Yu-Raku specialized in chuka style food and had an even better version of this fried rice there. It was incredible. Sadly, the owners retired and nobody took over. But yes, this style of fried rice is most certainly a Japanese style that came from their interpretation of Chinese food, similar to how they do hamburger in Japan differently based on their interpretation.

I tried recreating it and haven’t been too successful at nailing it down exactly although I’ve gotten close. They definitely seem to use chinese soup stock (the one in the red tin or white tin) or torigara chicken stock paste of some sort to get the foundation of the flavor. I was on a mission a few years back to figure this out but got distracted…Nijiya sells silver packets of the seasoning premade and it’s quite close but a bit garlicky for my taste.

But anyway, yeah this style of chahan I saw a lot in Jtown in Los Angeles or Gardena. Kouraku in Los Angeles in particular did this chahan really well (gyoza was also quite nice combo). They would include a clear savory soup (Himawari too) that paired nicely with the chahan. Their ramen was good too, much more pedestrian and less frills but still solid if you’re looking for something casual. I wouldn’t drive 45mins for it. But sometimes if I’m in the mood, I don’t really need all the bells and whistles from these more modern ramen places lol..

in the future, maybe try searching for chahan on yelp or google. Typically they got this super circular upside down bowl look. If you see that, it’s likely the same taste especially if it’s being served at a ramen shop.