Chicken Dinner @ Kashiwaya Genjiro, Tenjin, Fukuoka

 

Winner winner chicken dinner. Well, I am not sure how that phrase got famous, probably some meme on Fortnite based on what I remember. However, if you are able to get here by your own, you probably are winning in life already. With that in mind, let me introduce you to a place that is worth your reckoning, especially if you are a fan of chicken.

Time for a chow down!

Kashiwaya Genjiro is a chicken specialty shop that serves a vast variety of chicken dishes that it makes other restaurants that serves various meat dishes blush. Despite that, what they are famous for are mainly two dishes, which is their oyakodon and chicken katsu. A person with common sense would probably choose one of those and get the other during another visit. But I was very hungry at the time, so I decided to go against any sense of common sense, and ordered a special meal that has both! Or sort of. 

Epic meal time. 

Specifically, I ordered  a special cutlet meal whereby a side of dashi egg that was served alongside a generous plate of fried chicken cutlet.  Standing at a mere 1480 yen, this was such a great bargain considering the volume of food that came beforehand. I more or less knew what I was getting myself into as they have a plastic display in front to show the size and scale of the dishes. But when it was placed in front of me, it was then I realise how gigantic the portions were. 

Golden brown

I was pretty impressed by the portion side and without much hesitation started gobbling everything down with little difficulty. I got myself busy with the chicken katsu first. And honestly this was very good. The chicken was juicy and fresh and despite being deep fried, it was not oily at all. The outer crust had a nice crunch to it and does not distract you from the flavour of the chicken. I did add some chilli flakes on it for an extra kick. This extra element was what I needed to push this to the next level. Although I would enjoy the classic pork tonkatsu better, I do like a chicken katsu too, especially when the execution was at this level. 

Eggy!

The egg dish was identical to what you get from an oyakodon, just without the chicken pieces. The egg were cooked in a syrupy infusion of dashi, soy sauce and sugar. The burdock root and onions provided an extra element in terms of texture and sweetness too. The egg was fluffy and chewy at the same time, while the chicken meat has this unique taste, especially considering all those flavour elements combine. In fact, the only thing that makes this different compared to an oyakodon is that it is not above a bed of rice. And without the chicken. I know I made reference to the volume of food here, but it is seriously not to be underestimated. But as everything was so tasty and leaving it aside would be such a waste, I push on to take everything down. The things I do for good food. At least I got my protein covered for the day!

Looks like the real thing!

If you are a fan of chicken dishes, or just good food in general, this is the place to be. The chicken here was superb and I would be returning soon to try some of their other dishes. Their mizutaki pot looks tempting and the chicken namban had caught my attention prior to my order as well. So if you feel like trying all of those delicious dishes before my return, or have a knock at what I gobbled down earlier, I strongly recommend that you do. The address is as follows:

〒810-0001 Fukuoka, Chuo Ward, Tenjin, 2 Chome−2−43, Solaria Plaza, Floor 6