Japanese restaurants and hawker stalls are everywhere in Singapore, but the food can be hit or miss—often due to frozen ingredients, pre-made sauces, or shortcuts in preparation. And when the food is genuinely high-quality, the oftentimes steep price tag becomes a turn-off.
Noticing this gap, Japanese chef Haruyama Yuki, 37, decided to bring authentic, affordable Japanese flavours to the masses with his hawker stall, Haru-Haru, located at Bras Basah Complex.
We spoke to Haruyama to find out why he chose to take on Singapore’s cut-throat F&B scene and what sets Haru-Haru apart from the myriad of Japanese eateries across the city.
An unexpected culinary path
Born and raised in Osaka, Haruyama’s path wasn’t a straight one to the kitchen. A graduate of a music school, his career began on a very different note, but working part-time in BBQ and yakitori joints during his student days sparked a love for cooking.
“When I cooked for the staff, I was so happy that everyone said how delicious it was, [so] I wanted to make more dishes,” he recalled.
That passion eventually drew him to Singapore in 2016, where he saw greater opportunities in the F&B scene compared to Japan as dining out is far more commonplace here.
In Singapore, Haruyama worked in various establishments, including mackerel-focused Japanese restaurant chain Sabar, where he rose to become general manager. He later took the helm as head chef at Torimaro Charcoal Grill & Sake Bar, an izakaya in Novena that unfortunately shuttered in Aug 2024.
While the closure was a setback, Haruyama had already set his roots in Singapore, where he lives with his Malaysia-born wife and their four-year-old son. Since his wife prefers to stay here, it gave him the push to strike out on his own.
At first, Haruyama intended to open an izakaya, but costs were too high, so he decided to start small. He connected with a Singaporean investor, and the duo stumped up a combined a five-figure sum to launch Haru-Haru in Oct 2024.
Bringing authentic Japanese flavours to Singapore
Haruyama believes that authenticity is what sets Haru-Haru apart in Singapore’s competitive F&B scene.
I think it is rare to find a Japanese person operating in hawker, and I also cook on site every day. So the fact that you can eat authentic Japanese food in hawkers with peace of mind is a big differentiator.
At the same time, he remains realistic about the market: “The days of if you serve Japanese food, you can make money are over—and with the low Japanese yen and fresher food available cheaper in Japan, it’s getting harder to run a Japanese restaurant in Singapore.”
That’s why, while staying true to Japanese roots, he also adapts his menu for local tastes. Haru Haru’s signature offerings include rice bowls with crisp, golden katsu (customers can choose between pork, chicken, salmon, or prawn) topped with creamy mentaiko mayonnaise. It’s a combination he noticed was always a hit with Singaporean diners at his previous workplaces.
Haruyama is also particular about offering better value. While Haru-Haru’s dishes are priced higher than your typical hawker fare, he makes sure every bite justifies the cost.
According to Haruyama, he uses US pork loin for the tonkatsu, makes all sauces from scratch, and fries every cutlet to order. He also insists on using nama panko for the coating, made from fresh bread like shokupan (Japanese milk bread). With its lighter, coarser texture, it creates a crispier, more delicate crust when deep-fried—a detail he considers essential for authentic katsu.
Other Japanese stalls, he claims, don’t go to these lengths. They buy sauces from suppliers, don’t fry to order, use frozen cutlets, or rely on dry panko that’s nowhere near as crispy as nama panko.
Serving up to 200 customers daily
It seems like Haru-Haru’s offerings have been a hit—Haruyama claims that the stall serves up to 200 customers daily.
But it didn’t start out that way. In the early days, Haru-Haru was serving just 60 to 80 customers a day, and interest only began to pick up once word spread—mainly through social media and Google Reviews—that the stall was helmed by a Japanese chef.
“When customers didn’t realise it was run by Japanese people, they would look at the menu but sometimes not order. However, once they understood it was Japanese-run, they became more inclined to give it a try,” he explained.
Now with higher demand, running the stall is no easy feat. Even with two to three part-time staff on hand, Haruyama still manages most of the on-site work himself, from cooking and ordering to staff training and cleaning.
And with increments on rent, food and labour costs, Haruyama shared that the stall’s profit margins are “quite thin,” though he didn’t disclose exact figures.
That said, he’s still doubling down on quality. “Quality control is the most important part, especially with the volume of customers we serve every day. We have to be careful not to over-order and not to keep too much meat in stock,” he explained.
Thanks to this focus, many of his customers are repeat visitors. Encouraged by the response, Haruyama recently expanded with a new outlet, this time focusing on ramen, which launched on Oct 4 in the same food court.
The stall’s ramen soup is made fresh in-house, and all menu items do not contain pork or lard. “Ramen is popular in Singapore too, and as I had some previous experience making it, I wanted to create a ramen that stood out from the rest,” he shared.
Looking ahead, Haruyama said he’s intending to open other outlets with different concepts in the future, building on Haru-Haru’s growing reputation for authentic Japanese hawker fare.
Although he’s aware of how cut-throat the F&B industry can be, he isn’t overly worried about the risks. “Starting a business is a risk no matter when, where, or under what circumstances,” he said.
“I don’t worry about the risks too much—I just do my best and manage what I don’t know by asking for help and advice from people I can rely on.”
- Read other articles we’ve written on Singaporean businesses here.
Featured Image Credit: Haru-Haru/ Vanessa Lau via Google Reviews
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