Cafe Juanita

Before I arrived in the Philippines, one of the conversations I had with my mom via Skype was about a restaurant I absolutely had to try was Cafe Juanita. She recently had dinner there with 2 of my aunts. The owner, an old friend of hers, a retired doctor specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, Dr. BoyVaszquez who she fondly calls Docky, welcomed them into his restaurant which he might as well call home. While Sandi and I were there, time went by too fast that my mom forgot to mention it again. My guardian angel reminded me to ask my mom about it, the afternoon before our departure back to Los Angeles. She promptly called Docky and though he was not at the restaurant, he informed her that he would stop by to say hello.

As we stepped in the door, Sandi and I were in awe of the whimsical decor. I have never seen anything like it in my life! Beautiful chandeliers, lamps galore,outlandish brightly colored fabrics, dolls, vases, baskets, colored lighting which showcased the numerous carvings and works of art. It had a mezzanine for private parties and a little indoor patio lit up with big pots, fountains and orchids. My mom informed me that one could buy some of the items. These are things Dr. Vasquez had collected from traveling all over the world.

Jun, a Jack of all trades; our server, manager and actor took good care of us. For appetizer, he recommended the Vietnamese Crispy Spring Rolls; wrappers are flown in from Vietnam. The rolls were stuffed with shrimps and crab meat and were delicious. He also suggested we order the 3 Way Pork Adobo. These were pork ribs stewed in soy sauce, vinegar and lots of garlic, served with crispy adobo flakes and adobong bisaya with banana on the side.  One of my favorite dishes is Laing, taro leaves cooked in coconut milk usually with pork and chili. I did not know what was in this particular laing and didn't really care as it was just great. The other dish we ordered was one of their best sellers; Lapu-Lapu, a fish from Laguna (a province), that was split open (Binukadkad) and fried. I just made sure the fish was not facing Sandi as this would have turned her off. The fish was served with a blend of calamansi and tamarind sauce. It was fantastic! Dr. Vasquez made his appearance and Sandi and I were delighted to meet our host. He was most charming. He looked at the dishes and decided that we needed Kare-Kare which is oxtail stewed in peanuts and vegetables. He asked Jun to bring us an order. The kare-kare was wonderful with the Bagoong Balayan which is fermented fish/shrimp, perfect with steamed rice.  Docky sat with us for a bit before he left for his next appointment.

We were all too stuffed to order dessert but since Sandi has not had the famous Halo-Halo (translated mix-mix) I had to order the mini version. Halo-Halo is a mixture of sweet beans, banana, jackfruit, and other ingredients with milk and finely crushed ice with or without ice cream. She liked it but couldn't eat too much since she is "lactose" intolerant. You can guess who sacrificed and finished the rest of it.

I am grateful to have "experienced" Cafe Juanita on our last night in Manila. I am sad that it was too late that I got to visit the restaurant and missed out on visiting his other restaurants. I would have loved to go back several times.

Thank you Dr. Vasquez for your hospitality and generosity. I look forward to returning to one of your homes the next time I visit the Philippines.