Orient Express Part 1

Forkplay gets lost in Binondo

Lech-Get It-On!

Jon goes toe to toe with Uncle Cheffy's garlic studded pork belly lechon

This Diet Ain't Proletariat

Raise your forks to the revolution! Discover Hunan and Sichuan cooking at Komrad

Apple of My Eye

Bianca trades the Big Apple for real apple-picking in upstate New York

Pork Barrel

Roast with the most or hyped up ham? We put the Anthony Bourdain-acclaimed Zubuchon lechon to the test

Sunday, January 22, 2012

This Diet Ain't Proletariat

Gong Xi Fa Cai! What I know of Chinese New Year I've learned from ampao red envelopes containing McDonald's coupons. That and a Mandarin hat my dad once bought complete with a fake braided pigtail. This my ten-year old self wore one United Nations Day in grade school as he shuffled around the classroom and repeatedly bowed to every classmate. Karma would catch up ten years later in America when guards at my school dorm consistently mistook me for a Chinese food delivery boy. That however is for another time.

My knowledge of Chinese cuisine is only slightly better. Weaned on episodes of Cooking Master Boy and Stephen Chow's God of Cookery, I treat good Chinese food - whether it's Wok Inn's pork 'sipa' fried wontons or fresh noodles in Binondo's Ling Nam - with fanatical reverence. After all, the only proper way to appreciate a chef's cooking is by rolling all over your food before fainting.



The same goes for Cooking Master Boy's delicious-sounding 'China Within A Fish Stomach', which would be the most insane fish relleno ever made.


Until that day comes however, there is Komrad. Since it opened late last year, the quirky noodle and dimsum parlor in Eastwood has been attracting curious office workers and families, all of whom dine under the watchful gaze of Chairman Mao in a chef's jacket.

Seeing red: Vintage decor from China's communist heyday adorn Komrad's walls. 
Komrad is part of the Red Crab Group of restaurants whose head chef, Peter Ayson spent some time in Beijing and other Chinese cities researching on what the locals dined on. His search led him to Chef Chen Xuen who was operating out of a small eatery. Back in Manila, Ayson and Xuen have designed a menu that is authentically small-town, hearty, backwater China yet still ripe with cosmopolitan inventiveness.

Here's a different face to Chinese cuisine, at least one that's a safe remove from whatever you've tried in a Hap Chan or Kowloon. Taking the forefront are Hunan and Sichuan cooking, vibrant traditions infamous for their liberal of chilies, shallots, and garlic. (Mao Zedong hailed from Hunan Province hence the socialist concept.) Be prepared: Komrad's dishes are fierce and lusty, gratuitously oily, and often enough gleefully fried. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Xuen who is in his early thirties is himself quite the character. Shuffling back and forth between kitchen and dining area, he handed me dishes with a cheeky smile (and a twinkling silver tooth to boot) and in halting Filipino described what was at stake: Ito baboy. Ito manok. And later after dessert, Bayad kayo ha with a wink

Stalinist starters: Luscious chilled tofu with pork floss (left) and the Yakimeshi-like Komrad fried rice (right) 
The menu hearkens back to the hearty, spicy fare of China's heartland; food meant to warm you up during the cold winter months, and to open your pores come summertime. Even Chairman Mao swore by a bowl of jiggling red-tinged braised pork each day for the bright-eyed proletariat. For starters there's chilled tofu served in cascading slices swimming in soy sauce and topped with pork floss (P225). The eggplant and red bean fritters (P135) are a close second with their addictive crunch. 

For dimsum, opt for the fried Shanghai dumplings (P125) - pork balls each wrapped in a chewy, doughy mantle. There's another type laced with truffle oil, but really it's barely there. Not everything with truffle oil ends up amazing. 
Party food: Komrad's fried Shanghai pork dumplings (left), and Chef Xuen's take on Kung Pao chicken (right)
Further on, there's bite-sized Kung pao chicken almost like KFC poppers with dried chilies and peanuts (P198). These are gratifyingly crisp and mildly dry. Mind the sudden bursts of heat though, and be sure to have a glass of iced tea nearby at all times.

At one point, Xuen even brought out a small plate of pig ears in a bed of chilies, shallots, and garlic (which at this point you should be used to) that suspiciously smacked of leftovers. It's not officially on the menu, but hell, all this impromptu pulutan needed was some cold bottles of Tsing Tao to make it into perfect bar chow.


If you're adventurous look into the cumin pork ribs (P359), a rarer specimen with its telltale whiff of the exotic filling your nostrils almost immediately.

