I had no idea this place was this generous with proportions! My wife and I came here for a quick bite à week ago and were welcomed with a buffet style Japanese restaurant. First you order your rice bowl, and then you grab your side dishes and toppings from the buffet (honestly it's so filling you don't even need to overfill) thế place is pretty tiny so it's not that great for larger parties but excellent for a quick dinner with a friend or by yourself. Thế buffet is all you can eat style but the rice bowls were the star - I ordered a miso cured salmon and I'm still thinking about it. Service was lovely and polite. read more

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You done yet? It's unlimited apps & desserts! You Don Ya is a Japanese donburri restaurant downtown that's unique for including mini-buffet of salad, apps, soup, fried items, and dessert with your meal. It's a popular lunch spot where ordering one donburri per person opened our meal to this huge variety of included add-ons. Chicken Katsu Don comes with an aromatic and slightly spicy curry sauce over rice and crunchy katsu slices. While Gyu Don is rice topped with a heaping overlay of slightly marinated beef rolls and scallions for a clean taste. These and a few other donburri are part of their $18 weekday lunch special lineup that's delicious & satisfying especially when considering the unlimited mini-buffet access. Miso soup to start and even more rice if you're hungry. We always add the takoyaki balls & fried potato cakes along with their cabbage & sliced lettuce salads that can be dressed with refreshing sesame or honey sauce. And if you like banchan sides there are kimchi, cucumber, potato salad, seaweed salad and sometimes spicy fish cake for variety. Fresh orange slices and matcha ice cream are great ways to finish a Japanese meal. When we came for lunch, it was quite packed with a lineup queue. They also do takeout though without the mini-buffet, and I remember trying their signature Hamachi Nabe when they first opened featuring colourful fish slices cooked directly in the hot stone bowl. The menu has a huge variety of donburri as nearby guests tried everything from Yakiniku Don to Unagi Don or the lunch specials. The location is across from the Eaton Centre, walk-in only. Skip it or hit it? As much as I prefer to gatekeep this, it's a tasty & fairly priced downtown lunch! read more

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They rotate their mini buffet so the sides will differ. I got an unagi rice bowl and it came out quick...too quick imo. Maybe they pre cooked everything and just heated it up. The eel was a bit fishy for my liking - I've had eel at other places before without that fishy taste. Not worth the price for a 28$ bowl. But if you want to save money, they do have daily specials read more

You Don Ya - Unagi rice - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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You Don Ya has such an interesting concept. Not only do they have their regular menu, but they also offer a selection of sides and ice cream in an all you can eat style. They have many types of Donburi bowls and if you order one you get access to their mini buffet section, which features many things like kimchi, potato salad, takoyaki, salads, fruit and various other things! When I went there we were seated immediately, as there is plenty of seating but as we wait our meal, I did notice the place filled up. It was a cozy spot was clean decor, but it was a little loud since it was so busy. The servers were super kind but a little difficult to get their attention since we were in the back. We tried the Karaage Don and the Miso-cured Salmon Don. Both were delicious! The salmon was flaky and the chicken was juicy. The Karaage is particular was a huge portion. The prices here are reasonable, especially considering we get access to the mini buffet section. From there we tried a little bit if everything. The miso soup was good, the different kimchis were fresh and so were the salads. The takoyaki was good and I really enjoyed the croquettes were very yummy. They also had ice cream for dessert at the end, in the mini buffet which was solid. They only had vanilla and matcha, and the vanilla was better in my opinion. In my opinion you can get a lot of food and have a second meal to take home! I always leave full and satisfied with my meal and I would recommend to anyone looking for some delicious donburi bowls and plenty of food to keep you filled for hours. read more

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Here for their $18 Wednesday lunch special - Gyu Don including unlimited soup, rice, salad, appetizer and ice cream bar. Great value. read more

You Don Ya - Gyu Don - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I love this place and it is my first time. It's quite small but amazing ambience and beautiful aesthetic. Staff are always around to help. Food is delicious and reasonable priced and truly, the complimentary sides will fill you up. Special shoutout to the kimchi and vanilla ice cream, both from the complimentary sides. I went solo, and it is one main dish per person. I got the chicken curry katsu dish and I was full half way through. Amazing portions!!! However I was just reading other comments and I agree with one of them, my food did also come out very quick. I'm not sure what's going on there, but the quality was great nonetheless. read more

