KAIKA

For Japanese fine dining with a bit of interaction, Kaika offers two solutions—sushi and teppanyaki, served at bar seats in separate areas, in front of the respective chefs. Teppanyaki is their strong suit, with premium produce such as A5 Japanese wagyu, Iberico pork and vegetables flown in directly from Japan, and prices to match. The chefs cook with precision, although seasoning can sometimes be inconsistent, and engage in quiet conversation with diners, making it a good place for intimate dinners. The clever pairing of an intense red miso with the teppanyaki Nagoya chicken steak heightens the chicken’s natural flavours. Tender yet flavourful, the teppanyaki Australian wagyu rib eye is served with a slab of pink salt to season to your own taste. To finish, sea urchin fried rice is rich with the flavours of the sea thanks to its topping of ikura. The wine list, which is shared with Harlan’s, the fine dining restaurant next door, could use more imagination— while you’ll find bottles from wellknown winemaking regions all over the world, better priced and more boutique bottles would make it more attractive. The sake list has a decent number of small bottles for light drinking, but again, it would be more interesting to see smaller producers represented. Service, however, is top notch.