The poke bowl (aka the cai png of Hawaii) is typically made up of cubed sashimi (usually salmon or tuna), various fruits and vegetables and sushi rice.

It’s no surprise that this particular food trend is still going strong – somehow when drizzled with savoury poke bowl sauces, even grass becomes edible.

I’m a huge meat-eater who skips on veggies for most meals, but I actually eat all the greens in my Alter Ego poke bowl.

The only problem is that poke bowls are mad expensive in Singapore.

But I guess you can’t put a price on health (and Instagram likes), right?

Ranked from cheapest to most expensive, here are the 9 most popular poke bowl restaurants in Singapore.

9 MOST POPULAR POKE BOWL RESTAURANTS IN SINGAPORE

UMI SUSHI ($8.90 TO $10.90)

Everyone’s favourite takeaway sushi chain Umi Sushi has the dubious honour of selling the absolute cheapest poke bowl in Singapore, although it’s probably only for a limited time only as it is, after all, a sushi shop.

At $8.90 for a small bowl and $10.90 for a regular bowl, this poke bowl for you to satisfy your craving on a hot day but probably isn’t the kind you’d brag to all your Instafriends about.

SWEETFISH POKE ($9 TO $14)

Sweetfish Poke hails from California, and their bowls come in two sizes: Hungry ($9) and Starving ($14). The standard base is Japanese rice, however you can add $1 for red brown rice or chopped Romaine to make it a salad.

The menu is simple to understand without much thinking time needed. There are only 5 standard flavours:

• Hawaiian Original (salmon or tuna with edamame, onions, spring onions and chuka)
• Wasabi Mayo (salmon, mango, Japanese cucumber, walnuts, tobiko)
• Roasted Sesame (octopus/salmon, walnuts, spring onions, shredded cabbage, tobiko)
• Sweet Yuzu Cream (salmon, crispy garlic, Japanese cucumbers, spring onions, walnuts, tobiko)
• Kimchi (octopus/tuna, kimchi, Japanese cucumbers, spring onions and tobiko)

Address: 13 Stamford Road, Capitol Piazza #B2-30, Singapore 178905

SALMON SAMURAI ($9.90)

Clearly targeting the health-conscious CBD crowd with its 2 locations at Ocean Financial Centre and 100AM mall, Salmon Samurai is surprisingly affordable.

There’s just the one poke bowl – the soy-flavoured Salmon Poke – while the rest of its salmon bowls feature seared or sashimi salmon.

All bowls at $9.90 but you can upsize your salmon portion for an additional $6.

As a bonus, the food here is served in actual wooden bowls, which is a lot more environmentally friendly (not to mention prettier) than the typical takeaway cardboard bowls.

Addresses:

• 100 Tras St, #01-11, Singapore 079027
• 10 Collyer Quay #B1-08 Ocean Financial Centre, Singapore 049315

A Poke Theory ($9.90 to $15.90)

A POKE THEORY ($9.90 OTO $15.90)

Located slightly off the main central business district at Boon Tat Street is A Poke Theory, the flagship cafe by Tandem Collective, founded by local siblings Vannessa and Joey Lee.

The 20-somethings are protagonists of a high-profile success story – the business has since expanded to 4 A Poke Theory outlets, plus a sister store Alter Ego.

Despite its fame, A Poke Theory’s poke bowls are one of the cheapest available.

You can get a Light Bowl (75g poke or 100g avocado poke) at just $9.90, although the “normal” size is the Regular Bowl, $12.90 (100g poke or 150g avocado poke).

You can choose from the original shoyu tuna or salmon, or the spicy variants. There is also an avocado bowl that’s vegan-friendly.

Oh, by the way, A Poke Theory is halal certified too. You can see A Poke Theory’s menu here.

Address: 27 Boon Tat St, Singapore 069623

ROLLIE OLLIE ($9.90 TO $14.90)

Rollie Ollie has 3 outlets, but the one with the full poke bowl selection is Pasar Bella at Suntec City.

There are 7 bowls to choose from, but the most popular ones are Aloha Poke (from $13.90) and Yuzu Poke (from $14.90).

