Review: BANRI Noodle House
Last Saturday my brother came home from Manila for the long weekend. We decided to celebrate his & Dad’s birthday in advance as he can no longer fly back on the actual date. Our family’s idea of dinner out is always Japanese. But instead of going to our usual place in AS Fortuna, Mom suggested we eat at Banri Noodle House at the Crossroads in Banilad. It’s actually been around for a long time, but we’ve only started eating there early this year. It’s a tiny place but that’s the way the owner likes it. He’s always there – very dedicated. He is Japanese but he speaks a little Cebuano as he has been living here for quite some time now. He is very friendly and is always roving around to make sure each table is being attended to; that all orders are being served in a timely manner; people are eating well, and all that. He is very hands-on and has no qualms getting in there to clear out plates and wipe down the tables in preparation for new customers. The turn-over is impressive.
Banri is a little pricier at P200-P400 per dish. We don’t mind splurging a bit as this is, after all, a birthday celebration. It’s all good though. The servings are big enough to share with a family of five. If you are on a budget, this isn’t really the place to go. There are no value/combo meals. It’s a nice place to take the family or have some hot ramen on a cold or gloomy day. Banri is a little pricier at P200-P400 per dish. We don’t mind splurging a bit as this is, after all, a birthday celebration. It’s all good though. The servings are big enough to share with a family of five. If you are on a budget, this isn’t really the place to go. There are no value/combo meals. It’s a nice place to take the family or have some hot ramen on a cold or gloomy day.
The food has a different quality to it that I have not noticed in other Japanese restaurants. It’s strangely comforting - like it was Mom cooking for us or Lola(Grandma) making the soup. The ramensare piping hot, with velvety soft, freshly made noodles that blanket you with warmth & hearty flavor. The sobas are also freshly made and massaged with authentic Japanese goodness. Aside from the noodles they also serve the usual Japanese fare: sushi, sashimi, tempura, bento meals, etc.
I had it in mind to take photos precisely for this article but unfortunately, we ate pretty late. We had to wait for my sister whose class would end at 7:30. We got to Banri at 8:00 and by this time we were all ST-AAAAA-RVING!!! I’m not kidding. We really messed up our orders. I didn’t realize till later that I had forgotten to order my Gyudon. It just slipped my mind. We didn’t also notice that we had ordered two California makisand two Garlic Scallops & Asparagus (don’t worry, we still ate it all!). I was however able to get shots of the first two dishes that were served.
All in all it was a really good dinner. Everyone was really full and we all had a good time swapping stories and what else – talking about more food. Hopefully next time we can eat on time so I’ll be able to share the yummy photos!
