Kai Kai Castle Bento If there is anything quite significant that have happened in the local F&B scene this early into 2024, it is probably the closure of Koh Grill & Sushi Bar at the Food Republic food court at Wisma Atria. The beloved Koh Grill & Sushi Bar has since ceased operations, and that the mini restaurant has since been replaced by another one that is named Kai Kai Sushi & Grill — turns out, Kai Kai Sushi & Grill is an establishment by the Teppei Group that is by Chef Yamashita Teppei that also runs Teppei Japanese Restaurant, Hana-hana Japanese Restaurant and Man Man Japanese Unagi Restaurant. Considering how quickly the mini restaurant within the food court had changed hands from being Koh Grill & Sushi Bar to Kai Kai Sushi & Grill, the space that Kai Kai Sushi & Grill occupies still maintains quite a number of cues from the former tenants especially in terms of shop layout and the type of furnishings being used. Kai Kai Sushi & Grill does seem to fill up the void that Koh Grill & Sushi Bar had left at the food court ever since their closure; the menu at Kai Kai Sushi & Grill comprises of sections dedicated to Appetisers, Deep-Fried, Grilled Skewers, Grilled Dishes, Hot Plate, Sashimi, Sushi, Sushi Roll, Handroll, Rice Bowls, Set Meals, and Noodles & Rice. The selection of beverages at Kai Kai Sushi & Grill includes hot / cold teas, canned beverages and alcoholic beverages like Yebisu Beer and House Sake.
The Kai Kai Castle Bento is no doubt likely the dish that one is going to see quite a fair bit on social media with regards to the items that Kai Kai Sushi & Grill has to offer. For one, the Kai Kai Castle Bento comes in a tiered bento box that is shaped like a heritage Japanese castle — the presentation of the dish does remind us of a particular establishment that is located somewhere else further down in Orchard that serves up Japanese cuisine in fancy dining ware, though what it contains between the two establishments are rather different. The menu at Kai Kai Sushi & Grill describes the Kai Kai Castle Bento to come with elements such as Minced Tuna, Tempura, Salmon Roe, Flying Fish Roe, Mixed Sashimi (5 pieces) and Rolled Egg — one can also easily consider the Kai Kai Castle Bento to be the item to go for that would possibly represent the establishment the best, since it comes with a mix of cooked and raw dishes; the latter being something that Teppei Group’s establishment are rather big about. All Set Meals item on the menu are also accompanied with Chawanmushi, Rice and Miso Soup. The bottom-most layer of the Kai Kai Castle Bento is where one can find the Tempura, Minced Tuna, and Salmon Roe sitting atop a bed of short-grain rice — we could definitely feel that this tier of the bento was created with texture being the core focus; the pearly short-grain rice matched against the crispness of the tempura bits as well as that of the fibrous minced tuna that provides some form of bite. This is also not forgetting the addition of the Salmon Roe that provides a popping sensation as well as a hint of umami flavour that gives this tier of the Kai Kai Castle Bento so much flavour.
The middle tier of the Kai Kai Castle Bento is where one would be able to find the five (5) different types of Mixed Sashimi — included here would also be the pickled ginger, wasabi and kelp; the selection of raw sashimi that was served up on the day of our visit comprises of salmon, salmon belly, scallop and tuna amongst one other. We can say that the seafood selection, including that of the minced tuna at the bottom-most tier of the Kai Kai Castle Bento were all pretty fresh and satisfying to have. Lastly, the top-most tier of the Kai Kai Castle Bento would be where one can find the Rolled Egg and Unagi. If anything, the Unagi was the better of the two; there was definitely enough sauce that came coated with the Unagi — it was also well noted that the slab of Unagi didn’t feel particularly bone-y or scale-y and was fairly easy to eat. In retrospect, we did find the Rolled Egg being slightly over-done for some part of the outer layer — a little dry to say the least. Other items that we had tried included the Kai Kai Hanabi Roll; an item that is part of the Sushi Roll menu that comprises of elements like Aburi Salmon, Grilled Eel, Avocado, Minced Tuna, Cucumber, Flying Fish Roe and Miso Mayo. This item reminded us of the sauce-laden, flame-torched Maki rolls that Koh Grill & Sushj Bar are particularly known to serve; a total crowd-pleaser with its distinct earthy umami-ness from the flame-torched Miso Mayo.
We had also tried the Pitan Tofu that sees the slab of tofu drenched in a generous serving of Pitan sauce and topped off with a good portion of Tobiko, while the Sukiyaki came with a soy sauce base with pork slices, Enoki Mushroom, Tofu etc.; very comforting and made even better when one dips the different elements into the Onsen egg that is provided by the side. Koh Grill & Sushi Bar might have been quite the establishment and its demise is probably one that most would miss. That being said, Kai Kai Sushi & Grill does seem like a really worthy establishment to pick up the realms of the legacy that Koh Grill & Sushi Bar had left — offering almost the same type of items that Koh Grill & Sushi Bar used to at a similar price point, and not forgetting about the strong name behind its branding as well. Whilst it is still relatively an unknown in the local food scene for now, we do expect queues to form up for Kai Kai Sushi & Grill soon in time to come!