Rooted in his background as an R&D chef for none other than Margarita Forés, Jorge Mendez wields a profound understanding of culinary techniques from around the globe, but one cuisine, in particular, has got him smitten: Japanese. With the opening of Mōdan, Mendez steps into the spotlight to offer innovative, contemporary Japanese tasting menus unlike anything Manila has seen before. Menu highlights like the debasaki (chicken wing)—first stuffed with rice and caviar and served with shoyu-cured egg yolk, and more recently presented with a Balinese sauce and stuffed with juicy tsukune—have made the Cubao restaurant a bucket-list destination for many foodies, and rightfully so. In the few years since establishing Mōdan, Mendez has not slowed down, introducing new concepts like Some Thai and more to follow, soon.