Revisit: Fresh Catch Kaimuki

Over the years I've found that my love for cooking extends far beyond the kitchen and has taken root in other areas of my life. As a fisherman born and raised here in Hawaii I have had the privilege of catching a wide variety of tasty fish. Just like hunters who track a specific type of game, local fishermen must know where to go to catch specific types of fish. And just like hunting, fishing also has seasons allowing us only a short amount of time to catch fish that we otherwise would not be able to take home. Of course most of the time we come home empty handed which is why it is called "fishing" and not "catching".

You're probably asking yourself what I'm trying to convey at this point. My point is that when a chef looks to the source of their dish they find valuable information about what they are cooking that might have otherwise have been overlooked.

Case in point: the moana (many bar goatfish). The moana's favorite source of food is rock and sand crabs. This gives the moana a sweet crab-like taste that many local fishermen enjoy. As a chef you would want to take advantage of this knowledge. I personally would either stuff the fish with a crab mixture then bake and top with an aioli to be torched at the last minute or steam the fish and serve in a crab stock based miso soup. As a chef you want to know everything you can about your product and as a fisherman, you have a distinct advantage when it comes to seafood.

---------------------------------------------------------

Yesterday I decided to check back in on Fresh Catch to see what has changed.

I was relieved to find that my favorite styles of poke where still on the menu and that there were new creations that have been added to their line-up. If I were to suggest a handful of styles I would have to suggest the smoked tako, spicy hawaiian (limu ahi in spicy sauce), wasabi ahi and fireball ahi (very spicy. go with the less spicy stuff if you dont think you can handle). If you are feeling adventurous, there are a number of hard to find types of poke including korean-style top shell poke and spicy salmon depending on the day.

Although it was the poke that brought me back to Fresh Catch Kaimuki, it was the ahi katsu that will be bringing me back in the future. Although it isn't the seared sushi grade ahi katsu you might find "up the street" that will put a hole in your wallet (enough speculation on where I'm talking about) it is VERY good and is a large portion for only $10.25. The ahi katsu is topped with an aioli and a generous amount of furikake and would have to be one of the better fish dishes I have had in awhile (I've been trying to eat fish at least every other day for a month now). Now that I know that their ahi katsu is good I will have to come back to try more of their cooked menu.

For rating and full review click here.

Fresh Catch's Website.

Fresh Catch Kaimuki

Fresh Catch Kaimuki

After stuffing our faces full at Genki Sushi, we drove just a few short minutes over to Fresh Catch in Kaimuki. You can easily spot Fresh Catch driving down Waialae Avenue because of their colorful blue roof and giant tako. Fresh Catch resides in what used to be a Pizza Hut establishment. As you can guess, Fresh Catch sells seafood and more importantly poke.

When you step into Fresh Catch you are transported. It is spacious with a few picnic type tables, and a long refrigerated counter. Besides poke, Fresh Catch also sells plate lunches (Beef stew, lau lau, salmon, etc.) as well as marinated meats ready for the grill. But the main attraction at Fresh Catch is the poke. So many to choose from, so little time. Fresh Catch has a number of traditional and non-traditional styles of poke.

I had been fortunate enough to have been given a $25 gift certificate from a family member so we planned on making the most of it. We ordered the traditional Shoyu poke and limu aku poke but also ordered an outrageous poke dubbed "Fireball Ahi Poke". Now Fresh Catch has a spicy ahi poke so I thought I knew what I was getting us into (i was wrong). Along with the more traditional fish pokes we also picked up a smoked tako poke and a Korean-style top shell poke. At a quarter pound each (a half pound for the shoyu poke) and an energy drink (I have a soft spot for energy drinks) our total came out to $25.24. A deal for a pound and a half of gourmet poke (and let me tell you this is gourmet!).

We bid farewell to Fresh Catch and headed back home where we would eat our delectable poke for dinner (with rice of course).

Limu Aku PokeShoyu PokeFireball Ahi PokeSmoked Tako PokeKorean-style Top Shell Poke

The first thing that I tried was the limu aku poke. It was wonderful. I would have to rate this among the best poke that I had ever eaten. I tried the shoyu poke and that was also to die for. Some places don't add enough flavor to their shoyu-style poke. This shoyu poke had just the right amount of saltiness. I was hesitant to try the fireball ahi poke so I opted to try the Korean-style top shell poke. Top shell, more commonly known as whelks, are water snails. Similar in texture to a large opihi, top shell is chewy and has that nice snail flavor. I've grown up eating top shell so it doesn't bother me at all. Next I tried the smoked tako poke. This, by far, was the best of the bunch. It was slightly spicy in a mayonnaise sauce but the best part about it was the smokey tako taste. This was good smoked tako. I would eat it by itself. But with the sauce, it was just amazing. The smoked tako poke is a must buy if you are going to Fresh Catch. At long last it was time to taste the dreaded fireball ahi poke. It tasted great. One of the best if not the best spicy ahi poke that I've ever had. There was just one problem...I was on fire. I can usually take the heat but this was just excessive. I suggest buying the spicy ahi poke unless you feel adventurous.

In the quality vs quantity battle, I feel that quality has prevailed. This was some of the highest quality poke I have ever tasted. The flavors were outstanding and the ideas were just amazing. I am certainly buying my poke for my next Super Bowl Party at Fresh Catch. In truth, I sat here looking for something bad to say about the place, but I just couldn't find anything and that is hard to come by for someone such as myself.


Rating System: 1-2.5-5 (poor-average-excellent)

Service: 4 (very friendly counter staff)
Food Quality: 4.5
Monetary Value: 3
Quality vs Quantity: Quality
Overall: 3.75


Contact Info:

Address: 3109 Waialae Ave.
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Phone: 808-735-7653
Hours: Closed (Monday), 10AM-7PM (Tuesday-Friday), 8AM-7:30pm (Saturday), 8AM-5PM (Sunday)