In Search of the Perfect Gyudon: The Poor Man's Gyudon

They say harsher times call for more desperate measures... And yet my hunger, my desire to go on  with my journey pushed me to desperation.. In my search to comfort my insatiable hunger pangs, and in my effort to scrape the bottom of what's left of my tank, I ended up in the budget section of the Greenhills Shopping Center Food Court.. Okuya Food Express was the fastfood version of the Okuya Restaurant, of which I was hitherto unaware of.. Ah, but the words "Gyudon" on the menu immediately caught my eye, so I had a go at it.  

At first  I was skeptical of what to expect... More so, my first bite ended up burning my tongue and my palate (apparently, they never bothered to cool the dish down a bit... After all, this was fastfood)... But amazingly, their version managed to stand out with a certain touch of sweetness in the mirin sauce... However, with successive portions, it proved to be too sweet... The beef slices were rather thin, but what  do you expect with this budget version costing under 60 bucks.. I managed to find a few stray strips of green onion inside that bowl, but the shitakes were all but lost.. And where, in heaven's name, is the raw egg???  The only fitting portion was the rice itself, more than adequate for the average yeoman.. As such, this was nothing but a swift answer to my hunger cramps, a quick fix for my addiction.. But still, being strategically near to my new home, and lightly priced at under 60 bucks, I may find myself frequenting this overlooked place.. But if you're searching for a culinary adventure, this is obviously the wrong turn.

Gyudon Beef Bowl
P55 per serving
Okuya Food Express
Second Floor, Greenhills Shopping Center Foodcourt
Greenhills, San Juan


Rating: 2 Stars!


(originally posted on March 8, 2010 in http://volvox23.multiply.com/reviews/item/14)