Kakadu 卡卡图
8 Jianguo Zhong Lu,
Fuxing Park
near Chongqing Lu
建国中路8号
近重庆路
5468-0118
Open 10-1am
Price Y200-Y299 per couple
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- City Weekend says
Head Down Under at this establishment which offers adventurous diners a true taste of the Outback. Emu, kangaroo and crocodile make strange yet interesting plate-fellows while a mix of aboriginal ingredients and indigenous fruits and spices heighten the experience. Don't forget to grab a "wattleccino" on your way out.
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I've been there twice now, once for the all you can eat BBQ deal on a Sunday (RMB150 BBQ and unlimited draught beer) and once for dinner and both were good. The steak was especially nice and the happy hour is generous, although it could do with lasting an extra hour! The restaurant is well decorated and is divided into smoking and non-smoking sections which is pleasant for those of us who don't want second-hand smoke blown at us while we eat. It's also very child-friendly and the staff do their best to accomodate. The only downside is the music that they play on repeat is AWFUL! If the management are reading this - that terrible middle of the road Michael Jackson covers CD you play over and over again should be burned for the good of humanity! But despite that I wouldn't hesitate to go back.
Food was good, wines were abundant, service bar staff, did their best to keep up, at happy happy hours.. This place offers a lot of charity opportunities to those in need! Sponsors of people who are in need, deserve the kudo's well done!
I was there for the set lunches today, there's quite a lot of variety for the set lunch (which is nice), and the price is very reasonable. Most lunches ranged from around 50-80 RMB, which would include a drink. You can also choose to add 10 RMB for a soup or salad and 20 RMB for dessert. Service was pretty decent (nothing outstanding though), but the food was a pleasant surprise. I opted for the Kangaroo pizza with fetta cheese and my friend opted for the emu meatballs and spaghetti. It was quite a novel experience for both of us, neither of us had kangaroo or emu before, so we were both in for quite a pleasant surprise with the kangaroo pizza. The meat was pretty tough, but it had a nice flavor to it. The emu meatball, after the surprise of eating something new, didn't have anything outstanding. The emu meatballs tasted just like.... regular meatballs. Overall, the lunch experience was fairly pleasant and the set lunch is quite a bargain.
The food at Kakadu has really gotten better and impressed my most recent lunch group! The staff is always smiling and trying to help, but the real reason to go is for the great food.
Fresh oysters, friendly waiters, cosy ambience and very yummy gnocchi! Definitely worth going back! (The lamb could have been better though)
I like the decor, the ambience. Ideal for connecting with old friends. Great burgers, thick meat patty, generous portion.
I was only there for some Stella a couple weeks ago, but the beer is cold, and the place is quite inviting! Very nice place!
It was too late to eat so we just had a late refreshing Australian beer. Decoration is great, color warm,place is perfect for relaxing, sofa cumfortable. The staff is smiling (even late), polite, discreet, nice, just perfect. I don't know if I will come to try the restaurant (I checked the menu and choices at least looks ok) but definitly for a late blonde beer in a nice environment YES, YES.
What happened to Kakadu? My guess would be that their chef left.... Menu hasn't seemed to be updated since this place opened. Quality & care of food has gone down hill as well; how sad. Waitstaff are still nice and friendly and with the enjoy card 50% off this place earned 2 stars.
I went to Kakadu yesterday with my family.
Reading the reviews I thought it would be an awesome experience for my birthday, so I also signed up to share the awful time I had there.
Asked first for the platter of Kangaroo, emu, crocodile as I've read to listen to 15' pitch about how hard it is to bring meat from Australia and the 'roo season, etc. OK (1st OK)
We ordered than the croc spring roll and calamari (tasty actually)
After ordering the main dishes, waited 10' before the waiter came to say my choice was not available (reef & beef). OK (2nd ok).
About 20' later they came to say that the dinner was taking long because the menu was new and the cook didn't know quite well how to prepare them. (OUCH!) . OK (3rd OK)
When we ordered the desserts, Aussie Tart and Chocolate mud pie, took another 10' to the waiter to come and say that the choices were not available (why didn't they told me upfront???)
I just ordered the bill to get out as soon as possible. Than the manager came to excuse, saying the Menu was new and the kitchen didn't know how to cook everything, that they were learning, etc..
What a lousy excuse.. What kind of business is Kakadu in?!? Do they launch a Menu because it " sounds good" ?
First, regretable and last time to that place, for sure. Even the good tasting food is not worth the experience.
I read the above small review by Geoff Ng (posted by Joanney here) in the printed mag, and I was quite shocked. So I have signed up to this site specifically to give my experience of Kakadu (and others, I guess, now that I'm a member).
So here's my take: I stumbled upon Kakadu about six months ago, and I don't think a full week has gone by since then, that I'e not popped in for a drink, a snack or a meal. I have systematically tried the entire lunch menu, dinner menu and cocktail menu.
Everything I've had at Kakadu is, honestly, just wonderful. The meals there are surprising and tasty, with blends of flavours that you're not likely to find anywhere else in Shanghai.
The Wattleseed-crusted baramundi is anything BUT "unmemorable" in flavour, texture and presentation. I've had that dish a few times, because it's a fresh, perfectly cooked Aussie dish.
The executive chef (Paul - your quintessential Aussie) has a way of making even 'typical' food a delight. Although I might accept that a person would experience an occasional dish that wasn't quite up-to-par (as in any restaurant), I can't conceive how, in one sitting, a person could have "normal" crocodile, "unmemorable" barramundi and "mediocre" gnocchi - all of which I have consumed and enjoyed.
