Get a Taste of Asia at Crustasia Asian Bistro

Friday night last week was spent dining with fellow foodie blogger friends at Crustasia Asian Bistro**. The restaurant is nestled at the ground floor of Power Plant Mall in Rockwell, Makati. I've heard of the dining place before but it was my first time to actually dine there to sample their various offerings: Thai, Indonesian, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Chinese specialties plus mouth-watering seafood. If you're a Pinoy like me, forget about your local cuisine for a few hours (because they don't serve any Filipino dishes here) and indulge in the distinctive cuisines of our neighbor countries. Now, lemme tell you about my awesome dining experience.



For starters, we had the Thai Catfish Salad and the Grand Javanese Sampler consisting of Martabak Telor (Indonesian bread stuffed with eggs and meat curry), Sambal Teri Kacang (spicy dried anchovies and peanuts), Kerupuk dan Emping (Indonesian assorted crackers) and Bakwan Jagung Manis (corn fritters).


Thai Catfish Salad, P245


Grand Javanese Sampler, P295

Taste wise, I found the catfish salad okay (tasted better when eaten with the chili-vinegar dip!) though the catfish was a bit oily. As for the sampler, I happened to try some of the spicy dried anchovies and peanuts and I loved them. It makes for a good pulutan, methinks.

To get things more exciting, we had a soup called Sichuan Boiled Catfish. It's one recipe taken from the Sichuan cuisine of China. It had boiled catfish, fresh mung bean sprouts, dry roasted chilies and other spices. The boiled catfish was divine, so soft, fresh and tasty. The soup itself, on the other hand, was tolerably hot and spicy.


Sichuan Boiled Catfish, P395

For the main courses, we had a few dishes to share:


All Meat Sate Sampler,P685 for 16 sticks



This All Meat Sate Sampler came with two sauces: soy-chili dip and peanut sauce. The tender and succulent pork sate tasted a lot like Pinoy pork barbecue (take that as a compliment!) to me while the chicken sate was too spicy for my liking (people who love spicy food will surely enjoy it!). According to Chef Nur (the resident chef who graced our dinner with his presence), it is best paired with rice to neutralize the spicy flavor.


the smiling-faced Chef Nur


Hunan Cumin Ribs, P465

I'm not a big fan of spices with very rich flavors (except curry) but I enjoyed this rib item that had lotsa cumin. The recipe, by the way, is from the Hunan cuisine of China.

I don't have a photo of the Thai Style Grilled Squid (P285) but I love squid and so I liked this dish a lot. The squid was grilled to perfection and the meat came out soft and succulent. It's perfect as is or paired with a chili-vinegar dip.

At Crustasia, the star of the night will always be the giant crabs cooked to the Asian dish of your choice. For our group, we had two orders of Kepiting Masak Sauce Mentega (Indonesian sweet soy and butter crab):


Indonesian Sweet Soy and Butter Crab, P145 per 100g.

Each order had one giant crab (more or less than a kilo heavy!) sitting on a slightly thick sauce with sauteed onions and fresh red chili slices. Oh boy was it good! I've tasted pepper crabs and crabs cooked in coconut milk before. But it was my first time to try this particular crab dish and it left a lasting impression to me. The flavors were so familiar yet so unique. Did I mention the crabs tasted really fresh, too?

True to its origins, our feast was paired with perfectly-cooked steamed rice and beverages like dayap mint cooler, pineapple shake and Thai iced tea.

Crustasia Asian Bistro is one posh dining place where you can bring your family and friends without worry. Some of the things I easily noticed upon entering the restaurant were the lovely 3D wall art, the leather-covered cushioned seats, the artsy light fixtures, and the high ceiling. I heard the place has had a makeover recently and I think they did well. The restaurant turned out to be modern-looking yet very cozy. And quite spacious, too.





That Friday night, the restaurant was half-filled (mostly yuppies and foreigners) and we even had some celebrity sightings (hello celebrity couple Bea Alonzo and Zanjoe Marudo!). All in all, it was a great dining experience for me at Crustasia Asian Bistro. I hope to be back soon! :)


our group


Crustasia entrance door

**Crustasia Asian Bistro is one of the concept restaurants under the Red Crab Group.

Crustasia Asian Bistro
G/F Power Plant Mall
Rockwell, Makati

(+632 728-5463)


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