Canberra’s first dedicated poke bowl joint has arrived! If you’re a lover of ceviche, sashimi, fresh flavours and healthy eats then you need to get yourself to Supa Bowl ASAP. If you’re not a fan of raw fish then don’t worry because there are also options to satisfy you!
Poke bowls can be found on the menu of a few trendy Canberra restaurants but Supa Bowl is the first place in Canberra that specialises in poke bowls. Supa Bowl is a small, light, bright poke bar located near No Name Lane in the city. You can sit on a bar stool inside or at one of the tables outside. If there’s no space or if you’re in a rush, take your poke bowl to go because they’re all served in takeaway containers.
Originating in Hawaii, poke (pronounced “poh-keh”) bowls have been become a trending food item, with some cities around the world having more than 20 poke bars! For those of you who aren’t familiar with a poke bowl, in its simplest and most traditional form, poke is fresh raw fish cubed and seasoned with salt and served with a variety of fresh vegetables or nothing at all. Poke has been around for years and began with fishermen seasoning the cut-offs from their catch to serve as a snack. It’s now a popular dish in many countries and is heavily influenced by Japanese and other Asian cuisines.
The ordering process at Supa Bowl is unique and simple. Grab your order form when you enter, select what you want and hand it over to one of the friendly staff to process your order. No cooking is required so it doesn’t take very long before you have your bowl of delicious, fresh goodness.
Supa Bowl have five different bowls for you to choose from or you can build your own bowl choosing from a range of bases, proteins, toppings, sauces and garnishes. The combinations are endless! If you don’t eat raw fish or if you’re vegetarian then you can have chicken or tofu as your protein. So there’s something for everyone!
We tried the salmon bowl with brown rice and the tofu bowl with zucchini noodles. The salmon bowl was filled with fresh salmon, cucumber, edamame, beetroot, daikon, Supa Bowl sauce, toasted nori and tobiko. The tofu poke was topped with kimchi, edamame, shallots, radish, sweet corn, miso tahini, toasted nori and fried onion. Both were flavoursome and filling! I thought the portion size was spot on and we actually couldn’t finish them (although we had just finished filming a video for Eat Canberra Food Tours so we weren’t overly hungry) but we took them home.
If you’re thirsty you can pair your poke bowl with one of Supa Bowl’s iced rooibos teas or a cold pressed juice from The Fix. I had the plain rooibos and it was refreshing but it’s sugar free so don’t expect it to be sweet. There are a few flavours to choose from and you’re given the cup to fill yourself.
After you’ve finished your poke bowl you might be craving something sweet…. cue the egg puffles! Egg puffle cones are another food trend and they’re a fun take on a waffle. It’s a spherical egg-based waffle that’s popular in Hong Kong and Macau. They’re sweet and crispy on the outside! Supa Bowl have a selection of gelato and topping so you can create your ultimate puffle or you can have it plain. I pulled each of the spheres off and scooped the gelato up with each one – yum!
So why puffles? Supa Bowl’s owner, Vivian, is originally from Hong Kong and spent many years in Canberra when she was younger. When she returned to Canberra as an adult she missed the tastes of her childhood snacks (egg puffles), so she recreated the recipe and perfected it after several trials. They’re one of the most popular street foods in Hong Kong and they’re kind of addictive…. Once you’ve had one you’ll probably find yourself coming to Supa Bowl just for dessert!
Vivian and her family are also big fans of sashimi which is another reason why they opened Supa Bowl. They did some research after discovering the poke bowl, tried multiple recipes and thought that Canberra was in need of a dedicated poke bar! Vivian is an avid cook so all the recipes are hers. From the homemade sauces, egg puffle batter and all the rooibos blends.
Supa Bowl strives to use the best quality ingredients and they use organic sugar for the iced tea, only gluten-free soy sauce, free-range chicken breast for poke, free-range eggs in egg puffle batter, 100% yuzu juice imported from Japan, one of the best 100% fruit powder for the iceed tea and more. Supa Bowl also spend extra money to use BioPak packaging that’s environmentally friendly.
So why should you add Supa Bowl to your ‘to eat’ list? It’s quick, it’s healthy, it’s different and it’s really tasty!
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Amelia Bidgood
Amelia is the Founder and Editor of Eat Canberra and the Founder and Managing Director of Eat Canberra Food Tours. She's a qualified journalist, presenter, freelance writer and also runs a boutique communications agency working with small business owners on all things social media, content creation and marketing. She's taught cheesemaking classes, judged hospitality and tourism awards, completed the WSET Level 1 Award In Wines, loves to cook and has travelled to 23 countries. She's also passionate about mental health and has recently started studying to become a Counsellor.