Kahakai Poke Bowl is a New Plymouth food truck serving fresh Hawaiian-style poke bowls and tacos, made to order at Liardet Street Projects on 21 Liardet Street. Every bowl is built in front of you, and the entire menu is 100% gluten-free and 100% dairy-free, with plant-based options woven in from the start.
The truck was born from a craving. Founder Annie Foley, after years working in hospitality, fell for poke bowls on regular trips back to Montréal to visit family — fresh, colourful meals that felt like takeaway you could feel good about. Finding nothing similar in New Plymouth, she bought a food truck, gave it a complete makeover, and Kahakai was born. The name means shore, or coast, in Hawaiian — a nod to poke's origins, when fish caught along the Hawaiian coastline was cut into cubes and eaten simply with salt and seaweed.
Kahakai's style sits in poke's modern evolution: Hawaiian freshness meets bold Japanese-inspired flavours and colourful toppings — like a big, delicious deconstructed sushi roll in a bowl. Choose your poke (from katsu glazed chicken karaage and marinated fresh salmon to creamy ceviche and torched miso aburi), pick a base of sushi rice or spinach, then go Basic or load up all the vegetables with The Signature. The same proteins land in corn-tortilla poke tacos, plus snacks like karaage bites, miso soup, garlic edamame and lotus root chips.
The truck parks inside Liardet Street Projects, the local food court with relaxed seating, a children's play area and a pool table — easy to settle in and stay a while. Order delivery on Uber Eats or call ahead for pickup. Locals have noticed: five-star reviews call the prawn bowl so good two people regretted sharing one.
Kahakai Poke Bowl started with a craving that wouldn't go away. For years, founder Annie Foley flew back to Montréal to visit family, and on those trips she fell for poke bowls — fresh, colourful, nourishing meals packed with flavour that felt like takeaway you could actually feel good about. Every time she returned home to New Plymouth, she wished there was somewhere local doing the same thing. There were plenty of takeaway options, but few that felt fresh, healthy, filling and exciting all at once. So after many years working in hospitality, Annie bought a food truck, gave it a complete makeover, and Kahakai was born.
The name is a fitting one: kahakai means shore, or coast, in Hawaiian — a tribute to where poke began. Traditionally, fish caught along the Hawaiian coastline was freshly cut into cubes and enjoyed simply, with ingredients like salt and seaweed. As poke has travelled the world it has adapted along the way, and that evolution is exactly where Kahakai's style sits: the fresh spirit of Hawaiian poke brought together with bold Japanese-inspired flavours and colourful toppings. Think of it as a big, delicious deconstructed sushi roll in a bowl.
Everything at Kahakai is built to order, in front of you, every single time. A build-your-own bowl starts with your poke: katsu glazed chicken karaage with a soy-honey dressing, marinated fresh salmon with ginger and wasabi ponzu, lemongrass pulled beef with a zingy lime dressing, juicy grilled prawns with zesty Volcanaise, fresh creamy ceviche in coconut and lime, torched miso glazed aburi with a fresh miso-lime sauce, Hawaiian pulled pork with pina jus, or tofu karaage with ginger teriyaki. From there you choose a base — sushi rice, spinach, or half and half — and then a style: The Basic keeps things simple with poke plus base, while The Signature loads your bowl with all the vegetables. Every bowl is finished with Japanese mayo, crispy shallots, coriander and sesame seeds, unless you ask otherwise.
If you'd rather eat with your hands, the same line-up of proteins lands in poke tacos, on corn tortillas with red cabbage and avocado, in either The Hawaiian (mango-lime salsa) or The Tex-Mex (corn-lime salsa) style. Smaller appetites are covered too, with mini poke bowls, chicken and tofu karaage bites, sushi bites with ponzu, miso soup, garlic edamame beans and lotus root chips with the house "Fire Down Below" mayo. Drinks run to coconut water, yerba mate and the Arepa Brain Drink, still or sparkling.
One of the biggest reasons locals keep coming back is the menu itself: the whole menu, no exceptions, is gluten-free and dairy-free. There's no cross-menu guesswork and no wondering which item might be safe, which has made Kahakai a favourite with coeliac diners. Plant-based eaters are looked after as well, with options like the tofu karaage built in from the start rather than tacked on.
Locals have noticed. Kahakai's Google reviews are full of five-star praise — one diner shared a prawn poke bowl with a friend and, in her words, regretted sharing instantly; another called it one of the best poke bowls they'd eaten since Japan. That's the kind of word of mouth a small truck earns by doing one thing properly.
Kahakai parks at Liardet Street Projects, the local food court spot at 21 Liardet Street in New Plymouth. It's more than just a place to grab food — the food court has relaxed seating, a children's play area and a pool table, so it's easy to settle in and stay a while. Lunch service runs Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 2pm, with dinner from 5pm to 8pm Tuesday through Sunday.
Can't make it in person? Order delivery on Uber Eats, or call ahead on 022 368 4245 for pickup. For events and catering, the team welcomes enquiries by email. Good, fresh food made for the community — a takeaway option you can feel good about eating.