Onigiri Kai Kyo Tei — Indulging my love for onigiris

Family day is just right around the corner, so my older sister and I decided to hang around Pacific Mall and found Onigiri Kai Kyo Tei as a food stop. My sister and I were very thrilled to try this restaurant because we both love onigiris, and we heard amazing things about the place. 

Restaurant entrance

Onigiri Kai Kyo Tei is a Japanese restaurant, specializing in making onigiris, located in Markham, Ontario (4300 Steeles Ave E c1, Markham, ON L3R 0N8, Canada — inside Pacific Mall's second floor). 

The restaurant offers various types of onigiris filled with unique fillings like creamy uni, spicy crab mayo, tuna mayo, grilled salmon, crab mayonnaise, raw spicy salmon, spicy crab mayo, smoked salmon and cream cheese, crispy shrimp with creamy mayonnaise, and many more. The onigiri I ordered was tuna mayonnaise, and my sister settled for the creamy crab mayonnaise. 

Overall, the packaging of onigiri's was packaged with care. The white paper bag included a napkin, and it was labeled with the onigiri I ordered to avoid any mix-ups; the onigiri itself was nicely wrapped with plastic saran wrap. 

Onigiri packaging

When I took a bite of the onigiri, I was greeted with a generous amount of filling; it was very saucy and the tuna did not taste dry at all. Similar to the tuna one, the creamy crab onigiri was jam-packed with crab and creamy mayo. All in all, the ratio between the rice and the filling was well-balanced and there was a perfect amount of mayonnaise.

Tuna mayo and Creamy crab mayo onigiri

For the most part, I really enjoyed the onigiris, but I thought the rice broke apart really easily — it felt like I was eating regular homemade rice instead of sushi rice, and the general taste was average. That said, I would go back and try the unique fillings — like the smoked salmon and cream cheese one — if I have extra cash to spare. However, the more unique the filling is the price will range up to approximately $6 (including tax) which I thought was a bit too pricey considering I can purchase onigiris from my local grocery store (my favorite so far is from Foody Mart) with a similar filling for less than $6. For the price, I felt like it is not worth getting the regular fillings like the tuna mayonnaise and the creamy crab because it is something that can be made at home or purchased at a local Asian grocery store. 

Regarding the service provided by the staff members, they were great! They were all kind and greeted us with a smile. If you are around Pacific Mall and are considering picking one up, I would recommend getting there early since the lines will start to get long! 🍙

Happy family day everyone!