We first visited RakiRaki during its soft opening last month and wanted to check it out again after the grand opening. As I previously mentioned, RakiRaki is a ramen chain originally from Japan that uses alkaline water to cook its ramen, offers complimentary alkaline water to its customers, and specializes in a chicken based ramen.

The menu and signs during the soft opening had stated that the Grand Opening was to be October 25th, but when we went this weekend, it wasn’t clear if they had really had their grand opening. The menus passed out still said soft opening and there weren’t any grand opening signs. One thing was clear though, word has gotten out, and this place was really packed.

We did see additional menu items, including some “Tasting Kitchen” options and Sushi rolls which weren’t previously offered.

Premium

Last time we had ordered the original and found it to be a little too salty with very little chicken flavor. This time we tried the premium one which is supposed to be rich and bold. The chicken broth flavor was definitely more concentrated and more what I had been expecting from the original, but we also felt it was still a little too salty for our tastes. However, we really enjoyed the chicken chasiu. I thought I’d miss the fattier pork one (which you can also choose instead), but the lean chicken was incredible moist and soft and I didn’t miss the regular pork one at all.

Chicken karaage

We chose this from the Tasting Kitchen section of the menu. Large chunks of chicken were lightly breaded and fried and served on top of a small salad. I did wish that the pieces would be smaller as I found the cuts to be way too tall and wide to easily eat. The chicken wasn’t very crispy, but they used cuts of dark meat which was very moist and tender, much like the chasiu.

Chinois Fried Rice

DH loves fried rice and always wants to order it, so we thought we’d give RakiRaki’s a try. This was a big disappointment. Dry, flavorless, we were not fans and took most of it home.

Tsukemen


My favorite item on my first visit had been the Tsukemen and I’m glad it wasn’t a fluke. I loved it just as much this time. The thick noodles are served cold and accompanied with a hot concentrated broth. You dip the noodles in the broth before eating them, which warms up the noodles and gives them flavor. The only bad thing is that the broth cools quickly. It’s almost impossible to keep it warm through the entire meal unless you eat really really fast.

We sat at the bar this time and it was pretty fun watching the kitchen in action. There were so many pots and timers going, I don’t know how the noodle master kept track of them all.

We’ve been pleased with our Raki Raki experiences so far. We still prefer the tsukemen over their ramen even though they are famous for the ramen. I’m excited to see future additions to the menu and we’ll definitely be back for some more revisits. Unfortunately, it means coming back to this plaza with the horrible parking, which I had avoided for almost two years.

The complimentary alkaline water is always a plus too. I really like the cups they use to serve the water in because it has a slight indent, making it easier to grip.

You can read my previous introduction post on RakiRaki here. Here’s the latest version of their menu.

RakiRaki
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111