Koya Japan (Metrotown Food Court)

Several weeks back, I was walking around the Metrotown food court and saw a banner at Koya Japan advertising Beef Teriyaki Special for C$8.99. It came with rice and a mix of veggies (including mushrooms and carrots), plus a 20-ounce fountain soft drink. (And they carry Pepsi products, which meant I was able to get a Mountain Dew, my favourite pop.) A good deal, I foolishly thought!

I think some people enjoy watching the cooks (I refuse to call them “chefs”) prepare your dish right in front of you. However, I’m not one of those people. When they were cooking my beef teriyaki, I hardly paid attention to them at all.

I was impressed at the amount of beef I was given – there was a lot! The first few bites were awesome, I thought, but after that, for some reason it became a chore just to keep eating it. I’m not sure if it’s because I was feeling sick or what, but it literally became a chore as I ate very slowly so it took quite a long time before I finished. I don’t think I suddenly lost appetite; maybe it’s just that I wasn’t feeling well that day. I don’t know.

I will admit that there was a lot of meat given, which is fantastic, but for some reason I simply didn’t enjoy the meal. It was like something was missing. I don’t know if it was the sauce they used or some other reason, but I normally enjoy beef dishes and I just did not like this particular meal.

I mean, at the end of the day, though, it is what it is: fast food from the food court. I wouldn’t say it was inexpensive; I’ll admit the banner advertising the 8.99 “special” drew me in. I got sucked in thinking it was only eight bucks. Of course, it’s really nine bucks plus tax, which isn’t that big of a difference but at the end of the day, it’s not really inexpensive food considering there were other cheaper options in the food court. (For example, the Curry Express located at the other end of the food court was advertising a Tuesday special where you could get rice with one curry and some side dishes for just under five bucks. KFC, meanwhile, had its Toonie Tuesday special, which also was under five dollars. Even if you added a drink in either instance, you wouldn’t have paid around C$9.50 as I did for the Beef Teriyaki.)