Poke Bowl

New Poke Restaurant Opens in Morrisville

Morrisville, NC – With the growing trend in poke, a new restaurant in Morrisville is looking to stand out with a focus on quality, local seafood and a unique setting.

Poke Bowl

Local, Fresh Seafood

Hi Poke on Chapel Hill Road in Morrisville is opening in late May 2018, selling primarily poke bowls with other seafood as well.

Poke (pronounced poh-kay) is a salad made with raw fish with vegetables, fruits, sauces, seasonings and grains mixed in. Options at Hi Poke include tuna, eel, chicken, shrimp, octopus and daily catches, as well as other components such as mango, furikake, avocado, edamame, onion and more. Poke started originally in Hawaii – “poke” in Hawaiian means “to cut” – and the interior of Hi Poke reflects that origin.

Poke Bowl

“We wanted to decorate the walls with this Hawaiian theme and have lots of boats,” said Sha Lin, co-owner of Hi Poke. “We really like the ocean theme and it also reminds us our home town in China in Fujian province was near the beach.”

Lin said Hi Poke will be able to provide customers with top quality products because they have partnerships with local farms for both fish and produce.

“We can also make special orders from our seafood partners,” Lin said.

They will also have options for people with dietary and personal restrictions.

“We often have clients ask about gluten-free or fat-free options,” Lin said. “Customers care about having healthy, fresh options.”

Poke Bowl

Creating a Relaxing Setting

Lin said she and her business partners were interested in not only opening a restaurant but opening one that uses their own ideas. And to that end, the interior decorations were also done by the owners and manager.

“We painted the walls, designed the interior, put up decorations,” she said.

With the bright blue walls and various nautical decorations, Lin said she hopes it makes customers feel welcome.

“We want to try to provide a relaxing setting,” she said. “We think that will attract more people.”

Poke Bowl

Hi Poke is also partnering with a baker to sell not just tea snacks but the store can take orders for custom cakes. Lin also said they will soon be selling milk tea along with the tea snacks. Also, the poke bowls are put in what Lin called environmentally-friendly packaging.

Hi Poke is located on 9573 Chapel Hill Rd. in Morrisville.

Poke Bowl


Story by Michael Papich. Photos by Michael Papich and Hi Poke.

2 replies
  1. Glenn
    Glenn says:

    Looking forward to trying it out. There’s also a poke place called “Zen Fish” opening up down the same stretch of Chapel Hill Road later this year.

    • Sidney
      Sidney says:

      Zen fish is open but I would not call it Hawaiian style. Looking forward to try Hi Poke and hope it is much more authentic with a good “chew” and flavor that is Hawaiian

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