You Don Ya - Chicken Katsu Curry, Hot Spring Egg - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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I was super excited to try their Donburi's and AYCE mini buffet experience and You Don Ya did not disappoint. The concept is that you order a donburi bowl and help yourself to their buffet that includes miso soup, salad, fried dishes, condiments and even ice cream. An absolute steal deal! We ordered the Karaage Don and Yakinaki Don. Both were delicious, generously portioned and did not feel dry. I'd definitely return the next time I'm craving a bowl. Service was a bit slow and the restaurant was packed the day we visited. read more

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This semi-buffet serves mains to your table while you get your own appetisers & desserts. They get 4.5 stars. Chicken katsu don (main) was pretty crispy with a tasty sauce & sweet onions. It was a generous portion. Miso soup was dilute but you get unlimited green onion & seaweed to top it with. Takoyaki & croquette were pretty good: crispy & pretty tasty, though there were no bonito flakes.  Black sesame salad dressing was not the usual sesame dressing. The inari texture was a bit strange (a bit brittle) The staff were Japanese but there was Korean influence: the buffet had 3 types kimchi, spicy fish cake & 2 Korean sauces. The ice cream was pretty good for a cheap buffet: creamy, with few ice crystals. Vanilla was better than matcha. The running water tap for the ice cream scoop used warm water so ice cream residue washed off the scoop very easily. This was the first time I'd seen this. read more

Stopped by You Don Ya in Toronto for a quick meal and it was a solid spot for donburi. The space is small but cozy with a simple, modern feel, and the service was quick and friendly. The food came out quickly and the portions were generous and the ingredients tasted fresh. The meat was well cooked and well seasoned. The toppings had a good balance of flavor without feeling too heavy. Overall, great spot for a casual lunch or an easy dinner. I'll come back to try more of their bowls if I'm nearby. read more

You Don Ya - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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With the snow day declared, we left the boys with grandma and went venturing for lunch despite the 2 feet of snow. Neither of us had heard of this spot but were definitely glad we checked it out. They had a weekday special - one per day, $18 for the Don plus the mini buffet. We were in! What a steal! And we were very pleased! The pork katsu Don was the Monday special and the buffet was simple but delicious. There was unlimited miso soup, which you topped with what you like. I'm a weirdo and don't like seaweed in my soup so I loved that it didn't have any inside. It also had croquettes and Takoyaki balls, with at least ten sauces that you were able to dress as you like. Then there were salads, dressings and a large number of banchan. The potato salad was the Costco special but it also had the tofu strips which were so good. The don was a good portion a delicious and I got a little too happy with the buffet so I ended up packing half my Don. Service was great, friendly and attentive. The space definitely looked clean and welcoming. I would highly recommend and we'd def come back to try other dishes! read more

Came here after an afternoon run and wow, really it the spot if you're craving a good rice bowl! Restaurant was clean and staff were very friendly! I ordered the: Karubi Don - $25 - Angus beef steak with onion and sauce on rice. The beef was incredibly tender and soft, flavourful and the dish was overall simple but done so well! (8.5/10) I also got a miso soup on the side - $2 Overall I really enjoyed You Don Ya, I'd say it's a little expensive for what it is but very tasty and definitely recommend read more

You Don Ya - Karubi Don - Angus beef steak, onion and sauce in rice - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Great, absolutely loved it. Went for dinner and will definitely be going back. The entree was delicious, but the unlimited snack bar stole the show. read more

You Don Ya - Main entree and side dishes. - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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You Don Ya is a convenient place to get that don craving taken care of. They have a long/deep restaurant with table (and bench) seating that can be arranged as needed, we saw many 2, 4, 6 groups, there is also a "bar" individual seating area for anyone on solo queue. Service was quick and the portions were great. It seemed quite popular and had many people visit on a regular weeknight. We had the: - bacon steakie don; nice and soft well marinated meat slices, we got an extra add-on of a boiled egg - katsu don (w fried chicken); they did this classic justice, it was nice and saucy and hot/steamy - miso soup; your basic sushi/korean restaurant miso soup, nice, warm, simple Would be back to try their unagi and karaage don (which our table neighbor order and was huge, definitely had food envy). Not having tried maybe Donburi restaurants in Toronto yet, this will be my good to for now! read more

You Don Ya - Bacon steakkie - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Came here with some coworkers on a Tuesday night and got the katsu don ($15) which comes with the choice of either panko fried pork or chicken, along with egg mixture and onion. I ended up getting the chicken. Service was very quick and our server was super friendly and came to check on us throughout our meal. As we had a larger group we got seated in a more private room, which we really appreciated. The food was delicious and filling, and most of us got a takeout box to go. My coworkers also really enjoyed their meals and they got the karaage don, gyu curry and bacon steakie don (all of which looked delicious). There is also a discount if you pay cash! read more

