One of the most popular dishes in Japan is beef bowl or gyūdon (牛丼).

While there are many places that serve the dish, the two largest chains are – Yoshinoya (吉野家) and Sukiya (すき家).

There are literally thousands of restaurants across Japan and you can’t walk more than a few blocks in most areas of Tokyo without seeing the bright orange Yoshinoya signage or Sukiya’s distinctive red bowl.

At its most basic, Gyūdon (牛丼), consists of a bowl of rice with beef and onion cooked in a mild sauce flavoured with a mixture of dashi (だし – made from fish and kelp), soy sauce and mirin.

Fierce competition amongst the restaurants means that the prices are very reasonable. A standard size bowl at Sukiya will set you back just ¥230 (less than USD$3) and is a filling and (reasonably) healthy meal.

Here’s a few keywords you might need for your next visit to Sukiya or Yoshinoya.

Kanji	Kana	Meaning
牛	ぎゅう (gyu-u)	Cow
丼	どん (do-n)	Bowl
家	や (ya)	House/Shop
食	たべる (ta-be-ru)	Eat
–	チーズ (Chi-i-zu)	Cheese
–	わさび (wa-sa-bi)	Wasabi
–	キムチ (ki-mu-chi)	Kimchi (from Korea)
–	マヨ (ma-yo)	Mayo (short for Mayonnaise)

Sukiya restaurant in the backstreets of Shibuya. A takeaway window is located at the front of the store or you can eat inside.
牛丼 = Gyūdon
すき家 = Sukiya

Plenty of yummy choices – well except for Wasabi ^^
If you want to test your Japanese sign reading – click here for a larger view of the menu

Great meal for around USD$3

Someone is hungry!

It’s Japan so there has to be something electronic and this time it’s a simple help button to order more food or drink

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