Craving for a Chinese cuisine with a spicy kick? Red Crab Group brings Komrad, a Chinese restaurant located at the 2nd Floor of Eastwood Mall Veranda in Quezon City. It offers dishes inspired from the districts of Hunan and Sichuan that offers that appetizing spicy that that everyone will surely love.
Before I share my dining experience in Komrad, here are some details about the Hunan and Sichuan cuisine that was offered in the restaurant. Hunan cuisine is known with its hot spicy flavor, fresh aroma and deep color. Its cooking technique is usually stewing, frying, pot-roasting, braising, and smoking. While the Sichuan even though it is also popular for being hot and spicy, other basic flavors of the dishes are sour, sweet, bitter, aromatic, and salty. With this characteristic and flavors, Sichuan dishes cater to diverse diners. So expect that wide range of taste and dishes in Komrad all prepared by cooking team headed by Chef Jason Chen.
For appetizer, Komrad offers Chilled Tofu with Pork Floss where customers can request if they wanted it to be spicy or plain depending on the preference. But I suggest order it spicy where you will enjoy that delicious fusion of chili and sweetness (because of the pork floss) and not to mention how it compliments with the chilled tofu that gives that scrumptious taste.
Chilled Tofu with Pork Floss is made of silken tofu, pork floss, sliced century egg, soy sauce, sesame oil and chili sauce topped with parsley that gives that aroma that is very appetizing. I have to confess I love it a warm bowl of steamed rice.
Mama Noodles is served in a mild spicy flavor, where you can enjoy the richness of the egg noodles tossed in a special sauced with meat and seafood. It topped with egg rolls, sliced snow cabbages (Chinese pechay) and spring onion.
And there was the Komrad Rice, just like other friend rice it has a flavor that what most of us say “kanin pa lang ulam na”. It is a stir fried brown rice or kiampong, with soy sauce, peanut, meat and other ingredients topped with spring onions and rolled eggs.
At first you will think that Sichuan Fried Eggplant with Pork Strips is a fried fish stops but it’s actually sliced eggplant breaded and fried but maintains the juicy texture inside. It is topped with pork strips and sweet Sichuan sauce that brings comfort in every bite.
Fried Whole Fish Hunan Style is a Lapu-Lapu or Maya Maya fish filled and fried with a pepper breading that gives that crunchy spicy taste.
Sichuan Osso Buco reminds me of sizzling bulalo that I ate in local restaurant in Pampanga. Instead of the usual tomato sauce and gravy, the Sichuan Osso Buco has this spicy sweetness brought by the Sichuan sauce and made more delicious with sliced vegetable perfect with rice. It is served in a hot metal plate on wood support to make it sizzling as it was brought to the table.
Crunchy and delicious, this is how I describe the Sichuan Garlic Black Bean Ribs that is very juicy and the meat is very tender that it easily peels off from the bone. You can actually enjoy the moderate spiciness of pepper and garlic that meat lovers will really love.
Knowing that Komrad is created by Red Crab, expect their unforgettable desserts. I had the chance to try their Toffee Banana Fritters that drizzled with black sesame seeds that give that distinct aroma that compliments with the banana and caramel. Also they have this Monggo Balls with Soup that is actually a steamed buchi made of sweet rice flour with red beans as fillings dropped in a sweet soup with sesame seeds and lime peelings. The lime and sesame seeds adds a fragrant and tangy that is very appetizing and “tangal umay”.
I hope they would also offer these desserts with shaved ice for the Monggo Balls with Soup and vanilla ice cream for the Toffee Banana Fritters.
Servings in Komrad can accommodate up to 3 persons. Aside from the dishes they offer everyone will love the Chinese revolutionary theme of the restaurant having wall paintings, red tables with star, and photos during the days of Mau Zedong leadership in China. And don’t forget to take photos of yourself and friends at the painting of Chairman Mao in the wall which is the highlight of the restaurant.
Komrad – Mao’s Hunan and Sichuan Kitchen
Address: 2/F Eastwood Mall Veranda, Eastwood City, Libis, Quezon City
Contact Number: (02) 921-3440
Operating Time: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
