Photo by Anthony Consillio
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Those who watched episode five of Netflix’s Street Food: USA, which featured local eateries on Oahu, might have seen a three-minute snippet of Ry’s Poke Shack on the North Shore.
As short as the cameo was, it garnered the attention of not only visitors and locals, but, as owner Ryan Ching describes, also that of professional chefs like Iron Chef Jose Garces, who visited not just once, but three times.
The business has also been recognized with multiple awards.
Ching and his wife, Khannie Ramsuvan, started the poke shack, which started following the pandemic’s impact on his construction business.
The couple takes pride in the shop’s eccentric and unique poke flavors.
“Since 2021, we’ve learned that that’s been our calling — creating unique, interesting kinds of poke as well as your standard straightforward kind (like) Hawaiian-style poke,” Ching says. “Doing the same thing every single day and just small tweaks, like we’re constantly learning a new tweak or a new revision every single day.”
To create new flavors, Ching has collaborated with other food trucks and small businesses.
One of the biz’s most popular poke specials is the KAsian Dynamite bowl ($17.50). It features KAsian Kreations’ Cajun garlic butter sauce.
“I think we realized … we really enjoy that, and it’s really been a hit for us, so not only do we feel like we’re supporting other businesses by using their sauces for poke, but it actually became something that we found a lot of success, meaning a lot of our customers really enjoy these new poke that we make with these sauces,” Ching says.
For a limited time, try the Hawaiian pesto macadamia nut poke bowl ($17.50) with a special pesto poke sauce comprising kukui oil and inamona (a traditional Hawaiian condiment made from kukui nut kernels and sea salt).
Besides bowls, the biz offers poke salads (one choice $19.50; two choices $25.50) and poke nachos ($24.50).
Ry’s Poke Shack is open 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (or until it sells out) Wednesdays-Sundays. Follow the business on Instagram (@ryspokeshack) for updates.
Ry’s Poke Shack
56-565 Kamehameha Hwy., Kahuku
808-387-6599
Instagram: @ryspokeshack
How to order: in person or phone orders
How to pay: cash, credits cards, Apple Pay, Venmo