Last week, I realized I have never enjoyed a poke bowl, or even worse, I have enjoyed one and the stroke-rattled fragments of memory are too long gone to remember it.
Either way, I decided to try one out, and sample a restaurant I have only heard about – Full Moon Sushi and Bistro, 326 E. Main in Norman.
Encompassing both a rocking sushi bar and a pleasant bistro, the Main St. eatery features a streamlined setting of not only Japanese treats, but other edible fares like fried chicken, kimchi fries, and, one of my favorites, steamed buns.
One of Full Moon’s delicacies, the Steam Buns ($8.50) are a true cat-call of a dish: two mighty plump steamed buns, accented with pickled cucumber, cilantro, shiso aioli, and hoisin sauce, and topped with always remarkable, always prophetic, and aways avowed pork belly.
To all intents, constructions, and purposes, this a grand dish. The steam buns are filled with doughy sweat and are muscularly flabby – a tenuous texture in food-porn.
Overall, it’s a long-lasting treat that, when manhandled with the extremely fat-forward slaps of the pork belly, is a true miracle of taste that leaves me wanting more.
Sounding like a mid-grade prog-rock Canadian band, I also went with the Cold Asparagus ($6.50) – a vast field of raw asparagus spears liberally seasoned and topped with yuzu vinaigrette, carrot shavings, green onions, and miso aioli, bundled together in the wild, creating an ideal appetizer.
Although served cold, the dish was absolute fire. The strands of the drenched root, with the bit of the bits of savory onions, made it a perfect snack—not very heavy, but still incredibly satisfying. I was munching on the fourth spear, wanting to stop but irrevocably shoving another elongated stalk in my gullet.
But, like I said, what I really wanted was to playfully fondle Poke Bowls.
For this adventure, I went with the vegetarian option ($12.65). Beautifully portioned, the assorted veggies were well-stocked in the bowl: cucumbers, avocado, asparagus spots, and assorted shaved vegetables, as well as the lump sum of white rice and a few sheets of seaweed paper.
As I imagined, the bowl was a rare treat – something like a sublime salad, sprinkled with lemon and raw ginger for a twist.
I was enthralled with this discovery, even if I am late to the game. As I gratefully grazed on this splendid poke bowl, I never knew the combinations that could be tried, with every bite a new discovery.
Well, at least from what I can remember.
Cómpralo ya!
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Follow Louis on Twitter at @LouisFowler and Instagram at @louisfowler78.
