Tis Me Michelle

Next stop in the Mills Market tour was Kai Kai! I’d almost Door Dash’d Kai Kai so many times, and I was like… I go to Mills all the time… I’ll go in person one day! Finally made it! This booth highlights Cantonese food with BBQ meats and handmade dim sum. My eyes were all for the meats.

The Meal: You can order the meats in a few different ways. Either straight meat by size or with rice and bok choy. Since I have decision paralysis, I went with the rice box with two meats for $16.85. I chose the Honey BBQ Char Siu Pork and Roast Duck. The Roast Duck rice box alone was $16.50, so I didn’t feel too bad. It was a decent portion, plenty of rice. I was really pleased with the bok choy and would have been happy with all bok choy and no rice. There was a good amount of meat as well, enough for me to split into a couple meals.

The Honey BBQ Char Siu Pork was so yummy. The perfect cuts with the leaner portions and a bit of fattiness, too. Sometimes I’ve ordered it from other places, and it can be a bit tough, but this was cooked super well. Has that sweet honey flavor, but is well balanced and still savory.

And the duck was cooked just as well. I’ve only had roast duck a couple of times, and I think all of those times were in London. This was probably my favorite. I’m pretty sure I tried Peking Duck in London, and this is Cantonese style. It seems Peking Duck is minimalist with a highlight on that crispy skin. You then eat it with the thing pancakes and sides. The Cantonese version is the maximista, adding aromatics and flavor to the duck that you can eat up all on its own. At first bite, I noticed how tender it was. Then I took another bite and all the aromatics came through, specifically a delicious five-spice flavor. So yummy.

Overall: There was a very short line for Kai Kai when I ordered, and it stayed steady throughout the day. The ordering line was short, but there was a bit of a wait to receive the order. I probably waited about 15 minutes. Not terrible, but the market is pretty small, so I would not have known what to do with myself if I had to wait while it was busy.

I’d recommend this spot if you like Cantonese Chinese food. I would come back for this same order again. I want to try the other meats, but even more so, I want to try some dim sum options next time! If this were a bit closer, I’d make this a monthly rotation.

Rating: 8.6

Address: 1110 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL 32803