You Don Ya - Katsu don with chicken - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Overall great and delicious Japanese don (rice bowls) for a good value; I got a himachi bowl which is quite interesting, it comes in a sizzling hot plate w raw yellowtail on top of a seasoned bed of rice, and you pour the sauce over it. I liked it overall and how much himachi there was, the sauce is slightly salty but overall good experience. read more

You Don Ya - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Popped in here for a quick dinner while downtown. The main focus is dons (rice bowls) with a variety of topping's as options. At the high end there is the Angus Beef Steak at 23.99 or the Yakiniki Don at the same price, but there is also lots of more affordable choices from the Katsu Don to the Gyu Don (both at 14.99 each). They also have options for non meat eaters (miso salmon or unagi don). Unlike most places like this soup is not included. Miso soup can be added for 0.99 a bowl, as well as cabbage salad or an egg for a bit more in price. Small selection of appetizers, mostly deep fried. Food was good. Good ratio of rice to meat. I actually thought the meat was very generous for the Karaage Don. Small selection of drinks and no dessert options. Good for a quick meal. read more

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The karubi Don was my favourite. The beef was super tender. And they give you plenty of rice. The portions are definitely worth the price. The service was good and there's lots of seating. read more

You Don Ya - Karubi - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

The food tastes amazing. Service was prompt during the dinner rush. The restaurant is nice and clean. read more

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Heading down Dundas looking for a place to eat we picked You Don Ya and we loved it. It was nearly empty when we got there but was filled with by the time we left. Cute little restaurant with a comfortable space. It was delicious. Service was nice and fast. Glad we stopped here. read more

You Don Ya - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Still a popular spot!! The restaurant has been well maintained. This continues to be a nice option for casual dining. Service is courteous and fast. The menu is large and they have added some new dishes. The steak don is still satisfying. read more

Came here for lunch on a weekday and surprisingly was not busy at all. There's a handful of bar seating along with tables of 2/4 all along the restaurant. Ordered the Yakiniku don (17.89). The don is pretty filling even though it doesn't look like that much. I thought it was decent at best. It was quite salty for this, and it left me pretty thirsty for water after finishing the don. It's definitely a pricey don, and I wasn't that impressed. Not bad. read more

You Don Ya - Yakiniku don (17.89) - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Yum! Definitely delicious. I had the beef rib and my friend had the salmon. Portions are perfect for normal appetite. If you are an healthy eater it would be not quite enough but they have add-ons and appetizers. If you order the beef ribs, there was 2, one was well done and the other was medium rare. It wasn't listed on the menu. I found out from asking. And the medium rare was a dollar more. I thought the difference was that the cheaper one wasn't boneless. I'm still not sure except when I asked the difference that was the only difference I was given.(how out was cooked) It wasn't busy so it's a great place to get a bite near the Eaton Center. read more

You Don Ya - Beef rib med/rare on rice - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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Restaurants not too busy on a Friday night. Pictures on the menu don't really look like the actual thing lol but food wise, taste is good. Warm bowl of rice topped with semi cooked salmon. My friend got the pork jowl one and meat was really tender. Portion size was good. Little pricey tho. But I guess that's kinda normal in the downtown area read more

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Their short rib donburi is amazing. I have had it 3 times last month! The sauce is great, the beef is tender, and i think it's a god lunch spot! The people who work there r very nice too read more

During the pandemic I decided to try new items in restaurants where I usually only go for the same item. Got the Gyu Suji Don with a hot springs egg, Karaage, and Age Tofu delivered from UberEats. Gyu Suji Don - hot springs egg was just a little bit underdone. It spilt all over instead of a soft plop onto the rice. Tendon flavourful as always, but the dish is missing something acidic. First few bites are good but soon everything just blends in and I lose track of what I'm eating, because it all tastes the same. Didn't expect much of the Karaage but somehow it became the main dish. Just the right ratio of crispy batter to tender juicy chicken. They were generous with the chicken and I was genuinely surprised because most places I've been to it's more like lots of batter and not so much of the meat on the inside.  Sauce is like a sriracha mayo but the heat is controlled well, and sauce itself is diluted where it's not too thick on the tongue. I find with karaage it's often the sauce that ends up taking over the flavour profile of the dish. However here it enhances the Karaage. Lemon wedge was warm, probably steamed by the chicken but I found it much easier to squeeze. Or is it lime? Age Tofu, on the other hand, not so much. Soggy crust and bland soft tofu. I feel like it should be one or the other - pillowy crisp outside and tender inside, or just plain firm tofu with a thin crust coated in sauce. The dipping sauce is way too sweet for the tofu. It tastes like the tempura dipping sauce but with added sweet soy sauce. If the tofu was seasoned with more salt then the sweetness might have complemented it. Also a paper towel was put at the bottom to absorb oil, but I feel the restaurant could have used parchment paper or made sure oil was gone beforehand, because I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of that faint taste of soggy paper towel on my palate. read more

this restaurant specializes in crafting exquisite rice bowls topped with a variety of meats, each beautifully garnished with an array of fresh toppings. with generous portions that are sure to satisfy even the heartiest appetites, you won't have to worry about going hungry--whether you choose their juicy beef or perfectly seared salmon! read more

