Author: Mhel Ignacio

Here’s another super overdue post.

Last August, Yoshinoya had this promo Buy 1, Take 1 on their Yakiniku and Katsudon. We haven’t tried anything from Yoshinoya yet so we decided to head to their branch in SM Mall of Asia to take advantage of the promo with our printouts of the coupon.

When we got there, the Yoshinoya girl at the counter told us there’s no pork available for the Katsudon. We can only choose between chicken or fish. Since it was Kien who wanted that, we gave him the choice. He opted for the Chicken Katsudon.

Before I even let you know what we think about the Katsudon and Yakiniku, I just wanted to say that I was extremely disappointed with Yoshinoya’s crew in SM MOA. When we got there, most of the tables inside their store were already occupied except for this one almost at the corner, with sofas on both sides. The table still needed to be cleaned and we looked around to ask for assistance. There were 3 crew members just chattering away at the other side of the store, near the comfort room (I guess). We called them out. They looked at our direction, then went on with their chattering, ignoring us. We had to call out the attention of the crew at the counter to ask someone to clean up our table. While Kien was doing this, I already started clearing our table.

Sorry, but it really irritates me when people don’t perform their jobs well. I mean, I’m okay with the chattering, but if a customer calls your attention to request assistance, you should accommodate them! Those 3 crew members (1 woman, 2 men) didn’t even bother to call someone else if they were too freaking busy to assist us. Sheesh. As much as I wanted to talk to their manager because of their behavior, I decided not to ’cause we just started our day. And we thought we were going to enjoy a good meal at Yoshinoya.

Going back to the food, we had 2 separate coupons for the Yakiniku and Katsudon. So, we ended up with 4 bowls to share among us 3.

First, let me tell you about their Chicken Katsudon. It was just plain Katsudon. Nothing really memorable. Kien makes a better Katsudon actually. Plus, one of the chicken pieces we got had this burnt taste. We didn’t finish them because the chicken was also not tender at all.

Next, the Beef Yakiniku. We enjoyed it more than the Katsudon. Though it was too sweet for Mai, I still enjoyed it a lot. I just wish there’s not much fat there.

I’ve heard of raves about Yoshinoya’s Katsudon and Yakiniku, so I was quite surprised that we were disappointed by what we tasted. Our first dining experience at Yoshinoya left a bad taste in my mouth to the point that I would’ve needed Olay Regenerist or some kind of anti-aging cream to hide the frustration on my face as we left their SM MOA store. My guess is those people who are raving about Yoshinoya dined in their other branches. Or, it could be because they had a buy one, take one promo, they weren’t concerned about the quality of their food.

We really thought we’d have a great meal at Yoshinoya that’s why it was the first thing on our itinerary that day. When we finished our meals, we weren’t full and satisfied. It did affect our day. Now, I don’t know if I’d want to try Yoshinoya’s food again. But, maybe…just maybe… I’ll try their Beef Yakiniku again, their Gyudon and other items on their menu at another branch.