About
Proprietor Prach Prasertwit
Poke, the native Hawaiian seafood dish (of which its popular contemporary version has heavy Japanese influences) has arrived in the U.S. mainland like a wave this decade. Prach Prasertwit’s Poke Please (“I chose a name that sounds pleasant, polite, positive,” according to the owner) intends to offer their own version: “We take California poke and add a Thai twist,” Prach says. A native of Chiang Rai in northern Thailand, now living in North Hollywood, he honed his poke-making skills by going to the source. “I went to Hawaii, and learned from the locals,” he says. But his poke dishes won’t be the usual ones you’ll find around town. “We use different sauces and northern Thai flavors,” he says.
“The Thai Town Marketplace helps create new businesses in the community,” says Prach, who hopes to eventually expand Poke Please to multiple locations around Southern California. “Being a start-up, it’s hard to create a new business, but the TTMP was the perfect opportunity.”