also: かいかどんぶり
rice bowl with beef (or pork) and egg
A Meiji-era dish: a donburi topped with thinly sliced beef or pork simmered with onions in a sweet-savory sauce, then bound with egg. Similar to gyudon but with egg mixed in.
Kaikadon is a Japanese dish that originated in the Meiji period.
The kaikadon at this restaurant has plenty of beef and onions.
Gyudon is a beef bowl without egg; kaikadon includes egg mixed into the meat and onion topping.
Oyakodon uses chicken and egg; kaikadon uses beef or pork with egg.
Standard kanji spelling; 開化 means 'civilization/enlightenment', reflecting the Meiji-era origin.
Full reading かいかどんぶり; the shortened かいかどん is far more common.
Variant spelling using 開花 ('blooming'); less common but seen in some restaurant menus.
The name 開化丼 (kaikadon) is said to come from the Meiji-era 'civilization and enlightenment' (文明開化) movement, reflecting the adoption of meat-eating. The variant 開花丼 uses 'blooming' kanji, possibly a phonetic or aesthetic substitution.