Gyudon in Japan is like a Starbucks drink???

Did you know that you can customize your gyudon or beef rice bowl in Japan like you can customize your Starbucks drink? I didn't know until a few minutes ago, but apparently you can at Yoshinoya, one of the three largest gyudon chains in Japan (the other two being Sukiya and Matsuya). There are supposedly as many ways to customize your gyudon as there are ways to customize your Starbucks drink, but here are two that I plan to try when we eat there:

• tsuyudaku - extra gyudon sauce
• atama no omori (アタマの大盛) - extra helping of meat

Gyudon @ Yoshinoya, SM Seaside Cebu

Another thing I've learned is that you have to specify the size when you order since gyudon comes in a range of sizes from kid-sized to mega-sized. We'll probably just order the nami (並盛) or normal-sized one. One person suggested in his blog to order the kid-sized gyudon plus side dishes of vegetables and miso soup to create a healthier, more balanced meal. That sounds like a good idea.

Beef Misono @ Yoshinoya, SM Seaside Cebu

To order a normal-sized gyudon with extra sauce, you say, "Gyudon nami tsuyudaku de." I want to try the one with green onions and egg on top so I should say, "Negitama gyudon nami tsuyudaku de." Or maybe I'll try getting one with an extra helping of meat and extra sauce: "Negitama gyudon atama no omori tsuyudaku de." Or I can just point to the picture and say, "Kore desu!" (This one!) ;-D