Bashiru And The Joy Of Having Japanese Food

There’s a new Japanese restaurant in Calapan and as a friend of the owners, I feel so happy to see the house full everyday ever since it opened its doors to Calapeños! But I feel more honored to become one of the witnesses of how the success of Bashiru Japanese Restaurant started.

When they were just beginning, I could still remember myself ordering their tempura and sushi platters in Nanay Goya’s Garden Restaurant. Before the pandemic, they were able to build a small restaurant in Pinamalayan, introducing Japanese cuisine to my hometown. At some point, they also put up stalls in food parks, offering budget-worthy ramen noodles. Now, Bashiru Japanese Restaurant moved into the city and it became one of the most-loved food houses not just by the locals of Calapan, but also by the residents of neighbouring towns.

Even we are from Pinamalayan, we are travelling a two-hour ride just to get these Bashiru favorites.

Tonkotsu Ramen

I can say that Bashiru’s array of ramens close to the ramens of the famous Japanese restaurants in Manila. From broth to noodles to toppings, I can definitely sense that their ramens are made of high quality ingredients. This Tonkotsu Ramen may be one of their simplest noodle soups but this bowl is already full of flavors. The broth already has the meaty goodness and the pork chashu melts in the mouth, girl!

Salmon Sashimi

No comment! Honestly, I couldn’t describe how good this is! Every after slice, I would just close my eyes and enjoy the flavors lingering in my palate. I can’t go to Bashiru without having their Salmon Sashimi as a side.     Even the chef of this restaurant already knows that! Ordering Sashimi is quite risky because the fish served is raw. But Bashiru is one of the Japanese restaurants I trust when it comes to this kind of food.

Kaizen Rolls

Bashiru’s Kaizen Rolls is composed of crab stick, mango, cucumber and cream cheese. Basically, it’s like a California Maki with a twist. The combination of these ingredients gave me a burst of incredible flavors. They were savoury, tangy and sweet all at once. Yep! They managed to do that in a small roll! The addition of cream cheese added a salty and fatty kick, which helped the maki roll be more satisfying.

Special Maki Platter

Every get-together like New Years Eve and Christmas eve, we always have a platter of sushi rolls from Bashiru on our table. I truly recommend their rolls among others in Mindoro because they are compact, properly prepared and nicely presented. They’ve got scrumptious and hefty servings of fillings and toppings. Each ingredients evidently contribute something to the flavors. They are also giving us different textures from crunchy to tender.

Gyoza

I’m not a fan of Gyoza but I think, they did a good job here. The wrapper alone is tasty already. It was thick, soft and toasty at the same time. But the luminous wrapper with burns on the side doesn’t overpower the overall taste. One could still appreciate the yummy mixture of pork, ginger, herbs and whatever is inside these small pockets. Speaking of the size, I always wonder how they put so much flavors in a tiny dumpling.

Chicken Teriyaki

Bashiru perfected that sweet and salty teriyaki sauce that my taste buds were searching. With their skin on, the chicken slices remained so tender. It’s like as if they were barely cooked through but in a good way. I like the charred parts it got from being griddled. I just wish they added more teriyaki sauce. The restaurant also offers Teriyakidon if you want chicken teriyaki with rice and I think, that’s a great deal because it’s more affordable.

Gyudon

My boyfriend is the kind of person who will choose the same food over and over again in a restaurant if he likes the dish so much. And in Bashiru, that food for him is Gyudon. I had a taste of his order and I immediately understood why. These thinly sliced fatty beef are totally addicting. The savory sauce does satisfy as well, especially when it crawls down to the rice. Everything is just spot on.

Ebi Tempura

I would like to applaud Bashiru for having wonderful food presentation. They even invested on these boards so the customers can truly enjoy the dishes. Anyway, these tempuras are huge! Nope! It isn’t because of the fried batter. It’s indeed because of the size of the prawns inside! The batter may be crunchy yet it still doesn’t dominate the flavors of the tender seafood. They’re accompanied with a vegetable tempura, too!