You can upsize your bowl by adding $3 and you can choose your preferred “base”.

There’s the regular sushi rice and brown rice, but also a specialty tea-infused rice (no extra charge).

The cheapest bowl is the vegetarian one; the Green Goddess bowl (from $9.90) has pan-seared tofu, tamago, edamame, and more.

Addresses:

• 1 Vista Exchange Green, The Star Vista #02-05, Singapore 138617
• 3 Temasek Boulevard Suntec City Mall, North Wing PasarBella Suntec, #01-K42, Singapore 038983
• 8 Marina View, #02-03/04 Asia Square Tower 1, Singapore 018960
• 160 Robinson Road, #01-03 SBF Center, Singapore 068914

ALOHA POKE ($10.90 to $17.90)

Before there were poke bowls at every turn, there was just Aloha Poke.

The poke pioneer now has 7 outlets islandwide, making it the biggest chain around.

You can say that everyone else are copy cats, but there’s nothing that special about Aloha Poke anymore.

Thankfully, it’s relatively affordable, with prices starting at just $10.90 for a customised poke bowl (Build You Own Bowl).

If you’re lazy to DIY your poke bowl, you can let the kitchen freestyle for you – but it’ll be expensive. The signature bowls are $16.90 to $17.90.

Addresses:

• 1 Raffles Link, #B1-65 CityLink Mall, Singapore 039393
• 1 Raffles Place, #02-21, Singapore 048616
• 8A Marina Boulevard, #B2-46 Singapore 018984 Marina Blvd, Singapore 018984
• 200 Victoria St, #04-01 Bugis Junction, Singapore 188021
• 391 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238872
• 3 Gateway Dr, #01-09 Westgate, Singapore 608532
• 78 Airport Blvd, Jewel, #05-200 Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore 819666

POKE LULU ($11.90 TO $19.90)

Poke Lulu is located at United Square and Oxley Tower, and the most unique thing about this poke bowl chain is that there are free flow sauces at the condiments station.

It may sound like a “duh” thing, but I’ve visited poke bowl stores that actually charge for extra sauce. I won’t name names lah, but you know who you are…

Menu-wise, it’s $11.90 for small (75g of poke), $15.90 for medium (150g of poke) and $19.90 for large (225g of poke). Keeping off carbs? Swap your rice for salad instead.

Address: 101 Thomson Rd, United Square, #01-K13, Singapore 307591

POKE DOKE ($12.50 TO $18.90)

Once it hits $12, I consider the poke bowl too expensive.

First to encroach into high SES territory is Poke Doke, which is at Millenia Walk – unfortunately for me, Poke Doke is serves my favourite poke bowls, so I suck it up.

There 3 poke sauces (original, spicy and wasabi), and a choice between salmon and tuna.

Depending on your appetite, choose from regular ($12.50), medium ($14.90), large ($18.90) or the carb-free pokerito ($13.50), which is just a scoop of poke plus 4 add-ons.

For $1.50, you can have premium add-ons like onsen egg, salmon skin, avocado and more.

Address: 9 Raffles Boulevard, Millenia Walk #01-95, Singapore 039596

ALTER EGO ($14 TO $17)

Alter Ego is the bipolar sister of A Poke Theory: In the day (before 9pm), it serves the clean menu of poke bowls and smoothie bowls, but after dark, it’s time for booze and deep fried burgers.

While it’s got a pretty cool concept, the prices are quite a bit higher than A Poke Theory.

The poke bowl menu is slightly different, with 5 pre-made options for you to choose from.

The cheapest one is the vegan Green Goddess ($14) – why everyone’s vegan bowl got the same name ah? – but if you want something more unique, try the Dynamite Kickin’ bowl ($17).

It’s got tuna in a spicy garlic-sesame seasoning, as well as super sinful salmon skin.

The poke bowls are quite pricey, for sure, but Alter Ego has affordable weekday set lunches that cost just $13.90.

A set lunch includes any poke bowl in their menu and comes with a choice of either hot or cold coffee, juice, T2 tea jugs, or soft drinks.

Address: 8 Raffles Avenue,#01-13D, Esplanade Mall, Singapore 039802

This article was first published in MoneySmart.