And honestly, Mr Ng, having a flippant "Kakadu gets points for novelty" at the end just seems rude. Try getting crocodile or emu imported into China. I'm pretty sure they're not jumping through those hoops for "novelty."
My advice to my fellow punters is this: Go there. Try the food. And for God's sake, have one of their amazing cocktails!
Second Bite | Tastes Like Chicken
We’re fans of weird dishes, so when we heard that this restaurant had unveiled a new spring menu featuring authentic Australian meats, we were ready to go. Our server suggested appetizers of emu carpaccio and grilled crocodile cakes (¥93).
We settled on the latter. “Tastes just like chicken,” he assured us, and he’s not far off. The cakes tasted surprisingly normal. If not for the novelty of eating crocodile, we’d have preferred the banana salsa and the rocket and wild rosella salad that came with it.
For entrées we shared the somewhat mysterious, but ultimately unmemorable fish dish of wattleseed-crusted grilled barramundi (¥128 and served with Israeli couscous and crisp capers), and a mediocre plate of potato gnocchi with bacon and tomato sauce (¥68). Kakadu gets points for novelty, but it wasn’t too hard to say, “later, alligator.” Geoff Ng
The ambience is fantastic - divided into Australian-style areas, the big fish tank and pale blue walls is the "lagoon", another with ochre seating and an airy, glass roof is the "desert", and a third with a view of a small garden is the "rainforest". Pretty cute!
Service was fantastic though. Impeccably attentive and they all spoke fluent English. We had Aussie beers and Aussie wine to drink, which brought back lovely memories of home. I also opted for the Riberry gin & tonic which was a refreshingly light fruity alcoholic drink, perfect for summer! We got some warm bread with butter which I was surprised that we were charged for - usually fancy restaurants give complimentary bread, so I thought it was rather greedy to try and charge for it.
The appetisers were SUPERB. A stunning 5 dishes of prawns, salads, pork belly, etc etc. Every single appetiser was spot-on perfect, no questions. They were also really sizable and pretty much as the size of a main meal - impressive!
The main meals themselves, however, left much to be desired. Every single dish got the thumbs down from every single person. Those that had the steak said that it was mediocre-to-tough with almost no sauce, a disappointment especially considering the huge price tag it comes with. The duck breast was also given a massive thumbs down, "too dry and too tough" came the verdict. I had the Wattleseed crusted grilled barramundi with Israeli couscous and herb salad, curry oil and crisp capers which I was told was the best dish, but it was only average at best. The barramundi fish was thin and slightly dry (no gravy either) with not much flavour - a far cry from the barramundi I've had in Australia. The Israeli couscous it came with was lovely though. The Red wine braised lamb shanks with garlic potato puree, wilted spinach and parmesan crisp looked so promising - 2 huge shanks sitting proudly on the plate. However, I expect lamb shank to absolutely melt and fall apart with the mere poke of your fork, and in this case it need a knife to cut it. Not so tough that it was inedible, but it certainly required chewing.
My Honey yogurt pannacotta with caramelised ginger, and coriander vanilla ice cream seemed really exciting, but somehow, the flavours just didn't quite mesh together well. The pannacotta was entirely the wrong texture - instead of a rich creamy texture, it was jello-like.. with an "off" flavour (probably thanks to the yoghurt). The coriander vanilla ice cream sounded intruiging but was just too weird on the palate. The Affogatto was nice, I assume, since it's hard to get vanilla ice cream and coffee wrong ;)
The dinner was almost 2,600元 (US$380). I was pretty appalled at the price. Their appetizers and cocktails are definitely top-notch, but the main dishes? I'll pass.
PHOTOS HERE: http://beverly.livejournal.com/713284.html
Check out the CW Nightlife blog for their article on Kakdu's Riberry G&T
Where You Eat | Philippe Ricard
I love eating in my own place, and believe me I do that a lot! I still can't resist the tasty Brittany galettes and crepes. But after so many months spent taking care of La Creperie, I can finally go out now and enjoy some other places. If I want to relax, I like to go to NOVA (French). The team there is nice and the food is great. Perfect for a romantic dinner for a couple or a meal with friends. At the moment I prefer places that aren't too loud or smokey, where you can talk without yelling and where you don't need to fight for a drink. I also like to discover new places, so the other day I went to Kakadu, a relatively new Aussie restaurant and bar. I must say I really liked it. The food was very good and the manager was very nice. I will definitely go back.
Wow, it was real food. Not some mediocre dressed up and over priced Laris or M, it was a real meal. Emu steak was cooked perfect wrapped in bacon. Potatoes had a nice crust. Waitstaff was attentive. This place will defiantly go into my rotation. If you want good western meal for a good price go here!
I don't often think of or find Aussie restaurants, but suddenyl yesterday had a rush to go and find place to havbe some Barbie. Kakadu's decor is sleek/modern type. Non-smoking area is availalbe but still can smell stench of cigarette smoke waffing into the non-smoking area.... a bit of a downside. Menu is fairly extensive, you do get your Roo, Emu and Croc dishes. Quite funny, is that most of the waiter/waitress are Filipinas, not one Aussie in sight, so instead of greeted by "G'day mate", it's Tagalog ahoy!
Food is fresh and good, atmosphere quite pleasant, service excellent and surprisingly fast.
Great food and great service. We had the Emu and Roo, which were excellent, and also Scallop Pasta which was good. Nice Aussie wine list, cool place to sit and enjoy dinner and drinks
Excellent Aussie home food with very generous portions. Excellent value for money and great quality. There are exotic meat like emu and crocodile for those hard-core adventurist! The wine list is exclusively nz/Au and has a great variety in terms of grapes and wines. Highly recommended and bravo to the restaurant. The only complaint is the smoking section which made all my clothes stink!