[Review] Kaka, All You Can Eat in Markham

Website: http://kakaallyoucaneat.com/
Address: 3235 Highway 7E Unit 18A, Markham, ON
When I visited: December 2015, dinner, 3 people
Rating: $$,4.5

I am sure by now you have heard about Kaka, the Japanese all you can eat (ayce) restaurant located in the First Markham Place plaza that has a funny name but awesome food. The restaurant serves a-la-carte on weekday lunches, and is ayce in the evenings. The price is $24.99 for weekday dinners, $28.99 for weekend dinners and $9.99 for kids from 4 to 8 years old.

I’ve been trying to get a reservation since November of last year, and took me three tries before being able to secure one. The restaurant said that they could squeeze my group in at 4:30pm as long as we were out by 6:00pm. To my surprise, between 4:30-6:00pm, there were plenty of empty seats. I guess they leave room for customers to drop in at that time.

I would call myself a Japanese ayce pro. I often order for family and friends when I go, and it takes me a few minutes to glance at the menu because most of the menu at these restaurants are the same or very similar. After scoping out their menu on the iPad, which is how we ordered, I gave them extra brownie points for having many items not typically seen at other Japanese ayce restaurants. These items included the lobster bisque, spring egg, miso braised pork belly, octopus balls, okra, beef tataki, chicken heart, ox tongue, and quail.

I really enjoyed their special sushi rolls, especially the one with the pear (forgot the roll name), as well as the torched sushi.

They also offer oshizushi (pressed sushi). Because I have had really good pressed sushi at JaBisto and Kinka Izakaya, the one at Kaka did not come close to what these restaurants offer. The oshizushi at Kaka was ok but not amazing. They could work on adding more seasoning to the fish/beef and blowtorching it more. Still, big props on making these for an ayce restaurant!

As for other menu items, the sashimi pieces were huge with the quality comparable to other ayce restaurants.  The seafood ramen had tons of shrimp and clams but unfortunately the broth was bland.

To end the meal, we ordered tons of desserts. They were all outstanding! The cheescake, creme brulee, and chocolate pots were all done well.

Overall:

What makes Kaka stand out is the number of specialty items they have on their menu and the presentation of the food. The restaurant is also beautiful and modern, and the ordering system is efficient on the iPad. If you do not mind an early dinner, the 4:30pm time slot seems to be easier to book.