Want to feel the spirit of Aloha in Forest Hills? Look no further. Go to Kissfish, a bright, casual and cozy eatery in the heart of Forest Hills, a place for something fresh and healthy with a touch of Hawaii. Owners Ken and Nicholas of Kissfish offer mix-and-match made-to-order poke bowls, sushi wraps and sushi handrolls.
To order, just choose your rice, add a protein, choose your dressing and add an unlimited variety of toppings. Yes, you read it right. Unlimited!
We interviewed Ken, co-owner of Kissfish and here are the questions and answers:
1. Congratulations on the opening of Kissfish. Could you please tell our readers why the owners choose Forest Hills for their first KissFish eatery?
Because I live in the neighborhood myself and loved how family oriented the town is. Therefore, I decided to start Kissfish in Forest Hills because I believe having an additional healthy restaurant will be a great addition to the neighborhood.
2. In your opinion, what distinguishes Forest Hills from other neighborhoods in Queens?
I feel Forest Hills is a combination of Long Island and NYC combined because we have a very quiet and friendly residential neighborhood BUT have amazing easy access to shops and restaurants and MTA [subway and buses]. Also, the school system is excellent in Forest Hills, so it’s a great neighborhood to live and start a family.
3. If a customer has never had a poke bowl, could you please tell them what exactly a poke bowl is?
Poke “to slice or cut” is a raw fish salad as an appetizer or main course in Hawaiian cuisine. Usually [the fish] is marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil, and green onions. So a Poke Bowl would consist of the marinated fish on top of furikake and rice.
The poke bowl in Kissfish is a little bit different because we actually don’t marinate the fish. We order the fish fresh daily, so we really want customers to taste the freshness of the fish and not just the sauce. So we prefer to put the sauce on top or on the side.
4. What are the three top sellers at KissFish?
Hand Rolls, sushi wraps and poke bowls. “Sushi version of Chipotle.”
5. Will Kissfish serve dessert in the near future? If so, could you let our readers know what to expect?
Starting middle of April we will start serving a variety of mochi ice creams from ”Mochidoki” in Manhattan. As an Asian kid, I grew up eating mochi, and by far these are the best mochis I ever had. So this is a must-have in Kissfish so that everyone in Forest Hills can experience.
6. What inspired the owners to have an eatery that serves Poke bowls and sushi rolls?
I have worked in a Japanese restaurant in Manhattan for a few years as a server/manager. So I fell in love with Japanese cuisine and one of my favorite dishes or sushi bowls is “Chirashi” and sushi Hand Rolls. But of course, seeing and eating it all the time will make you bored of it. Then I discovered poke bowls and love it because it is so similar to a Chirashi bowl, just with many more different toppings!
That’s why at Kissfish, we offer customers unlimited toppings because we want customers to be able to have fun and be creative with their Hand Rolls, Wraps and Poke Bowls every time they visit Kissfish.
7. What should one order if he/she is vegetarian?
We have Marinated Tofu as an option for vegetarians and lots of vegetarian toppings to go with the marinated Tofu.
For additional information and menu, visit Kissfish’s website.
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