If you like raw fish on rice, you will definitely be a big fan of Poke. (And no, I don't mean Pokemon, I mean Poke - the healthy dish that originated from Hawaii and is slowly taking over Singapore as well). This honestly reminds me a lot of a good old Chirashi don. Think diced cubes of marinated raw fish atop of rice and topped with vegetables.
The way that Poke bowls differ from a Chirashi don lies in their sides and add-ons. Whilst a standard Chirashi will come garnished with Japanese sides like ikura, tamago and wasabi, Poke bowls offer your standard variety of cherry tomatoes, avocado and are usually topped with diced pineapples as well, a fruit that Hawaii is famous for. Also, instead of offering a wider spread of raw fish, Poke bowls usually come served mainly in marinated Salmon and Tuna.
Recently, I had a bowl of delicious Poke from Aloha Poke located along Amoy Street and I like the fact that they give us the an option for brown rice. I mean, if you're trying to be healthy, might as well be healthy all the way through, no? Besides, I'm starting to be accustomed to eating brown rice and I'm much preferring it to white on most days.
Have you caught on to the Poke trend yet?
If yes, let me know what are your favourite Poke joints! Remember - sharing is caring. Would love to hear from you all.
Exactly a year ago from now, I planned a surprise proposal for one of my best friends together with her now fiance. The proposal was at Santorini, which to me, is one of the prettiest places for tourists and couples to visit. The whole island is built in pristine blue and white and not to forget that the place is extremely clean. Definitely a paradise destination on Earth.
When we were there, I suggested for us to take a private yacht out one day just to explore the seas and I'm so glad that we did that! Let's just say that I've no qualms with being the third-wheel and lol. The receptionist at our lovely villa waited for us to return from dinner the night before (and we were back really late) so that she can confirm our yacht tour the next day. It was one of her contacts and I'm so glad she recommended us to them!
Check them out at Santorini Exclusive Sailing!
Needless to say, we were really excited for a day out at sea but were extremely under-prepared when it came to sunblock. Note to self: Always lather yourself with loads of SPF when you're out at sea!
We boarded at the base of Ammoudi Bay and you can expect loads of restaurants selling seafood there. They even have octopus air-drying on vines along the bay. What a sight! We didn't end up having a meal there but I'm happy to say that the privately-cooked meal we had on board was pretty splendid as well.
Here's our captain Vaios and Emilio in the background, his lovely assistant and chef for the day. Taking a private yacht out is extremely worth it because they restrict the number of people on board, making your experience that much more personal and intimate. We had another two ladies with us who were also staying at our villa and they were very nice and friendly.
Free flow drinks were offered on board and that includes wine. The one thing that I'm super amazed about is that there is wifi on board the yacht and the wifi is SUPER CRAZY FAST! It is even faster than that in the villa and I was literally face-timing my mom and my colleagues whilst cruising along in the sea. It happened to be a Monday that day and this is our version of Monday Blues. Blue skies and blue seas. (:
Very happy campers making the most of our time on the yacht obviously.
Our captain took us around and we had the opportunity to take a dip in the waters and OMG, just check out at how blue the water is! I have never seen water this clear and blue before (evidently in our Gopro videos that I am going to link right below this post)!
We also got to swim in geothermal waters where the water is not as blue and we got hit with bouts of hot and cold water every second. It was a very strange and weird sensation but something worth doing. If you are not a good swimmer, the yacht also offers you floats and I'm pretty sure there are life-jackets on board if you requested for one.
We were presented with a toast of Vinsanto (a traditional Greek wine) after our first short swim and a seafood feast after our second dip into the waters.
Look at all the food! Everything was so fresh and delicious and I definitely wasn't expecting such a great feast to be honest. I would already be happy if they provided us with some light bites, but THIS, was beyond amazing.
The yacht also have meters telling us the speed at which it is cruising at and the distance from it to the water bed. It was pretty cool to learn about these things and the captain was really happy to share with us about his yacht and the islands around us along the cruise.
The whole cruise lasted about 7-8 hours and it was just the best day out at sea!
