I Would Go Back for This: The Spicy Salmon Crème Brûlée Poke Bowl at Ocean Taste

Photo: Mari Taketa

My roommate, who kept seeing viral TikToks about a Spicy Salmon Crème Brûlée Bowl at South Shore Market, had to try it and said she would save me some. But when I got home, she had devoured the entire thing.

I get my chance a little later. It’s after a four-hour surf session, and I’m absolutely starving. I find the eatery, Ocean Taste, on the first floor. The line is out the door, and every table is full.

My poke bowl arrives in a pot pie tin. Crispy bits of caramelized sugar cover a mound of creamy salmon poke drizzled with soy glaze and Kewpie mayo. The fillings are stacked so high, it looks like it’s going to overflow. This is not a budget bowl—it costs $17.95—but it’s amazing because the entire surface is covered with salmon, unlike your average poke bowl, which gives Ocean Taste’s bowl a better fish-to-rice ratio than most.

Photo: Chloe Cornforth

The plan is to eat it when I get home. But one bite outside the restaurant can’t hurt, right? My chopsticks break through a thin, crystalized exterior to reveal fresh, rich salmon cubes on top of warm sushi rice. Walking to my car, I take a bite, then another, and another, and before I know it, I’m behind the wheel with an empty box.

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What sets this poke bowl apart is its expert balance of flavors and textures. The crunchy brûléed sugar creates a stark contrast with the creamy Kewpie “custard,” and the salmon melts in your mouth. The fluffy bed of sushi rice absorbs the sauces, so you get every flavor with each bite. Despite the sugary shell, the bowl isn’t overpoweringly sweet.

The genius behind this creation is Anna Ng, one of the owners of Ocean Taste. She was inspired by Japanese dishes that pair sweet-salty sauces with rich seafood, like grilled unagi with kabayaki sauce. Ng wanted to replicate this flavor profile with salmon while keeping the sugar in balance with the rest of the dish. So her soy glaze is less sweet, resulting in the perfect flavor combination.

Photo: Chloe Cornforth

The Spicy Salmon Crème Brûlée Bowl at Ocean Taste is more than just hype. What started as a viral TikTok has now become one of my favorite foods. I get my fix every week or two, and if I haven’t just come from a four-hour surf session, one bowl lasts me two meals. I don’t think I will ever get a bite of my roommate’s bowl, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll get my own every time I’m in Ward Village.

Wednesday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., South Shore Market, 1170 Auahi St. L150, Kaka‘ako, @oceantastehawaii

Chloe Cornforth, Frolic’s fall 2025 intern, is a junior majoring in marketing and management information systems at UH Mānoa’s Shidler College of Business.