered their famous ahi tuna Poké. Their marinade was on point and the lomi lomi and the spicy sauce made it very tasty. I would recommend to go try it out. Everything about the truck was awesome. Truck looked good with great service, great looking food, etc.
Can’t wait to go back

They’ve been coming to a farmer’s market hosted in Bellevue Downtown across the Barnes & Noble. So one day I tried them out and I became a fan.
I’ve always wanted to get decent Hawaiian Poke even since I had them in Hawaii, and most grocery store or restaurants around here are not hitting it at all. Poke is more than just some marinated and diced piece of cheap tuna fish.
Whenever I have a chance to grab my lunch from this track, I always get Poke bowl with mix of tuna and salmon fish. They come with two scoops of rice balls, you can choose between white and brown rice.
I’ve also had Loco Moco with extra egg option which I recommend if you are sharing the meal. Loco Moco tasted fine but maybe not as addictive as their Poke.
I look forward to try more things on their menu and update my review in the future.

Sam Choy’s Poke truck is my absolute favorite! I literally stalk this food truck and plan my lunches weeks ahead to coincide with their schedule.
My favorite is the garlic chicken. I like the poke, sans the sriracha sauce, being from Hawaii I prefer stronger authentic flavors but I will still eat it!
Prices are competitive with other food trucks, and in my opinion, well worth the convenience of getting decent Ono grindz for lunch at work on the Eastside/​northend!

Coming from Hawaii, the name Sam Choy is synonymous with Hawaii Regional Cuisine, a type of food that blends Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Native Hawaiian, and Western flavors all in one tasty dish! Going to one of Sam Choy’s restaurants in the ‘90s was akin to going to a nice Tom Douglas restaurant here: good food with local soul and fresh local ingredients. I was pleasantly surprised when I found out Sam Choy had a poke (pronounced «po-​keh») truck in the neighborhood I work at and was stoked to try one of their poke bowls!
For those who haven’t had poke before, it’s basically raw ahi tuna cubes that have been marinated in special sauce and often times mixed with stuff like chopped onions, green onions, sea salt, and ogo seaweed. The marinade in its most basic form is a mix of shoyu (soy sauce) and sesame oil, but there are so many variations of poke beyond this basic mixture! (All delicious, IMHO!)
Here’s what I had:
Ahi Poke Bowl ($ 11.55): One scoop of shoyu ahi poke was served with two scoops of furikake rice and a delicious seaweed salad. The ahi poke was ok but for the price I was expecting a higher quality cut of fish. Poke bowls in Hawaii are usually relatively inexpensive (about $ 6 at a local Honolulu supermarket), so paying nearly double the price for something that was only alright was a tad discouraging. The seaweed salad was delicious and screamed authentic Hawaii to me.
Overall, Sam Choy’s Poke to the Max truck is a decent way to curb your poke cravings, but the price is definitely incentive for grabbing ingredients from your local Uwajimaya and making your own!

4 star food, but 3 star rating due to price.
Food is quite good. the tuna poke, the rice bowls, all delicious. For lunch it’s good, not overly filling, and tasty.
Problem is it’s too expensive. food truck needs to be around or less than $ 10. $ 13 – 14 is a bit much for what you get. portions aren’t big enough to justify price.

We had Sam Choy’s Poke to the Max at Hellbent Brewery in Lake City. They were the food truck of choice on the night of August 22.
It was a little spendy for a food truck, but it was worth it! We spent $ 28 on two poke rice bowls and a side of mac salad. The rice bowl came with a ton of poke, two scoops of white/​brown rice, and a decent amount of seaweed salad. The special of the night was poke with a spicy aioli sauce and that’s what we ordered. I consider myself an aioli connoisseur, and by that, I mean I will literally anything with mayo in it, because it’s like, the preferred condiment of the gods, right? Anyways, I died and went to aioli heaven that night. The mac salad was… well, interesting. It had ginger in it and some other stuff I didn’t think belonged in a mac salad so I say pass on that.

This truck came to my work and I had to try it. I am huge fan of Hawaiian food and Poke. Prior to their arrival I noticed some of the reviews were not great regarding their poke (small portions, «just ok but not great») and I can confidently say I 100% disagree. I got the Tuna Poke Wrap (spicy with half brown/​half white rice) and it was HUGE, there was a lot of rice, slaw but just enough Poke to balance. The flavors complemented each other well, it was fresh and they were quick. When I was done, there were a few pieces or tortilla/​rice/​slaw leftover but I felt satisfied– not too hungry or too stuffed.
My coworker ordered the shrimp sandwich and was kind enough to give me a shrimp bite, it was fried perfectly and very tasty, I am sure the sandwich would have been just as bombdiggity.

I’ve been here twice, once last year and once this year as they seem to be regulars at the University District Street Fair.
There aren’t many places in Seattle with good poke or many places that even sell poke at all, so I always have to take advantage of this truck’s presence! Last year I had the poke bowl which was good, but nothing special. This year I ordered the poke again but as a salad for ~$ 13. Pretty pricy, but there was a lot of salad and the poke tasted fresh and delicious! The dressing on the salad was nice and I enjoyed the medley of different veggies in my to-​go box. I also really appreciated the deep fried tortilla strips as it added a nice crunch to my bites. Definitely a place to try if you like poke, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find the truck.
Fun fact: after I tried this truck the first time I watched the Chopped episode that Sam won. Woot woot represent!