Mendez started leasing the space on 20th Street, Cubao with business partner Angelo Comsti early in 2022 when their home-based enterprise Byrd Tubs (all things chicken and rice) has grown too big for their apartment kitchens and when Ohayo Gilmore has become too busy again to share production space with their Hainanese chicken rice, chicken inasal, and char siu chicken, among others. Called “Schmear Kitchen,” it is both a cloud kitchen and now home to Mōdan (with is the Japanese word for “modern”) where Mendez hosts up to 12 guests per night on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

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His food is unequivocally and unbudgingly neo-Japanese, something that Mendez knew he wanted from the beginning. Japanese cuisine is something that he holds close to his heart because it was food that he learned to eat through his mother, who is quite masterful at preparing it having worked in Japan as a show band singer. Mendez tears up a bit recounting those early years when she was away: “I remember we would listen to a cassette tape of someone singing Japanese songs. We would just be playing that in the background and I did not know who it was. Apparently, it was my mom singing!” This deep affection for his mother is what continues to steer Mendez on his deliberate path that began in 2nd-year high school when he decided he wanted to become a chef. His love for cooking was fueled by the Filipino dishes his mother prepared at home (eventually, Mendez’s father asked her to return because the distance had become unbearable), thinking that one day he would want to prepare delicious food for her, too. After culinary school, Mendez admits that “most of the money” went to his training and staging in restaurants, mostly in Singapore, notably that of chef Andre Chiang’s now-defunct eponymous restaurant, among others.

See also: The 23 Best Japanese Restaurants in the Tatler Dining Guide 2022

His inaugural 12-course degustation menu (something Mendez plans to tweak every three months) may be driven by years of harnessing his skills cooking in other people’s kitchens and delivering more approachable dishes in his own restaurants, but it is fueled by his love and appreciation for the people closest to him. The epic journey begins with taro cream and onion tea that is accompanied by a beef tendon tempura fried perfectly until crisp on the outside while keeping its gelatinous contents intact. The eloquent server explains that this is a tip of the hat to the first Japanese meal Mendez’s mother made him try, tempura and miso soup, spurring the chef’s fascination for Japanese cuisine.

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Each course that follows is accompanied by not only an explanation of the dish but also its connection to a certain person and the food memories attached to them. The amaebi, capsicum, jicama, and tosaka, for instance, is Mendez’s ode to his mentor and boss (he is her R&D chef), Asia’s best female chef Margarita Forés, who introduced him to the flash-cooked shrimps during a work trip to Japan. His version of ramen with scallops and matcha noodles in paitan broth is inspired by the Japanese ramen expert who generously shared the know-how that is the backbone of Mendez’s bread-and-butter. The dessert of dense castella topped with kuromitsu and given a savory bent with pops of salty ikura is a wink at his daughter who loves putting cheese on everything (“even corned beef!”), so the chef cheekily planted paper-thin yuba on top mimicking melted cheese.

See also: Flavours of My Youth: Margarita Forés Revisits the Dishes That Shaped Her Childhood

As dinner progressed, one cannot help but appreciate how Mendez displays laser-like focus in executing his chosen theme. He explained how Japanese chef Hiroyasu Kawate—of Tokyo’s modern French restaurant Florilege—gave him a tip on how to execute modern Japanese successfully. “You need to take the classic Japanese dish, and then apply three more techniques on top of it,” Mendez says. Take his version of debasaki, for instance, or chicken wings that is an izakaya staple. He hangs the wings up to dry as one would duck for roasting in Shanghai, then he stuffs them with rice and lumpish caviar. This is served with a “dipping sauce” of shoyu-cured egg yolk. For the fish course, Mendez ages fillets of gindara which he cooks ever so slightly to retain its unique texture, served in a pool of creamy miso and scallions. His claypot rice is embellished with perfectly grilled wagyu short rib and unagi, yet Mendez chooses to talk extensively about the treatment given to the rice which is first steamed, as usual. But, then it is handled like sushi rice by getting a quick toss-around in soy sauce, so if you take a closer look, each grain stands alone and is wrapped in golden umami.

See also: Introducing Metronome’s New Bistro Lunch Menu: A 3-Course Set Meal of French Classics

Much will be said about Mendez’s patience, which truly is laudable. It takes a lot of humility and strength of character to act as an apprentice to the great ones, quietly waiting for his day in the sun. Many will write sonnets in praise of the beautiful food he prepares, the odes to his beloved. His success is built on the strong foundation of his supportive family, a career enriched by mentors and respected peers, and an inborn talent sharpened by determination and fortitude. Honouring the people and institutions that brought him here speaks of who he is and it is only fitting to always look to them with gratitude and fondness. However, with all due respect, let this be the last time we speak of them. Mendez took the good from each and every one of them and turned it into something completely his own, and with resounding success, in Mōdan. For that, let us now begin to honour him instead.

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