eupeimproveenglish

TEXT 1 TIME IS MONEY Japanese restaurants, which are suffering from the recession in Asia, are looking for new ways to attract customers. Some of them have adopted a new approach which, although it may not be good for a person’s health, is attracting a growing number of customers. They are offering meals which you pay for, not according to what you eat, but according to how long it takes you to eat them. Hiroyuki Shiga, a 20-year-old student, has made an art out of eating in these “fast food” restaurants. He advises diners to “take large quantities of everything”. In this way, he continues, “you won’t need to waste time going back to the serving table for second helpings.” The Totenko restaurant chain offers their customers Chinese food at a rate of 36 yen (0.26 € ) per minute, so a half-hour meal will cost approximately 682 yen (5 € ), instead of the normal 1904 yen (14 € ). Cost-conscious diners queue up outside the restaurant to take advantage of this offer. They can choose...