You Don Ya - gyu curry, yakiniku don and aburi salmon don - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Went around 7PM on a Friday evening, service was super speedy. Only got takeout before, so it was nice to finally try the beef tongue in store. Super flavourful with a lot of meat, rice portion was fair and filling! read more

You Don Ya - Beef Tongue Don - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Donburi restaurant in a stretch along Dundas with lots of Asian restaurants to choose from. It's a narrow that can be easily missed, but with a cute play on words in their name, how could you miss it? We waited about 10 minutes, only to discover that the restaurant was quite long, and had additional seating in the back. I ordered the Yakiniku don and a friend ordered the Aburi Salmon don. I found that the short rib was nice and sweet, and generously portioned. I almost wish there was more rice because of the amount of meat they gave. The salmon on the other hand, had too much mayo, and almost took away from the flavour. Overall, a satisfying meal and reasonably priced if you're looking for a quick bite before or after shopping at the Eaton Centre. read more

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The shop overall has a nice atmosphere to it, and the staff were friendly. We went on a Tuesday afternoon and the store was completely empty. Overall, the taste for the chicken katsudon & gyudon are very standard, but the portions are very small for the price point. $14.50 base price with a $1 cabbage side before tip and tax, and I wasn't even that full afterwards. So smaller portions, standard taste, and I think prices on a the slightly higher end makes this place a bit of a harder sell for a return visit. read more

You Don Ya - Chicken katsudon - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Came here on a Friday night and it was pretty busy. The interior was nicely decorated and looked very modern. I liked that it was conveniently located right at Bay and Dundas. My friend ordered the Karubi Don since the picture on the menu looked really nice but when the order came the portion was quite small and had no taste even after adding lots of soy sauce. I ordered the Katsu Don which was decent, lots of pieces of katsu and came in a larger portion than my friend's as seen in my pictures. I was quite full afterwards as there was quite a lot of rice in my bowl. The service was good, they asked how everything was when we were eating. The only thing was that they forgot to bring us the drinks in the beginning but promptly brought it to our table once I flagged a server down. read more

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Interior looks nice. They have a closet upfront. The washroom designs are a bit weird as the sink is under the mirror and you have to really reach under. Ordered a Ton-toro Don (pork jowl) and a Steakie don. For the pork jowl, the amount of meat is alright, but there was definitely more fatty portions compared to the meaty portions which isn't as interesting to me because I don't enjoy fatty meat very much. Taste I found quite average. Overall portions are pretty small for a $14 meal. Service needs improvement. We waited 10 minutes just to get the bill, and after asking for change, they forgot about it until we mentioned something 5 minutes later. They seem to have forgotten the order for the table beside us, and half the tables were not offered water (it looks like water is only provided if you didn't order a soup) read more

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Food could be better, service is passible, nothing special on ambiance.. just a plain restaurant.

I ordered the Katsu Don and I think it was a bit dry and could use more sauce. I'm not sure if it's because I opted to add mozarella on top. Still tasty though! read more

Food: The food was nice, not extraordinary, but good, and the quantities are substantial enough for two people who don't eat a lot. Both my friend and I had leftovers. It came with miso soup and some kind of cabbage salad. I was pleasantly surprised by how good the miso soup was. I used to dislike miso soup, but this miso was so delicious that I drank it before the dinner came. Okay, hear me out on this one: the waiters are really friendly. They did, however, make a few mistakes. 1) My friend placed an order for Nestea, but it never arrived. It's a good thing since she didn't want it anymore, haha. 2) We never ordered a spring egg, yet we received one, and I was charged for it. But after screwing up/redoing our receipt 5 times, I didn't bother. Again, everyone was extremely lovely, so I don't hold anything against their faults. read more

