MENU: Cafe Juanita

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A taste that really lasts

By Margaux Salcedo
Inquirer
Last updated 03:19am (Mla time) 07/22/2007

MANILA, Philippines - What does it take to make a restaurant last over a decade?

I pondered this as I sat on my antique chair on a busy noonday at Café Juanita in Pasig. The restaurant was packed, and from the time I sat on my chair another five parties of four or more had come in to replace the two that had gone, and two more came in a little later. At 2:30 p.m., as we ended our meal, yet another group arrived. I was really impressed. How does a restaurant that’s out of the way, which has gained a reputation not by regular advertising but by word of mouth, enjoy such a following?

The couple beside me, obviously first-timers, were apparently enamored by the ambience. Indeed, guests are usually taken at first sight by the rustic escape that Juanita offers. A step inside feels like a fall down the rabbit hole into Wonderland: you can’t quite place where you are. You may sit on a Spanish gallinera or on a hand-carved Filipino chair, peer at the silverware collection near the banister that leads to the second floor; play “name that dog” using the ceramic dog collection on the window (that’s not a misprint—the dogs are actually atop, not beside, the stained glass window that has been placed inside the building’s real windows); play the piano in the second room of the long restaurant; or appreciate the Chinese vase that adds character to the section that holds the likewise antique air conditioner. It almost looks confused, like the owner went on a trip around Asia, bought a souvenir from each country and housed everything in Juanita. But somehow, like a Sarah Jessica Parker outfit, the eccentricity is pardonable if not fashionable, and the confusion becomes charming. I mean, no one would ordinarily pair velvet blood-red shoes with a purple dress and turquoise accessories. But when Sarah Jessica struts it down the red carpet with a smile as bold as Sumatra coffee, you must admit it wows the wits out of you in spite of the eccentricity of it all, and you just love her. Same with Juanita. You’re drawn in, and then the magic starts.

Café Juanita is owned by Dr. Boy Vazquez, a doctor turned restaurateur. He promised his mother that he would open a restaurant in her name and fulfilled that promise. With roots from Nueva Ecija and Pampanga, it’s no wonder the doctor has that magic touch with food. The menu is entirely his, a menu that was born simply by cooking for friends until he was inspired to turn hobby into profession. He says he likes to offer comfort food that is “updated and classy.”

The words ring a bell on my third visit, when I order the most classic of the classic Filipino comfort foods: adobo. Instead of the usual chicken or pork in a bowl, Juanita’s adobo is presented elegantly on a plate and crowned with adobo flakes. Called the Two-Way Pork Adobo Ribs, it is a refreshing take on the classic favorite, and the flavor is not compromised by the presentation, as the pork is marvelously soft, drowned in the soy sauce-sweet and vinegar-sour taste of homemade adobo. Same kudos go to the Kare-Kare ni Juanita. This was presented more traditionally, in a bowl, as one would at home, but the flavors are particularly exposed that I dare say Juanita’s kare-kare is better than at other Filipino restaurants. It’s simple but hits the nail on the head.

Indeed, the strength of Café Juanita is in its classic cuisine. Their bagnet (crispy fried pork belly), presented with a salad of fresh tomatoes, and bagoong (shrimp paste) are also highly recommendable. These classic Filipino dishes “updated and made classy” complement the ambiance to complete the Café Juanita experience. Were it not for these tried and tested traditional recipes, Juanita would have far fewer visitors than the throngs of customers it still proudly boasts of today. The menu is divided into Filipino, Asian and Mediterranean cuisines, and the Asian and Mediterranean lists run a couple of miles behind the Filipino. The sole, for instance, would be a disappointing first impression, even with its creamy side dip, and the Pinoy ratatouille would make many a Frenchman sneer at the attempted and all too salty impersonation. The Lapu Lapu in Tamarind Sauce in the Asian menu may be good in the evening with some alcohol, as its bones are deep fried to a crisp. But the creativity involved in carving out nuggets was all at the expense of losing the delectable taste of the fish to the batter that covered it.

Nevertheless, credit must be given to the restaurant, not only for sheer longevity, but for maintaining its character and credibility for good Filipino comfort food. I appreciated my meal with fresh buko juice, straight out of the husk, and succumbed to the cassava cake with sprinkled cheese.

Watching the crowd at Juanita on my last visit, I can’t help being amazed. There is a party of eight ladies leaving the inner room, and they stop to inspect the antiques, also for sale, that they pass on their way out. They chitchat happily as they check out the various intricate items on display.

The secret of Juanita’s longevity, I am now certain, is that Café Juanita is true to itself. It is unabashedly eclectic, yet at the same time welcoming. It is worldly-wise yet proudly Filipino. It’s like a trip to the home of a favorite aunt, whom you thought was weird back in high school, but whom you grew to love more and more as you grew older, and to whose dining table you continue to come back, again and again. And yet again.

Café Juanita is located at No. 2 United cor. West Capitol, Bo. Kapitolyo, Pasig City. Tel. 632-0357.