On of my go-to items for lunch is chicken karaage. I just never get tired of the stuff. After returning from Japan I decided to do the rounds and do a short comparison of Karaage and Chicken Nanban(vinegar sauce), commonly served with tartar sauce in these parts. I'm leaving out Taisho and Yakyudori since I recently did a comparison between the two places. So here's how they line up in my opinion.
1 – Wa Dining Okan:
A bit surprising since, I'd been underwhelmed by lunch here at times. The fried chicken with vinegar and tartar sauce was quite good, if a bit rich.
They do have regular chicken karaage on the menu, but I found that the batter on this is different, more crunchy and light. The tartar sauce isn't too sour which helps things.
Wa Dining Okan
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
2 – Izakaya Sakura:
Sometimes a bit inconsistent, as I mentioned in a karaage comparison post back in 2011.
Still, this was crisp, light, though you really had to use that tsuyu to give it some flavor.
Wish they'd pump up the flavor a bit more, but this isn't a bad choice.
Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St Ste 121
San Diego, CA 92111
3 – Ramen Yamadaya:
**** Yamadaya has closed
In spite of not being particularly happy with the ramen here recently, I gave the "Chicken Tartar", a version of Tori Nanban a go. I liked having the tartar sauce on the side as it was really mayo heavy, so a little went a long way. The chicken seemed to be fried a bit too "hard", but that turned out to be a good thing as is stayed crunchy for the whole meal. Love the vinegar tones with a touch of tartar sauce. As I noted in my post back in 2012, there a nice hint of ginger in this which I enjoy as well.
Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairement Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117
4 – RakiRaki:
All the posters said "best Japanese Fried Chicken in San Diego".
Of course, I say, most "self promoted hype machine in San Diego". It seems like this place sometimes just throws stuff up on the walls to see what sticks. The flavor, with a hint of curry is indeed unique, but the pieces were huge……very ponderous with chopsticks. It was kind of dry and a lot off the batter had flaked off during the cooking process. The portion size was quite generous, but the Tsukemen is preferred……..though let's say that might be the best in San Diego by default.
RakiRaki Ramen and Tsukemen
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
5 – Tajima:
Usually, consistency is good thing.
But being last in two fried chicken comparisons….maybe not so much. Gummy, lacking in flavor…..to be honest, I'd rather get cold case-bento Karaage from Nijiya. Nothing's changed from my last set of visits nearly a year ago. Consistency…..
Tajima Japanese Restaurant
4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111