Koya Japan — Restaurant in Burnaby

Let me set the stage for you: it was a rainy Thursday at Metrotown Mall. My hunger was ferocious, and the enticing aromas of sizzling teriyaki lured me into the siren’s trap that is Koya Japan. Little did I know I was about to embark on a culinary nightmare so profound, Gordon Ramsay himself would weep.

The line moved slower than a glacier, as though each customer before me was hand-forging their teriyaki dreams from scratch. At last, it was my turn. I ordered a Chicken Teriyaki Bento—a safe, classic choice, or so I thought. The price? A staggering $14.95. For that price, I expected a taste of Mount Fuji itself.

The first red flag? The chicken looked like it had fought valiantly in a grease war and lost. It was drowned—no, submerged—in teriyaki sauce so syrupy and overwhelming it could have doubled as engine oil. The vegetables were limp, lifeless, and tasted like they’d been resurrected from last week’s compost pile. And the rice? A soggy blob that clung to my fork as though it feared the outside world.

Ah, but let’s talk about the “tempura,” if we dare call it that. The batter was a soggy, oil-soaked crime against all things crunchy. Each bite felt like chewing on a damp napkin. The shrimp? A whisper of protein lost in a sea of grease. I could feel my arteries pleading for mercy.

As I sat there in the crowded food court, staring at my meal like a tragic Shakespearean hero surveying the ruins of his life, I noticed something curious: the staff, moving with the urgency of sloths on a coffee break, were haphazardly slapping together orders. Quality control? Nonexistent. Passion? A distant memory.

I left Koya Japan not just disappointed but personally offended. Offended that this establishment dares to peddle such lackluster meals in one of Canada’s busiest malls. Offended that I spent $14.95 to feel betrayed. My stomach churned with regret, and my soul yearned for the innocence I had lost.

To the brave souls considering Koya Japan: turn back now. Go anywhere else. Heck, eat at home. The culinary gods will thank you, and your wallet will too.

One star—and that’s only because zero stars...

Eaten here 3 times and the food is decent however the last time I had a very unpleasant experience which made me decide I would never be eating here again. I ordered “yakisoba” and the girl at the counter definitely understood me because she not only repeated it but also showed me a sample of what the noodles would look like. I replied yes that’s what I would like and she said ok and completed the transaction. Then my boyfriend went up to get our food and he was confused because they handed us two rice dishes-no yakisoba. He asked why and the cook said that’s what we ordered and even checked their receipts and it looked like it was printed “teriyaki” and no yakisoba. They just insisted “that’s what you ordered” and didn’t seem concerned about the error at all. I went back up and lined up again and asked to speak to the same girl who took my order. I reminded her how she confirmed it was yakisoba and pointed at the noodles when she took my order, to which her and another lady behind the counter just whispered and then the other lady said “ok you will need to pay additional 1$ and give us back the teriyaki”. I didn’t want to make a fuss so I agreed to paying and gave them back the teriyaki even though we already took it out to the food court on the table. What made this whole thing unpleasant was not that they made an error but the way they reacted to being called out for it- no apology at all, barely looked me in the eyes after I confronted them and had the tackiness to charge me 1$ because what I wanted was a little more expensive then what they gave me. How ridiculous. If they had looked me in the eyes and just apologized and said “no worries we will just make you the correct dish” without worrying about the 1$ difference as this was their mistake- then maybe I would have had a better impression of their service. I even tipped them 10% when I ordered the first time and yet they still had the nerve to charge me a dollar. Bad service - do...

Wondering around the food court at Metrotown where quite a lot of walking had left me feeling quite hungry, I came across the Koya Japan. Having returned from Japan a while ago, and perhaps feeling a little nostalgia for the Ramen I enjoyed so much, I decided to give this place a go. Huge mistake that left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Whik ramen is not on the menu they do give you a choice of different meats with with what they described as ramen noodles, in soup that included a tiny amount of vegetables and half a boiled egg. Ramen is usually served with noodles, pork, veggies, and two halves of a boiled egg, so the offering here was like a distant cousin. The noodles, described as ramen in style, were nothing like any I had tasted before. In fact they had no taste at all. The texture terrible. In Japan ramen noodles do vary, but none came anywhere close to being as bad as these. The soup came with a few pieces of chicken that did have a little flavour but it was barely detectable. Likewise the minimal vegetables. But the soup base was the absolute worst. A cross between tasteless and weak dishwasher soap flavouring. I actually was stupid enough to try two spoonfulls to check the first was not as bad as I thought. The first should have been more than enough warning. The only thing Japanese about this meal was the name of the outlet it was purchased from. The term food does not apply either, other than the fact it was bought in a food court. The worst I have tasted in a very long time. Not a place to eat from if you want to try true Japanese food. You will not get a...