Yoshinoya Gyudon Eating Contest: Moving ‘4-Ward’

There’s no stopping Yoshinoya, the country’s most popular fast-food chain that specializes in all-time favorite Japanese culinary fare, from going forward with its remarkable gyudon eating challenge.

Now on its 4th year, this much-awaited event has earned the respect of many hungry Filipinos who want to test their mettle when it comes to gastronomic challenges. If Coney Island in New York, USA has the world-famous Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, then the Philippines definitely has Yoshinoya. And just like in the previous editions, the Yoshinoya Gyudon Eating Contest promises to be nothing short of exciting as more gyudon-loving Pinoys are expected to troop to the Yoshinoya stores and sign up.

Several customers dared to consume the most number of gyudon in 5 minutes, and after so many beef bowls consumed in the qualifying rounds done in the store, the names of those who are moving to the Grand Finals are now set. All weekly winners are going to face off each other and try to out-eat other competitors and be crowned as this year’s champion at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City.

During the final match, all finalists will compete by eating the most number of bowls in 15 minutes. The Top Three (3) Finalists with the most number of bowls consumed and the least weight of food left after 15 minutes will be declared winners of the Yoshinoya Gyudon Eating Contest 2014.

And definitely, this year’s prizes get even better—and bigger—especially for the First Place winner, who will receive P150,000 in cash and a round trip ticket to Japan courtesy of Cebu Pacific, which flies two flights daily to Japan via Narita and via Nagoya every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

The 2nd placer gets P50,000 while the 3rd placer takes home P25,000. Non-winners will each be given consolation prizes of P2,000 worth of Yoshinoya gift certificates.

Let's now go with the competition!

For this year, there are up to 42 finalists that will battle it out for the championship. And actually, I noticed that one of the finalist is also a blogger friend, Jayson Biadog (jaysonbiadog.com) who was not able attend because he was at Brazil for the world cup. He is actually a very competitive guy who can actually have a great shot in winning. 

The Winners:

• Singaporean Zermatt Liang Zhaoyuan flew all the way in the Philippines just to join Yoshinoya’s 4th Gyudon Eating Contest and took home the grand prize, winning Php 150,000 and a roundtrip ticket to Japan. 
• Wayne Algenio finished 3rd place, winning Php 25,000 and other prizes. 
• Brendon Viernes came in 2nd place, winning Php 50,000 and other prizes. 
• This year’s Media Challenge Champion, Rommel Balbin from UNTV, won Php 50,000 and a roundtrip ticket to Japan.

Expect tremendous and awesome fun and excitement for this year’s 2014 Yoshinoya Gyudon Eating Contest, which, after 4 years, still stands as a sure-fire hit among gyudon-loving Pinoys. Coming in droves to register for the past challenge editions just goes to show how much this great Japanese meal, composed of steaming white rice topped with sumptuous beef and onion stirred in a mild sweet sauce, is loved by many Filipinos and have made it as part of their daily food fare.

You can also visit the Yoshinoya Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/YoshinoyaPhilippines) or follow Yoshinoya Instagram or Twitter accounts, or you can go to www.yoshinoya.ph.