Do It “the Modo Way”

Posted: September 17th, 2010 | Author: LumDimSum | Filed under: Foodies & Dining Scene | Tags: Alex Molina, Daniel Urdaneta, Modo, Mosto, Spanish food | No Comments »

New addition to Sanlitun Village‘s hip and happening third floor dining level, Modo is a petit Spanish restaurant (approx. 70 pax seating capacity) that specializes in petit dishes. Co-owned by Mosto’s Daniel Urdaneta and Alex Molina, Modo showcases a beautiful open kitchen and a wine bar serving 18 wines by the glass and 80 by the bottle.

Modo's Open Kitchen

As the case with many newly opened restaurants, there’s been a lot of buzz about Modo. From opening until today, I have heard mixed reviews of Modo.

While the general Beijing consensus of Mosto is a big two thumbs up, people seem perplexed by Modo.  I’ve heard complaints about it being too expensive, I’ve heard the portions are just too small, I’ve heard complaints about the location and seating, but I think the main source of the problem is that everyone is comparing Modo to Mosto.  The same way that TERRA is NOT SALT, MODO is NOT MOSTO (love all the CAPS).

While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I don’t see how so many people can make all of these complaints when Modo explains how your dining experience will be as soon as you enter. Right when you sit down in MODO, you receive a very clean, straight-forward menu that clearly states its restaurant concept/philosophy.

In Spanish, modo means ‘manner’ or ‘way’.

We encourage patrons to enjoy the food we serve the Modo way, which means no starters, no mains, no sides: pick a selection of Small Plates – as we call them – share them with your friends and just relish in the variety of flavours we have to offer. The Small Plates are served fresh out of our open kitchen, in no particular order: once ready they go straight to your table. This is eating the Modo way. On the other hand, if you have your own modo in mind, just let us know. We are here to make you happy.”

Clean. Simple. Straight to the point.  It’s not “your way or the highway”.  It’s “the Modo Way”.  So go with it.

Between a group of ten of us, we not only ordered a broad selection of the menu, we ordered two orders of each dish. We also shared 3 bottles of wine and the total bill was only RMB 150 per person.

Out of the 17 Small Plate dishes on the menu, we ordered 11. Favorites among the table were the Octopus Salad, Seared Rare Tuna and Pesto Capelletti.

Here’s the whole sha-bang:

Crunchy Salad (RMB 40), South American Corn Polenta with Avocado, Chicken, Fresh Cheese and Spicy Pepper Sauce (RMB 40)

Seared Rare Tuna, Mango and Avocado Salad, Tamarind-Sesame Sauce (RMB 60), Goat Cheese and Feta Tortelli, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Organic Butternut Squash Foam, Thyme Oil (RMB 60)

“Smorrebrod“, Herbs Herring with Crema Cheese Truffles and Radish on Rye Toast (RMB 55), Duck “Ceviche” Braised Duck Leg, Red Onion, Red Pepper, Corn and Citrus Juices (RMB 55)

Warm Octopus Salad with Shredded Crispy Potatoes (RMB 55), Crispy Pork Belly with Roasted Red Apples (RMB 65)

Cappelleti Filled with Shrimp, Leeks and Walnuts, Creamy Pesto Sauce (RMB 60), Braised Lamb Shank Raviolone with Rosemary-wine demi sauce (RMB 70)

Review of Modo: Located between Karaiya Spice House and Tony Studio on 3rd Floor of Sanlitun Village: S10-31, 3/F, Bldg 8, Sanlitun Village South, 19 Sanlitun Rd,三里屯路19号三里屯Village南区8号楼S10-31, Tel: 6415-7207

Best Part:

• With Mosto’s Daniel Urdaneta and Alex Molina behind Modo, you can count on them to produce quality food, ambiance and service.
• I highly recommend the Octopus Salad (RMB 55).
• A great date place if you’re in the mood to enjoy fine wines with nibbles.
• Very reasonably priced wines by the glass and by the bottle.
• Great ambiance and buzz in the restaurant with people sitting both outside, downstairs and upstairs.
• Service was on point, impressive and professional.

Comments:

• While it is the “Modo way” to only have Small Dishes, I think I still prefer to have a 3 course menu with appetizers, mains and desserts rather than trying to fill up on tapas, where essentially every dish is the size of an appetizer.
• It’s better to dine at Modo with a bigger group so that everyone can share a wider selection of tapas.  As I mentioned, for the group of ten of us, we ordered two of each dish and it was plenty of food for everyone and including 3 bottles of wine, total was only RMB 150 per person.  I think it can be quite pricey with only 2 or 3 people though.

Rating: (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best)

• Food: 7
• Atmosphere: 8
• Service: 8
• Overall Experience: 7

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