Haru Sushi Bar and Restaurant in Bo. Kapitolyo, Pasig

My good friend Bianca is getting married tomorrow. While I'm extremely happy that Bianx and Pao are finally tying the knot, I can't help but feel a bit of sadness that I won't be physically there to witness this momentous moment in their lives. Oh to be 1,400++ miles away from home. *sigh*

Anyway, allow me to dedicate this entry to Bianca as I tell you about our recent dinner together at Haru Sushi Bar and Restaurant -- our last before she officially becomes Mrs. M.

Bianx, Kat and I are a trio. We all used to work for the Green Siren a couple of years back and have moved on to new companies since. Both Kat and Bianx were from the same department and our office cubicles were not exactly close to each other. What made us bond was our shared love for... FOOD. It all began with a series of emails sent back and forth until we agreed to meet up for lunch and that lunch led to another lunch...after which, we also had dinner and more dinners thereafter. It has been 5 years since that first lunch together and I'm pretty sure there'll be a lifetime more despite our current "long distance friendship" status.

A month ago, we agreed to check out this fairly new Japanese restaurant with the booming Brgy. Kapitolyo area in Pasig . It is located right beside Cafe Juanita and we later found out that both restaurants have the same owner. The interiors were pretty as I loved the fish pond with the mini wooden bridge. My only complain is they have kept the same concept as with Cafe Juanita where each table has this bell/charm hanging on top which can be used to call the attention of your server. To be honest, it was pretty much useless as we ended up still waving frantically in order to make a request to our quite snooty / PMSing server.

Anyway, we didn't let his rude behavior affect us as we were all so excited to see each other again. As we catched up, we began our meal with two bowls of Edamame beans (Php. 125/bowl). I love edamame but I was so shock to see how expensive it was. I couldn't believe my eyes! These are simply boiled Japanese soybeans with salt. It was so addicting though that we requested for two bowls and just played blind towards the price tag that came with it.

The Bride-to-be Bianx wanted some sushi and sashimi and so we got three kinds that night! We had the Dynamite Roll (Php. 269) which looked liked giant California Makis but is filled with spicy tuna and salmon sashimi. It was pretty good and I do advice that you share this as it can get pretty filling after consuming a few pieces. It's also good to note that the sashimi was indeed very fresh too.



We also tried the Crazy Roll (Php. 188) which sadly paled in comparison to the Dynamite Roll. Slightly breaded and deep-fried hand-rolled maki filled with kani sticks and topped with more kani sticks. Nothing exciting about this one only it might be a good choice for non-sashimi eaters.

Luckily, my friends and I all love raw fish a.k.a. sashimi so we agreed to try a plate of Salmon Sashimi (Php. 308). To be honest, I feel that Haru's price list is a little bit on the high side considering it still belongs a few notches below the super authentic Japanese restaurants in town. I'm glad though that despite that, the quality was good making us not regret shelling out a little more for our meal.

This dinner came right after our visit to Watami and this was the reason why I was craving for Beef Sukiyaki (Php. 318) then. It wasn't so bad yet I was hoping to get more beef strips instead of being overloaded with silk tofu which I am not so fond of.

Lastly, we tried the Uni Tempura (Php. 295) which was the most disappointing dish that we ordered that evening. It had a pea-sized uni stuffed inside and all we could taste was the oily tempura coating. We're skipping this next time.

Here's sending my love to dear Bianca and Pao!!! I can't wait to see you guys again. ♥ ♥ ♥

Haru Sushi Bar and Restaurant is located at 9 West Capitol Drive, Barrio Kapitolyo, Pasig. Call them at 631-0597. Haru's parking is very limited but during evenings, you may opt to park along the street instead.