Ninja Poki Yaki Report

Newly opened Ninja Poki Yaki Japanese Healthy Food Cuisine adds a new option for High Desert residents who want something a little different.  Located in the Desert Mountains Plaza on the Northwest corner of Highway 18 and Apple Valley Road it joins a few other restaurants such as Di Napoli’s Fire House, Los Domingos and Maxwell’s Burgers.

Despite being called Japanese Healthy Food a cursory internet search indicates that Poki is actually a Hawaiian Invention. It can be describes as a salad made with raw fish and other vegetable ingredients.

The restaurant is set up as a bar where the staff assembles the Poki to your specifications.  Your order starts with a choice between brown or white rice and a fairly large scoop is placed in your container.  Then you get to choose between a number of seafood options depending on if you selected the regular or large option. I ordered the regular and got to choose three options.  Some of the choices include cubed raw tuna, spicy tuna, salmon, scallops, shrimp and others.  Your choices are placed in a bowl and then you get to select the vegetable components to add into the fish.  Cilantro, shredded carrot, corn and other options are available and are added into the fish.  You can also choose sesame seeds, furikake and other additions and there are several sauces/dressings that are then added to your salad.  The completed salad is placed next to the rice in your container.  If you aren’t sure on what you want the staff was friendly and will gladly walk you through the ordering process.

This restaurant style seems to be growing in popularity where your order is assembled to your specifications.  It seems like the kind of place that would become a hangout for a young college crowd.  Hopefully they can get the promotion they need to get a regular clientele.  They don’t have a website listed but there is a facebook page.