Two weeks ago I walked pass a poké place and I stopped to try after all the poké craze that I’ve been seeing on Instagram. I couldn’t understand the hype but then, after I tried it, oh my gosh, it changed my life. I’m serious! It was that good. Kinda like the type of food Fiona would eat because when I saw poké bowl in front of me for the first time, I said to myself that is so Fiona. Then me and a friend of mine has been commenting on my Instagram photo on which poké place to try next. And I told her Kurin just opened at NU Sentral and that she should try it out. She went to Kurin first as she worked nearby and I went last Sunday.

I brought my friend Bowie along as we had an event in the morning and we usually car pool. It was my turn to drive so she followed me. Bowie have never tried poké before and she has been wondering about it. We were at NU Sentral a few hours prior. We shopped around, had coffee and then we went to 5th floor where Kurin is at. I have a habit of googling before going to anywhere but this time I want to be surprised. First surprise was that I did not expect an outlet, second surprise was the outlet has a funky and cool yellow tiles all around it and the interior has the modern monochrome white and black. I love it already! According to Kurin, the splashes of yellow reflects the brands honesty, enthusiasm and positive nature.

As soon as I walked in, I notice a ready to eat section with pre-packed food. There are sandwiches, soba noodles, chia seeds pudding, sushi donuts, cold pressed juices and more. For a limited time only, you can enjoy 20% discount on all pre-packed food when you purchase either a poké bowl, pokeritto or salad at Kurin NU Sentral.

Now, every poké place has their own ordering method. Kurin offer healthy grab ‘n’ go food for busy consumers so the concept is similar to Subway whereas you order over the counter, make payment, and then move to the customization counter to build your preferred poké.

Each poké comes with two sizes – Regular, with 3 types of fruits and veggies choices and Large, with 4 types of fruits and veggies choices. If you’re a poké fanatic and you always wish your poké comes in a larger size, your wish now came true! The Large size surely can satisfied your poké cravings. I of course went with Regular as my tummy space wouldn’t fit the Large size LOL.

At Kurin, you will notice that its interior design features a transparent counter. This goes hand-in-hand with their grab ‘n’ go concept and that customers is able to see what they want in their poké as well as to witness with their own eyes on the food preparation. Everything is done in a clean and proper manner.

You will also get to see the freshness of their ingredients. Its being replenished at all times as it ran out pretty fast especially during crazy lunch hour. Kurin enforced a strict food and services standard as well as quality control. The day’s unsold food will be contributed to charity and NOT keeping it for the next day.

I was told that their proteins and vegetables are seasonal so nothing are permanent. Customers will be expecting to see frequent changes on the protein and vegetables selections.

Poké Don (Regular, with Torched Salmon – RM19 / RM24 for Large)

First try is the regular poké don or better known to everyone else as poké bowl. I have heard so much about Kurin’s torched fish. And so when I chose my protein for my don, I opted for Torched Salmon. This is a perfect choice for those who don’t take raw fish. There are a few types of proteins to choose from – Tuna, Salmon and Chicken. For vegetarian or health conscious individuals, there is even Tofu. The interesting part about torched fish is that I am able to see how they do it. It’s not cook at the stove but a quick torch. The salmon turns out to be perfect this way.

I had a regular poké don with Torched Salmon and Ponzu Fresh sauce as the flavour. My base is brown rice, seaweed, cherry tomatoes and corn. If you need extra crunch for your poké, you may add almonds, crispy lotus or crispy garlics.

The sauce is not over saturating the entire bowl covering the flavour of other ingredients. I can still taste every single ingredients especially the Torched Salmon. I was surprised that the cube size of the salmons are in generous portion. Absolutely satisfying. Perhaps I should add Avocado in my bowl the next round.

Pokeritto (Large, with Salmon – RM24 / RM19 for Regular)

I was excited to try something different and Kurin, I heard have exactly what I was looking for. Pokeritto is a hybrid between a poké and a burrito. It is a star dish here at Kurin. Other places offer a wrap version but not Kurin. Theirs looked like a Japanese style burrito.

For Pokeritto, Bowie and I agree to try the regular Salmon instead with Japanese short grain rice. Yeah we are going back to basic 🙂 . And for this we opted for Spicy Mayo sauce. There are a variety of homemade sauces and they are pretty interesting and unique, such as Wasabi Mayo (creamy Japanese sauce), Spicy Mayo (creamy sriracha), Ponzu Fresh (citrus infused soy), Teriyaki (with no mirin), and Classic (shouyu-sesame oil).

The Pokerrito in large became my dinner and breakfast for the next day (in a way) because I had it for dinner and I was full till the next day’s lunch. I am not kidding! 😀 . Between poké don and Pokerrito, after trying the Pokerrito I think that is the favourite of mine. The combination of all the ingredients goes so well with each other and I was really surprised. In my Pokerrito I have got to add Mango because for some reason Mango flavour sits very well in a poké. I’ve tried this combination once and I prayed that Kurin has mango and they did lol. I’m glad it wasn’t a sour Mango so the sweetness lifted my taste bud up. I’m a happy girl.

The next time you are around NU Sentral and wondering what to have to lunch, dinner or even tea time, wonder no more. I have been talking about poké so much recently like a broken tape recorder that I would not suggest anything other than poké. It’s a healthier choice that is absolutely delicious 🙂 . Have a nice poké Sunday everyone!

Kurin
Lot 5-10, NU Sentral Mall, 201, Jalan Tun Sambanthan. 50470 Kuala Lumpur
Opening Hours: Daily, from 10am to 10pm
For more information, please visit Kurin Website, Instagram and Facebook Page.