Haru Singapore – Unique Japanese-Korean Fusion Grain Bowls!

Opened in early March, Haru Singapore serves up Japanese-Korean fusion grain bowls.

The café is run by two brothers, Benedict Yong and Benjamin Yong, who also run a food and beverage consultancy, Twenty Nine. Benedict shared that the the two of them have always wanted to own and manage their own brand, hence they decided to start up Haru at an opportune moment.

The menu at Haru is pretty straightforward. The café mainly sells Chazuke, a type of multigrain rice bowl. Benedict shared that he concocted the multigrain mixture himself, and it is made up of 8 different types of nutritious grains such as rice crispies, barley and Chinese almonds.

Each Chazuke comes with a bonito kelp broth on the side. Diners can consume the bowl in two ways, on its own, or make it into a gruel with the addition of the bonito kelp broth.

We were recommended the Poached Lobster ($23). The bowl saw half a poached bamboo lobster dressed with a yuzu-gochujang sauce and ebiko sitting atop multigrain rice. On why he decided to use air-flown bamboo lobsters from India, the 28-year-old said: “The bamboo lobster is richer in flavour and its meat is more steak-like as compared to Boston lobster.”

Other ingredients in the bowl included menma (bamboo shoots), cured cucumber and half a hanjuku egg. We enjoyed the perfectly poached lobster. The tender and sweet meat paired perfectly with the yuzu-gochujang sauce. The mild heat was very enjoyable.

If you’re not a fan of shellfish, the Mangalica Chashu ($18) is a great alternative. You might be wondering what Mangalica is. It is a Hungarian breed of pig that has a woolly coat. The meat from this variety of pig is prized for its high-fat content — even the lean meat is marbled!

The Mangalica pork was extremely fatty and melted in our mouths. It’s a pity that there were only 3 slices of this luscious chashu. It was so good!

Currently, each multigrain bowl set comes with a home-brewed red date tea, but Benedict shared that they’re in the midst of switching out the tea for a salad, which may be more appealing to diners.

If you’re looking to try out the Chazuke, come during dinnertime. Haru has a different menu for lunch, which focuses more on quick-prep rice bowls, such as Bulgolgi Beef ($12) and Miso-Sake Salmon ($10). Unlike the dinner options, the bowls available during lunch don’t come with a side of bonito kelp broth.

The cafe also has an interesting drinks menu. They have six different speciality teas. Options include Genmaicha ($4), and Salted Plum Tea Fizz ($5). What I like about the menu is that it’s very detailed. Each tea has a short description on where the tea leaves are sourced from, what type of tea it is, and the taste profile. No way could you go wrong, and end up with a drink that you do not enjoy! The salted plum tea fizz tasted exactly like its description — sweet, floral and stone fruity. We managed to taste all those notes, on top of a delicate tartness that made the drink oh-so addictive.

I’m definitely excited to visit Haru during lunch time to see what the lunch menu has to offer, even though the place is quite inaccessible if you don’t drive!

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.