The Red Crab Series: Komrad at Eastwood Libis

Inspired by two distinct districts of China, Komrad got its remarkable and worth-sharing dishes from the districts of Hunan and Sichuan. With both being located at the southern part of the country with mostly high-intensity dishes, or spicy in simplest term, Komrad at Eastwood Mall in Libis, Quezon City just opened its door to share to you authentic Hunan and Sichuan dishes.

Located at the second level of the Eastwood Mall, along the Veranda, Komrad is the newest addition to the growing themed restaurants of The Red Crab Group of Companies. And now, with actor-chef Marvin Agustin joining them on this project, Komrad is considered as one of the must-visit restaurant now here in Eastwood.

Luckily, last week, together with my favorite food bloggers, I was invited here to have a taste of their sweet and spicy Hunan and Sichuan dishes.

If you'll ask me, Komrad is just perfect for everybody. May you be a vegetarian or not, their menu is complete with dishes that can fill you in and can satisfy you in a short amount of time. And the best part is, their prices are affordable and the serving sizes are just great!

But before I share to you the yummy treats that we experienced on our visit here, let me introduce first their funny and "kalog" chef who prepared all these dishes. He hails from Hunan, China, so rest assured that what you are going to have here are really the dishes - same taste and same style - that they have there.

Chef Jason Chen

According to our friends from The Red Crab, Chef Jason has been here in the country for only two months. It is his first visit here in the Philippines, and though, he is still ain't that good in English and Filipino, he seems to be enjoying his stay here, especially with The Red Crab people. We got a chance to ask him few questions, and the "kalog" chef just can't hide his smiles to us every time he try to answer us - really nice and cool.

So, okay, to start off the dishes that we tasted here at Komrad, let's start with their sumptuous appetizers.

For starter, we were offered with their Chilled Tofu with Pork Floss. A nice combination of layered tofu swimming in a soup of soysauce-like liquid and topped with pork floss, which you can ask to be removed if you are a vegetarian.

Chilled Tofu with Pork Floss - Php225.00

The taste was surprisingly good. The balance taste between the tofu and pork floss gave this dish a little kick that is just perfect to start a wonderful Chinese meal.

Another option for a starter or appetizer is their Mama Noodles.

Mama Noodles - Php198.00

Its comfy taste made this to be one of my favorite dishes from this place. The greasy yet very delightful and homey appeal is a fact why Chinese cuisine is considered to be a top favorite in the whole wide world, and this Mama Noodles has those characteristics that I really enjoyed savoring that day.

Our main course here at Komrad started as their Komrad Rice arrived on our table with its very appetizing aroma.

Komrad Rice - Php198.00

I'm huge in using condiments such as soy sauce and fish sauce, so when Komrad Rice arrived on our table with its brownish color, I already know that I will love it and will enjoy it down to its last grain - and I did! ^_^ Actually, Komrad Rice is a Kiampong, or a brown rice, with egg rolls and whole peanuts. Yummy!

As for the dishes that went along with our Komrad Rice, they varies in three kinds. We had one semi-vegetable dish, which is Sichuan Fried Eggplant with Pork Strips, then we had this fish dish called Fried Whole Fish Hunan Style, and lastly, two meat dishes named as Sichuan Osso Buco  and Sichuan Garlic Black Bean Ribs.

Sichuan Fried Eggplant with Pork Strips - Php198.00

Fried Whole Fish Hunan Style - Php398.00

Sichuan Osso Buco - Php288.00

Sichuan Garlic Black Bean Ribs - Php365.00

And among these four dishes that we got to try that day, my heart goes to the Sichuan Garlic Black Bean Ribs. Though, a little spicy, I just find it really tasty and a perfect match to the Chinese beer that we're having that day.

Tsingtao Beer - Php695.00 per bucket

The Sichuan Fried Eggplant with Pork Strips was good too, but I'm not really into eggplant, so I just had a bite of it and went to the other dishes. The Fried Whole Fish Hunan Style is another favorite of mine from Komrad. The tender and crispy texture of each fish meat that I had tells me how fresh the fish was and how good it was cooked. And as for the Sichuan Osso Buco, it reminded me of my mother's Kaldereta. And since my mother cooked her Kaldereta really well, as in, I just thought that this Komrad's Sichuan Osso Buco is no match to my  mom's Kaldereta. :-)

Despite of the spiciness of most of the food here, our day at Komrad still ended in a very smooth and sweet way - Hunan and Sichuan Desserts it is!

Toffee Banana Fritters - Php98.00

Monggo Balls with Soup - Php88.00

These two desserts just swept me off my feet! The sweetness of these two heavenly treats hit the right mark on my sweet tooth and I'm really surprise to love them that much. Monggo Balls with Soup is my most favorite, because Toffee Banana Fritters turned out to be so hard to eat once the melted caramel turns solid again. But it was sweet, really,  a nice finisher after that gastronomic Hunan and Sichuan adventure.

Knowing how diverse and how distinct Chinese food are after having a taste of the dishes from Hunan and Sichuan Districts just made me love Chinese Cuisine more. Thankfully, we don;t need to go to China to enjoy such dishes because at Komrad - Mao's Hunan and Sichuan Kitchen, every dish will take you to that part of China  and will give you an amazing gastronomic adventure you'll surely love to try over and over again.

Thank you, Komrad - Mao's Hunan and Sichuan Kitchen!!!

Komrad - Mao's Hunan and Sichuan Kitchen

2/F Eastwood Mall Veranda

Eastwood City Cyberpark,

Bagumbayan, Quezon City

(02) 921-3440