Modan's Latest Tasting Menu Is a Daring Exploration of Neo-Japanese Cuisine's Possibilities

(SPOT.ph) Anyone who’s dined at Modan will have noticed the slew of tattoos imprinted on Chef Jorge Mendez’s right arm—a masked figure with antlers, an octopus tentacle, and a bird with an orange beak, to name a few. All of his tattoos are done by Jorge’s brother, who skips the typical inking step of drawing over a stencil outline and instead goes at it “freehand.” “I usually have a concept in mind, and he always knows how to work with it. [But my brother] never used stencils,” Chef Jorge tells us.

The chef was eventually struck with the idea of taking that same philosophy, and applying it to his own craft—and the result is Freehand, the newest tasting menu at Mendez’s private-dining restaurant in Cubao.

Chef Jorge happily lets his imagination take the steering wheel in his latest degustation, priced at P7,500 per head. Similar to previous lineups, he and his team largely take inspiration from personal memories and experiences, and maintains the progressive Japanese underpinnings they’ve come to be known for—perhaps stronger now than his previous Global menu, as he brings back his focus to Japanese cuisine here. But their execution of these ideas is more adventurous than previous lineups, with the team exploring new formats and ways of bringing out the best of all sorts of ingredients. Most of the ingredients they use this time around are local, too. 

A soup of smoky roasted eggplant, mayu oil, and radish “stars” sets the scene for what’s to come. Following this are bites, individually small but impactful, and a beautiful buildup taken in succession: Tamago, a cube of sweet tamagoyaki blanketed by A5 Wagyu, crowned with Nomad caviar; Hotate, with Hokkaido scallops (dry-aged for five days) dressed in dill and fermented apple oil, served over ube crackers; and Ebi, a tiny tartlet of citrus-dressed botan ebi, uni mousse, and a bright yuzu “veil” in a crisp shell tinged with beetroot.

Freehand this may be, but Modan keeps some of their degustation mainstays on the roster—in especially memorable variations. Their Tebasaki, for example, is most distinctive in this round, with Modan splitting down the grilled chicken wings (now stuffed with sushi rice) and presenting two expressions of it. One half gets a smidge of wasabi, egg yolk sauce, and a succulent strip of toro, while the other is crowned with zingy negi toro and caviar. Like before, this is followed by Modan’s Japanese-style focaccia—a denser and cakier strip than Italian versions, sprinkled with fish powder (made using local fish, we learn!) and paired with lush, velvety ankimo butter.

We’re then treated to the Amberjack. It stars its namesake, better known as hamachi, with the team aging the fish for 20 days for a meatier texture. The flesh is kept raw, while its skin side is grilled until crisp and charred; that way, you get to see two personalities of the fish—succulent and meaty on the raw side, smoky and rich on the grilled side. Joining the party are dots of roasted pineapple miso, wasabi, and pimiento mayo; the whole thing is wrapped in a minty shiso leaf, for you to hold like a taco before digging in. 

Now we’re at the Modan staple that is Nabe, this time centered on Mendez’s belief that “anyone can cook—just as long as you have the courage to put something on the plate.” The star of this version? Buttery strips of A5 Hitachi Wagyu (from Ibaraki Prefecture), which gradually cook as they’re mixed into the hot rice studded with sukiyaki lotus, king oysters, and ikura. Consider this a sophisticated take on the classic, savory-umami flavor combo of soy, mushrooms, and beef. Neutralizing our palates afterwards is a transition piece of sorts—a savory-sweet, refreshing number of raspberry and kiwi sorbets, nori coulis, and cucumber, inspired by temaki.

Chef Jorge recalls more of what he loves about Japan in the following desserts. There’s Shokupan, where the Japanese milk bread infuses a silky scoop of ice cream along with browned butter and drizzle of olive oil. Rich stuff, this is. Wrapping up the degustation is Zenzai, Modan’s take on the Japanese dessert soup of the same name, with azuki mochi rolled in matcha powder, bathed in a warm, sweet blend of azuki beans and macadamia milk.