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You Don Ya is a fairly new addition to the numerous Japanese restaurants in the area. The span of Dundas from Bay to University has really become a mini Tokyo (Gyubee is also opening soon!). I was quite excited to try this place because who doesn't like a nice bowl of Japanese Don? The restaurant is well-lit and spacious; the vibes are similar to other Japanese ramen or don places. The service that we experienced was pretty good and the servers were efficient and friendly. I ordered the Karubi (steak) don while my friend had the Ton-toron(pork jowl) don. Each rice order came with a soup and salad (mediocre). One thing that was strange was that my friend's pork belly don came out way sooner than my steak don. She was sitting around for 10 minutes waiting for my order to arrive. The actual rice bowls were a little underwhelming in terms of flavour and portion size. My bowl tasted like a standard beef teriyaki with rice but with better quality steak. My friend's spicy pork don was similar to a pork belly bibimbap. The prices are also a little high ($18 after tip and tax) for the quantity and quality of food. If you add additional items such as an egg or kimchi, it could easily cost over $20 for one bowl of rice. All in all, I wouldn't go back as there are many better options in the area that have better value. read more

You Don Ya - Beef don and pork belly don - Japanese Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I have been to You Don Ya for many years and always get the Karubi Don. There are many great options to choose from, including sides like karaage. Unfortunately prices have gone exponentially higher - I remember it used to be $11-$12 but currently at ~$18 before tax. As well, it used to come with soup and salad but now you have to pay extra for them. I still love the food but will have to visit less frequently due to these changes. Ending on a positive note, I'm glad they accept credit card now. read more

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The new Jap restaurant on the block! Ive been waiting for it to open up to give it a try! Since it was new, they didn't have an alcohol license yet so we couldn't order beers. Previously this was an old bar but they did a great job in renovating the place and making it look modern. The atmosphere was really nice ,staff was very attentive & the menus provided pictures and details. The price was slightly expensive and the portions were small. The taste of the food was good. One the side, we ordered the large & the dipping sauce was very tasty. Overall, I would come back to this restaurant to try other things on the menu! read more

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I've been hesitant to try You Don Ya because I never really see much of a line up or positive reviews. I decided to try something new with my team for Christmas dinner and made reservations for lunch. We were greeted warmly and seated in a private room upon arrival. We ordered: 1. Chicken Karaage: This was a really good to share for an appetizer. There was plenty of chicken and deepfried to perfection. The sauce that came with it was a sriracha-mayo like sauce which was yummy. 2. Karubi Don: Boneless beef rib with a hot spring egg over rice. The hotspring egg was a little too runny for me so I'd skip on it next time. The beef was grilled to perfection! Pink & tender. The bowl looked suspiciously small but I was sooo full upon finishing it. I feel like being seated inside the room we got accidentally somewhat ignored. I'd come back some time in the near future for the Karubi Don again. read more

This is a casual dine in restaurant serving Japanese don and tapas. I came here on the recommendation of my boyfriend and ordered their signature donburi dish: Karubi Don. I had pictured this dish to be an elegantly presented bowl of rice topped with gleaming slices of beef and onions but I just got a poorly arranged version of that. Aside from that, I was excited to dig in. Initially, I noticed how under-seasoned this dish was. If only there was some soy based sauce that could be added to enhance the flavour. The sauce they drizzled on was insufficient. Another criticism I have for this dish is how mushy my rice was. The rice was overcooked and made for an unpleasant eating experience. The meat quality was nice, but the rice totally ruined it for me. Moving on to the side dishes, I ordered the Karaage, and the Fried Brie Cheese. These were really delicious! The cheese was very gooey and melty. I definitely recommend this, and eat it right away. The karaage was crunchy and peppery. I loved eating it with the mayo sauce. It's rare to have side dishes that trump the main, but that is the case for this restaurant. If I were to return, I would definitely try some of their other rice dishes, as I'm sure those would not disappoint. read more

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We lined up for about 20 minutes to eat at this place. It was crazy busy on a Friday night. Once we were seated, we immediately placed our order. I got the Hamachi Nabe which consisted of yellow tail, shitake mushrooms, soyabeans, bonito flakes and a teriyaki like sauce that you pour over the rice bowl and mix together before eating. I also got a side of kimchi to go with my meal. My wife got the Karubi Don bowl which had slices of beef on rice. Both bowls came with your choice of either pork bone soup or a miso soup and a cabbage salad. We also added a side order of a fish tataki. To be honest, I didn't really enjoy my meal. I find once you pour the sauce over the bowl and mix it all together, the rice gets way too soggy and the fish gets ripped apart during the mixing process to fully enjoy the fish. The kimchi tasted like one of those plastic kimchi containers you find at T&T where it has been sitting on the shelves for months. It was very sour and mushy and not enjoyable. Overall, the meal wasn't bad but taking into the long wait time, I felt it definitely didn't live up to the hype. read more

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