Whenever Dr. Efren “Boy” Vazquez waves his magic wand, he enchants the culinary scene. The charm is manifested in his restaurants—Café Juanita, Carinderia Au-Gusto, Breakfast @ Juanita’s and Haru.
It isn’t common to have several restaurants that are all successful, but Vazquez has managed to do it, stamping each one with a unique trademark.
The knickknacks and ornaments that adorn his restaurants are just as much a topic of conversation. They come from his collection.
Although he has said everything is for sale, lately the pieces are becoming more difficult to come by. The collection is as much a form of self-expression as his cuisine.
I’ve found myself regularly patronizing his restaurants through the years, jumping from one to the other.
Current favorite
My current favorite is Haru along Kapitolyo Drive, Pasig City.
Haru serves Japanese food cooked to satisfy the Filipino palate. It is where I go when I feel like having crispy oysters or super crunchy chicken glazed in a sweet, teriyaki-like sauce.
I enjoy them with a tasty bowl of fried rice, which has a nostalgic taste to it, much like the kind I grew up with. A bowl of it alone makes me very happy.
The salmon belly sashimi is deliciously fresh, with a snap to it, not soft, soggy or mushy.
Must-try
A must-try at Haru is Vazquez’s pride and joy, chawan mushi. It’s like a custard within a custard; it comes with an onsen tamago (egg cooked over low temperature that leaves the yolk
silky, waxy, almost like a custard).
Haru’s food is downright tasty, hearty, not pretentious, easy to eat.
Doc Boy is an obstetrician turned restaurateur, he said. His love for food started at a very young age, having grown up in a home with a big kitchen.
He said his cooking is a blend of Filipino, Asian, Spanish (inspired by his father) and now Japanese cuisines.
Scientific
His cooking philosophy? Use your scientific mind; cooking is not just cooking, he said.
His restaurants are always packed to the brim, with a long line of people waiting to be seated.
What makes the restaurants click? “It’s something familiar,” he said about the food. “Simple tastes and flavors, the kind we’re all used to, yet modernized.”
He added: “Our food is current and up to date with the Internet age. Tastes change over time, and so must our food.”
Doc Boy said he does not strive for authenticity. “What I serve are dishes that I like to eat. And if I don’t eat it, like buro or ampalaya, I do something to make it appeal to my taste. When I can eat it, is when we start serving it in the restaurant,” he pointed out.
But he said his dishes are true to form: “I don’t believe in short cuts and we don’t use extenders. We go through the whole cooking process. We improve our food as we go along.”
He said the first restaurant he opened was Soho, a Japanese- Korean restaurant. It was conceptualized “while I was waiting for a baby to come out,” he recalled. “While waiting, I was thinking of food, cooking and food ideas. I kept thinking of restaurants that were successful with food that’s really good.”
Since Soho, there has been no stopping Dr. Vazquez. So, what’s next?
“I am a person who lives in the now,” he said. “I am still enjoying all these. What’s next will unfold in time.”
Haru Crispy Oysters
- 15-20 pc large fresh oysters (remove oysters from the shell)
- 2 button mushrooms, sliced
- Small bunch of winter mushrooms
- Handful of spinach leaves
- Splash of sake, approximately 1 tsp
- ½ c flour, for dredging
- 2 tbsp oil for pan frying
For the sauce:
- 1 tbsp plus ½ tsp sake
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp vegetarian stir-fry sauce (or any stir-fry sauce available in Oriental stores)
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- A pinch of dashi powder (available in Japanese stores)
- Few drops of yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit), though lemon juice will do
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
Heat the 2 tbsp of oil in a pan. Dredge the oysters in flour and pan fry until slightly golden and crisp.
Pour about ½ to ¾ of the sauce on the pan over the oysters (the oysters should have an adequate amount of sauce but shouldn’t be swimming in it).
Cook quickly, only until the sauce thickens slightly.
Transfer the oysters to a serving plate.
On the same pan, add the mushrooms and the spinach, and add a splash of sake.
Once the spinach wilts, remove it with the mushrooms and plate alongside the oysters. Serve immediately.
Haru is at 21 West Capitol Drive, Kapitolyo, Pasig. It’s always full, so it’s best to call and make a reservation at 6310597.