Karaage Toriyoshi Maimatsubara-ten

Salt or sauce? At Karaage Toriyoshi Maimatsubara-ten, part of the fun is choosing a flavour before settling on a bento. Visitors say the pieces are so large that even two can make a filling meal, and some buy both salt-seasoned and sauced thigh meat. Salt-style karaage can also be paired with salt or ponzu, offering a way to vary the flavour as you eat.

The bento menu includes a classic option with six pieces of thigh, as well as a combination bento pairing breast meat, flavoured with salt or ponzu, with thigh in a flavour of your choice. One diner who ordered the combination bento recalled being full after the generous portion of three pieces of thigh and three slices of breast, and described the chicken as freshly fried and tender. If you are unsure about breast meat’s texture, consider the breast-meat bento, described as tender and generous, or the chicken nanban bento with tartar sauce.

Individual items include karaage coated in a sweet sauce with garlic and Korean chilli, as well as a sweet-and-spicy chilli-sauce version with a little heat. Add chicken-skin gyoza or skin-on fries as another dish, or choose a Torikara Set if you want to share a few flavours; it allows a choice of up to two.

There is no dine-in service, but takeaway and delivery are available. Alongside a bento for lunch, fried chicken and other individual items could also make an easy addition to dinner.