Mike L.
Yelp
Sure, I get it - reviewing a mall food court eatery feels a little silly. If you're out shopping and looking for something to eat, you're going to go with what looks good or whatever you're craving, not whichever spot has the highest ratings on Yelp. However, it's not like we're talking about Panda Express - that staple needs to no review/introduction at all. However, for a place that's a bit more unique to Hillsdale's airport terminal-esque food court? Feels like fair game to me, especially when their prices are comparable to stand alone restaurants out there. What happened to cheap food court meals? Sigh...
Seemingly tucked away in a corner of the food court (it's opposite the main wall/row of eateries), Blue Whale doesn't seem to have the same long lines as some of the other eateries during peak meal times/weekends. The menu is also decidedly atypical from most of the other spots here, featuring primarily poke bowls and sushi, though they also have a variety of hot foods made up of Asian and Hawaiian favorites, like Chicken Katsu Bowls, Musubis, Adobo Pork Belly Bowls, and Bibimbap. The Loco Moco with Galbi, in particular, looked really tempting, but I already knew I had to try their poke bowls.
With three different bases to choose from (White Rice, Brown Rice, and Mixed Greens, four basic toppings (Crab Salad, Cucumber, White Onions, Mac Salad, Cucumbers), two premium toppings (Avocado and Wakame are +$2 each), nine types of poke (Classic Hawaiian Tuna, Ahi Tuna, Salmon, Sweet & Spicy Shrimp, Salmon Furikake, Garlic Tuna, Spicy Salmon, Spicy Tuna, and Vegan Tofu), six toppings (Green Onions, Edamame, Ginger, Pineapple, Corn, and Jalapenos), five sauces (Housemade Ponzu, Chef's Sauce, Spicy Mayo, Cho Chili, and Sweet Maui Onion Mayo), and three seasonings (Furikake, Fried Onions, and Sesame Seeds), Blue Whale actually gives you a decent number of ways you can customize your bowl!
For my order, I opted to go with the THREE SCOOP POKE BOWL ($16) with Classic Hawaiian Tuna, Furikake Salmon, and Salmon with Cucumber, White Onions, Crab Salad, Mac Salad, Wakame (+$2), Green Onions, Edamame, Ginger, Fried Onion, Furikake, Sesame Seeds, and their Chef's Sauce (Ponzu and Sesame Oil) over White Rice. All together, this made for a pretty decent bowl. The mac salad wasn't that great, but the rice wasn't overcooked like how I had feared, the cucumbers were crisp, and the crab salad wasn't overly dressed. As for the poke, all three were pretty fresh, but the Classic Hawaiian was easily my favorite. As for the Furikake Salmon and regular Salmon, they actually weren't far behind either; they just didn't really stand out.
While I would give my poke bowl THREE AND A HALF STARS based purely on taste, I feel like they're a little closer to three than four. Even though it's not terribly skewed, the portion size felt lighter than others I've had and there aren't quite as menu options/choices here (other places offer more types of poke, like octopus, hamachi, etc.). Still, you can certainly do worse, for both a poke bowl and for a place to eat inside Hillsdale.