Yoshinoya Galleria Manila

I have forgotten that there's this branch at Robinson's Galleria, even if, now I remember, I have eaten at this place a number of times in the past. I am used to, and had been frequenting their Megamall store lately, although that one at Valero Street Parking Bldg. was my favorite when work was still in Makati.

So I was happy to have stumbled (again) at this Galleria branch, and of course, I had dinner here..,

Beef Misono, that's just it and my day was complete! Good that misono (and gyudon?) now comes in 2 sizes. I may be voracious when it comes to thinly sliced beef, but their 'large bowl' is too big for me!

Anyway, there's really no issue or something special about this 'Japanese fastfood', except that I have been wondering how come they don't have many branches in Metro Manila and none in the provinces.

I am just a regular Pinoy tongue-and-stomach. Thus, my view is.., if I like Yoshinoya food, many Pinoys must 'probably' also like them. How come they're not 'everywhere' like Jollibee or Chowking man lang?

They do now have branches in Cebu (SM Seaside City and Robinson's Galleria Cebu), but in those two stores, I think the crews are now familiar with my face, since I am their most frequent diner yata hehe! I tried a mental count of the branches I know, I think (guess) there are not even 10 in the whole country.

Expensive? No they're not naman. Their prices (I think) are comparable or at par with other fastfoods everywhere. Taste? Ah, feeling ko Yoshinoya's dishes are even better than their counterparts at Tokyo Tokyo. I even often joke that "Tokyo Tokyo uses Red Kikoman while Yoshinoya uses Green Kikoman"!

Yeah, Tokyo Tokyo's (for me) looks, smells and tastes heavier than Yoshinoya's.

Then may be it is just a matter of 'marketing' or 'positioning' their stores and products? Baka! Probably tweak the restaurants' setup or dish image to cater to the Filipino dining culture or psyche? Nakialam!

Yung 'gyudon' kasi is 'rice bowl' that equates to our 'rice-toppings'. So it doesn't look hefty to the Pinoy eyes na 'takaw-tingin'. Mukhang konti ang isang order versus the price of other 'toppings' restaurants.

Maybe what works in Japan does not really work in our inangbayan! did you know andaming branches nito sa Tokyo, but almost all of them are parang counter lang, parang bar na tabi-tabi kayong lahat na kumakain magkakasama o hindi! Yun isa nga (Kamiyacho?) nilakad ko lang from Philippine Embassy.

But their branches I saw in Singapore are restaurants according to our definition hehe - yung maluwag with tables for at least 4. There was even a place I saw Yoshinoya in an airport (KL? HK? Cambodia?).

Anyway, masarap pag-aralan.., this restaurant is such an inviting topic on 'business-sense'.