KaiohDon

Managed to find out about Kai-Oh-Don whilst scrolling around the phone one day; located in Alexandra Retail Centre, Kai-Oh-Don had opened their doors some time back in 2023 though they can still be considered as quite a recent addition to the mall since there has not been much movement in the tenancy for this mall. Situated at Level 2 of Alexandra Retail Centre, Kai-Oh-Don can be found around the same area that one can find the outlet of Zhang Ji Shanghai La Mian Xiao Long Bao, Chuan Taizi Mala Tang 川太子麻辣烫 and Hundred Grains there — Kai-Oh-Don can be found occupying an area meant for a kiosk along the shopping aisles of the mall surrounded by the above-mentioned establishment. Despite operating out of a space that is meant to be a kiosk, it is interesting to note that there is some space set aside for a dining area; the dining area though not particularly big, does have a decent seating capacity that would fit a few groups of twos and fours just about fine — there are also counter seats available for those whom are dining individually as well. We were initially a little surprised knowing that Kai-Oh-Don takes the space of a kiosk since this isn’t quite the norm for Japanese establishments — while there are some examples of such Japanese eateries out there, very little Japanese establishments would usually typically take up a space that has little working area. The menu at Kai-Oh-Don comprises of mostly Chirashi Don and Donburi dishes — the difference between two being how the latter features mostly rice bowls with cooked items instead. There is also a section of the menu dedicated to Sides and Add-Ons, while beverages available at Kai-Oh-Don includes hot / iced green tea, canned drinks, and hot / iced honey yuzu — just to name a few.

For those whom are looking for their signature item on the menu, this would be the Kaioh Kaisendon – a rather obvious clue considering how this item bears the namesake of the establishment as well. Kai-Oh-Don serves up their Kaioh Kaisendon in three (3) different portion sizes; the Small, Regular and Large — the one that we had opted for during our visit made was for the Regular size. Interestingly, Kai-Oh-Don also serves up a rendition that sees the use of truffle, but is otherwise entirely based on the Kaioh Kaisendon. Kai-Oh-Don describes their Kaioh Kaisendon to come with elements such as Sushi Rice, Kai-Oh Sauce (there is a choice to opt for it to be replaced with Mentaiyaki sauce or Aburi spicy sauce at an additional price), Salmon Cubes, Tuna Cubes, Hamachi Cubes, Baby Scallop, Tako Cubes, Crab Meat, Zuwaigani Cubes, Ikura, Tobiko, Tempura Bits, Spring Onion, Cucumber Cubes, Sushi Ginger, Wasabi, and Nori Seaweed. Here, the Kaioh Kaisen comes with sushi rice that is served slightly chilled; this was also something that we appreciated apart from the rice being a little sticky and lightly sweetened from the use of mirin since the temperature that it is served in would not result in a big contrast against the cubes of raw fish these is being served on top. It is noted that the flavours of the Kai-Oh sauce did not interfere with the original sweetness that the cubes of fish inherently carried; the cubes of fish also being fresh and provided a good textural contrast — the sauce mostly lending its flavour to the rice instead for a bit of a savoury touch. What was particularly interesting with the Kaioh Kaisendon was the inclusion of crab meat — something which we rarely chance upon for the basic Kaisendon elsewhere; the inclusion of crab meat added a note of crustacean sweetness and a bit of a more fibrous texture to the entire bowl.

Of course, the other elements such as the Tobiko and Ikura provided the entire bowl with an umami, popping sensation, while the inclusion of cucumber cubes provided some crunch to refresh the tastebuds and further adds on another dimension of texture to the dish. Also not forgetting the Sushi Ginger and Wasabi — the former adding a zing that tickles the tastebuds and a bit of an element of crunch, while the Wasabi adds on a numbing sensation that goes all the way up to the head if one gets a little ambitious with it. We also managed to try the Mentaiyaki Aka Ebi & Unagi Don; this turned out to be a Donburi item that featured an entire bowl of cooked elements — it also does come with Tamagoyaki that comes drizzled with their Mentaiyaki sauce. This entire bowl turned out pretty decent; an item that is seemingly a little more predictable with elements that are done fairly well and had nothing much got us to pick on. Since our orders of the Donburi was part of the Kyaputen Set Menu that sees a set of two (2) Main Donburis coming with Yakitori (4pcs), Miso Soup (2 bowls), Hot / Iced Green Tea (2 cups) and Japanese Mochi (2 pcs), we had managed to give the Yakitori from Kai-Oh-Donburi a go as well. While the teriyaki sauce was tasty and all savoury, we found the texture of the chicken rather odd being a tad mushy and lacking some form of bite to it.

There is some form of flexibility provided by Kai-Oh-Don for the mochi where one can mix-and-match two different flavours of mochi to form the two pieces that comes with the set amongst the different flavour of mochi that they have to offer — we went for the Sea Salt Mochi and Matcha Mochi and both tasted really similar; they came with the same pastry cream filling within the chewy exterior with the difference being the powder that the mochi were being rolled in. Overall, our experience at Kai-Oh-Don is mostly hits-and-misses; the establishment’s most expertise is mostly in their Chirashi Don and Donburi offerings that are highly emphasised in their menu, and indeed seems to be so amongst the dishes that we had tried. Their Chirashi Don / Donburi items can also be said to be reasonably priced; the items ranging from $11.90 to $27.90 with the lowest priced item being the Teriyaki Tori Don, while the priciest would be the Kai-Oh Trio Treasure Don — both being items from the Donburi menu. Kai-Oh-Don might not be a place that we would make a special trek down to Alexandra Retail Centre just to solve our Chirashi Don cravings; that being said, they do work reasonably well for those craving for such fare and are working in the area or for shoppers around Alexandra Retail Centre with a desire to go for Japanese fare.