A DELIGHTFUL FUSION
Sa dami ng mga samgyeopsal restaurants sa Bulacan ngayon, what makes one restaurant stand out? Is it the quality of the meats? The side dishes? The ventilation? The service? For someone who has eaten at a lot of these joints in the past few months, gusto ko naman ng medyo bago. Not entirely new, I still like the idea of grilling with family and friends over a meal. Then Ureshii Grill reached out to me. And I’m very happy that they did.
I’d understand if you haven’t heard of them yet. These guys are new, barely a month old when they invited me over for a sampling of their bestsellers. Syempre, pumunta ako ng gutom para ma-appreciate ko talaga ang food nila. And by appreciate I mean madaming makain 😆
THE SPACE
I quite liked what they did with their space. Feel na feel mo yung Japanese ambiance, there’s a mezzanine level to maximize the number of people na kaya nilang i-accommodate, and they have a big business logo whatchamacallit that diners can use as background to take a groufie.
THE FOOD
Wala ng ligoy, diretso sa pagkain agad 😀 Syempre unahin natin yung yakiniku nila. Yakiniku is to the Japanese what samgyeopsal is to the Koreans. So yes, grilled meat. What sets Ureshii Grill apart from our usual samgyeopsal haunts is that their marinade are Japanese and Korean-inspired. We had their pork, chicken and beef marinated in 4 different sauces: Teriyaki, Yakitori, Bulgogi and Garlic Gochujang.
What I liked most about their meats is how tender their beef is. Sa Ureshii ko natikman yung pinakamalambot na beef sa lahat ng nakainan ko lately. Usually unang nauubos ang pork when we eat samgyupsal pero this time, yung beef ang naunang naubos. Hihi. Their flavors are great, too. I especially loved the Gochujang marinade.
For the sides, they have the usual plain rice, japchae, lettuce, kimchi, ssamjang, and sweet spicy dilis that I have seen in other restaurants. Their japchae, while not the best in my book, is still pretty decent. I would’ve liked more flavor from it, I guess. And P complained about it being too chewy for him. It was already cold by the time we got to it (busy sa pagpi-picture, hazards of being a blogger 😥 ), so we chalked it up to that. The chef said he would take our comments into account, so we were still happy.
What’s new to me are their baby potato salad, kakiage, and miso soup. I LOVED their miso soup! Although it was not hot when we got to it, I still liked it a lot. I personally think miso soup is an acquired taste, you either like it or you don’t. But Ureshii makes it exactly right. Their baby potato salad is mayonnaise-based, which is weird at first kapag nasanay ka sa gamja-jorim which is braised in soy sauce and rice syrup. Pero once you pop one in your mouth after you eat your grilled meat wrapped in lettuce, you will realize, hala bagay naman.
The star of their meat-all-you-can offering in my opinion is their kakiage, a mixed vegetable tempura. Like, I could go to Ureshii and order that alone and I’d go home very happy. Tempura is what led me to adore the Japanese food in the first place, so it makes sense na sa lahat ng side dishes nila, ito yung pinaka-nagustuhan ko. Delicately battered and partnered with an amazing tempura dipping sauce, it’s just perrrfect. I’m imagining how it tastes right now, actually. Yum.
From one new favorite to the next, ito namang salmon and cheese maki nila na pinatikim din nila samin. It’s a-ma-zing! Jusko kulang ang isang serving saming tatlo! Haha! It’s so light pero sobrang flavorful. The cheese, FYI, is cream cheese. Love ko ang cream cheese sa carrot cake, I didn’t know na bagay din pala sya sa salmon. Thank you chef, it’s a revelation 😀 They have other makis in the menu, and we’re excited to try all of them when we go back.
These next two items that they prepared for us are their katsudon and tonkatsu curry. Sabi nila ito daw ang bestseller sa mga students na kumakain sa kanila, and it’s no wonder kasi it’s reasonably priced at ang dami ng serving nya. I did not eat the tonkatsu curry that much, I still stink of curry from all the laksa I’ve eaten during our Singapore/Malaysia trip 😆 But what I tasted, I liked. Maybe I’ll order that in three months time, pag miss ko na uli ang curry, so I can enjoy it better 😀
Despite my kabusugan from the meat-all-you-can, nakalahati ko pa rin yung katsudon, which is an indication na masarap sya. I would definitely order this again in one of our future visits.
THE DESSERTS
Lahat ng meat-all-you-can orders come with a single serving of bingsu. It looks gorgeous on pictures, and it tastes good din. Perfect for cleansing our palate after all the good food we just ate.
And last but most definitely not the least, the new king of desserts for us: coffee-flavored jelly topped with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and generously drizzled and lined with caramel. Ito na ang new favorite dessert ko na hindi ako ang may gawa. I would go back to the resto just for this. Kahit ito lang din, masaya na ako 😀
Lastly, eto yung menu nila, so you can see kung magkano yung price range nila. For the quality of their food, I’d say they are affordable. No need to travel far to get good Japanese food, dito lang satin sa Bulacan meron na 🙂
VERDICT
Definitely going back. Lalo at Malolos lang sya, and we’ve been informed na maglalabas sila ng ramen and gyoza on their menu by June, two of the countless Japanese food that we also love so much. Also, the parking spaces in front of the building is plenty, kaya hindi kayo mamomroblema dun sa part na yun. There’s no strong smell of grill on the way home in the car, so that’s another plus, pero there were only two other groups the time we were there, so I don’t know if that will still be the case if the place is packed full. We’ll find out in future visits. But overall, we’re happy. And it seems fitting, kasi Ureshii in Japanese means “happy”.
STORE DETAILS
Menu Items: Meat-all-you-can, Tempura, Donburi, Maki, Noodles, Soup, Rice, Desserts and Drinks
Address: 2F Eco Commercial Bldg., McArthur Hwy Brgy. Guinhawa, Malolos, Bulacan. In front of Caltex, Figaro and Graceland Mall, near BSU
Hours: Mon-Sun 11:00am-10:00pm
Parking: Car Parking
Contact: 0915 795 3675
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ureshiigrill/