BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Pokemoto, a Hawaiian-inspired chain with locations in dozens of states, soon will open its first Lehigh Valley eatery.
A husband-and-wife team are bringing Pokemoto to the city’s South Side, with a soft opening tentatively planned for Tuesday, August 13 at 5 p.m., with everything 50% off.
Set to open its doors at 4 Farrington Square on the Lehigh University campus (next door to The Cup), it also will be the only Pennsylvania location for Pokemoto.
According to its website, the company was founded in New Haven, Connecticut in 2017 in a vacant building across from Yale University.
It’s grown to franchises or corporately owned locations — including those currently open or in the planning stages — across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico in what appears to be a rapidly expanding portfolio.
What is poke?
While Pokemoto is known for poke — raw fish typically cut into cubes and marinated — it also will serve other proteins in its signature bowls, which include Hawaiian (with ahi tuna), miso salmon, Pokemoto tofu or sesame ginger chicken.
Build-your-own options also will be available, with bowls having a base of sushi rice or brown rice, poke burritos with sushi rice and a roasted nori sheet, or poke salad with mixed greens.
Proteins to build your poke bowl will include ahi tuna, salmon, shrimp, chicken, tofu, spam or lobster seafood salad.
Mix-ins for the bowls will include nearly a dozen options, including mango, mandarin oranges and pineapple, along with things like cucumber, fresh jalapenos and edamame.
Options within the Japanese culinary sphere include hijiki (a type of seaweed that has a black, twig-like appearance) and Ogo (a red seaweed often found as a signature ingredient in Hawaiian poke).
The sauce bar will offer 10 different flavors, including an option for a trio. The flavors are: ponzu, creamy miso, sesame ginger, umami shoyu, Pokemoto chojang, spicy mayo, chili garlic oil, sweet teriyaki, wasabi aioli or Himalayan salt.
There also are 10 different toppings to choose from, including things like pickled daikon (radish), or Tobiko caviar, while options like toasted rice puffs or garlic chips can bring an added crunch to the bowl.
Sides include hot miso soup, spam musubi and seaweed salad, and Boba milk teas and fruit teas also will be available.
Owner Feng Zheng said if everything goes according to plan, a grand opening will soon follow the soft opening, and is tentatively scheduled to take place Friday, Aug. 23.
The new eatery includes plenty of indoor space, along with themed-decor encouraging diners to "get in the aloha state of mind.”
