Fast-food chain operator Yoshinoya D&C Co. said Wednesday it will open two restaurants in Manila this month, its first in the Philippines. Yoshinoya, which sells seasoned beef strips and rice known as "gyudon," said the first outlet will open Saturday and the second on Dec. 22.

The Manila outlets will be run by Yoshinoya Century Pacific Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Manila-based Century Canning Corp., which has become a Yoshinoya franchisee, Yoshinoya said.

The first restaurant, with a floor space of 83.54 sq. meters and 36 seats, is expected to bring in about 1.32 million pesos (about 3.3 million yen) a month.

The Philippines is the fifth overseas market for Yoshinoya, following the United States, Taiwan, China (including Hong Kong) and Singapore.

With the latest openings, the company will have 1,003 directly operated and franchised eateries overseas, in addition to 832 in Japan, it said.