"Some customers have approached us saying their server needed deodorant, but really it's the cumin they're picking up," says Ayson with a grin. One of the staff chimed in: "Parang amoy Bumbay o Arabo!" Smell and taste are quite different however. The ribs are downright delectable with a mild, pervasive heat that coats your lips. It's not for everyone, but it is worth trying on your first visit.

Collective guilt: The sinful cumin pork ribs (left) stand out in an already quirky menu. The equally kitschy decors (right) make good use of China's revolutionary past.
So is Komrad revolutionary? Not entirely. Somewhere out there I imagine discovering the real authentic experience in a grimy little noodle and dimsum parlor in some Beijing alleyway, and not a communist-themed Eastwood restaurant. But even then, it's my gut feeling that Komrad comes close. The uncommon dishes, bold use of spices, and hearty servings will satisfy diners throughout Year of the Dragon. And if this were a lost scene from God of Cookery, I'd be rolling all over my pork ribs too.

Komrad - Mao's Hunan and Sichuan Kitchen
2nd Floor Veranda, Eastwood Mall, C5 (E. Rodriguez Avenue), Libis, Quezon City
Contact 9213440

Monday, January 2, 2012

In Lieu of the Chocolate Man

by Twinkle

He came, they saw, he faltered.


Whispers (well, text messages to be accurate) of a chocolate man roaming around the ballroom found it's way to me.  Although I arrived 30 minutes after the doors to the Grand Wine Event opened, it seems like I've missed the chocolate man!  I’m guessing people started drooling over him and scared him off.  I was left with a room full of premium wine choices, long tables lined with tapas, a giant paellera and a chocolate buffet that would make Willy Wonka proud!  A giant chocolate bar that covered the whole long table, thick brownie logs, a chocolate tree abloom with french macarons (again more chocolate!), and a dark chocolate sphere covered in giant strawberries.  

The 'forbidden fruit'?!?

I’m a chocolate macaron convert!
  I’ve got my fingers crossed hoping they have the brownies and macarons at the Marriot’s patisserie outlet.  

Going "Au Natural" at Sauceria

by Twinkle

Happy new year to all!!! After bidding adieu to a ‘food-ventful’ 2011, I’ve looked back and reflected on the yummiest bites I’ve come across during the year.  Aside from coming up with a list of 2011 favorites (watch out for that), I’ve also vowed to open up my eyes to healthier food horizons.  If you could have the yummy, with a little less of the health ouchies why not?

Jon and I found the middle ground where good food means both good for the body as well as the palate.  This healthy compromise comes in the form of the artisan restaurant Sauceria tucked away on Bonny Serrano (formerly Santolan).


When we first stepped in, it initially came across as one of those Japanese Italian restaurants that dish out big family servings and free bread.  Pastas, check.  Pizza, check.  Typical Italian fare? Definitely not.  One thing that sets Sauceria apart from the other restaurants is that they make almost everything from scratch – the breads, stocks, sauces, yogurt, and even the ketchup! 

Why go through all the trouble?  I got to talk the main man of the kitchen and he says “it’s artisan cooking. (Just like) grandma would create food like a craftsman who makes things from scratch.  The ability to create food from scratch using natural ingredients”.  Imagine a flavorful dish, sans MSG or any artificial additives.  Sauceria is all about fresh and nutritious food that tastes good naturally.  Does it actually make a difference?  You’ll have to taste it to believe it.  
 
Here are the items that top our list of favorites:

Pizza.  With so many options available in the metro, it would be hard to ‘wow’ a crowd.  Imagine my surprise when I fell in love at first bite.  Sauceria’s pizza left me wanting more, it hardly even mattered what topping you put on it.  This crust could do no wrong!  Top pizza honors go to the Salted Egg and Ampalaya, Charsiu, and the S’mores.

Salted Egg and Ampalaya Pizza (Php250)
Salted Egg and Ampalaya Pizza.  Admittedly, my first reaction was simply a non-committal ‘uhuh’.  Bitter much?  This unusual and slightly unappealing combination was actually a surprising favorite among the crowd. Pucker up and give ampalaya a chance.  You’ll never know, this veggie might just start to top your list!

Charsiu Pizza (Php 390)  and the S'mores Pizza (Php300)

Also try their salads and pastas and the appetizer to beat – the Tuna Tataki (Php340).

Sauceria's Pastas and Salads
Drinks to try would be the ginger soda, mango yogurt, and the Alamid coffee which is sourced from a Mt. Apo cooperative.

When asked to describe the food at Sauceria, we were given the simple answer -“nothing is an afterthought”.  With the extra care put into their food selection and preparation, I'd have to agree with that.

SAUCERIA

25 Bonny Serrano (formerly Santolan) Road cor Sunrise Drive, Quezon City (near Camp Crame)
Contact Number: (02) 584 3967
Email Address:  sauceria@gmail.com