Regina Troy Barrios

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Makanai

<h2 id="isPasted"><strong>In a nutshell </strong></h2><p>At <a href="https://www.instagram.com/makanaiph/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Makanai </strong></a>in BGC, dinner is a performance—think luscious donabe built tableside, steam rising like a miniature theater. It’s a polished, approachable restaurant built from a dream chef Jorge Mendez once shared with the late Margarita Forés.</p><div><br/></div><h2><strong>Need to know</strong> </h2><p><strong>Location:</strong> Unit 1B, West Gallery Place, Bonifacio Global City</p><p><strong>Cuisine:</strong> Contemporary Japanese rooted in the soul of makanai—the staff meal stretched into donabe, noodles, and small plates. Generous, thoughtful, meant to be shared.</p><p><strong>Best for:</strong> Lingering dinners: small celebrations, date nights, family feasts, or long meals with friends who notice the details.</p><p><strong>Must-try dishes:</strong> Wagyu Shortrib Donabe with truffle rice; King Crab Claw Donabe with crab fat; Unagi “Fish and Chips” Donabe; Wagyu Bolognese Maze-Soba; Popcorn Purin.</p><p><strong>Pro tip:</strong> Bring a group and order the donabe. Watch it assembled tableside, steam rising like smoke from a stage. Save room for dessert—the Popcorn Purin is worth the wait.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:900px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758157203921Workbench Thumbnail.jpg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Chef Jorge Mendez unveils Makanai in BGC | Photo: Makanai</span></span></span></div><p><a href="https://www.instagram.com/makanaiph/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Makanai</strong></a>, Chef Jorge Mendez’s new restaurant in West Gallery Place, BGC, is polished and calm. Soaring ceilings, blue and green stone accents, and piña cloth panels draped around each table give the room a quiet elegance. You notice the beauty first; you’ll remember the food longer.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:900px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17581572516191.jpg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Step inside Makanai: sleek tables, piña cloth panels, BGC vibes | Photo: Makanai</span></span></span></div><p>For Mendez, now executive chef of the restaurants once helmed by his mentor, Margarita Forés, Makanai is the realization of a long-held dream. Years ago, while collaborating with a Japanese chef abroad, they kept hearing the word <em>makanai</em>!—the call for the staff meal, made from whatever was on hand, shared among the team. That spirit traveled with them, so that everywhere they went, Mendez would find himself whipping up adobo and <em>kinilaw</em> for the team, while Forés packed essential ingredients in her <em>maleta</em>.</p><p> “Bringing this concept to life, Makanai, is deeply personal. It’s a tribute to those moments, and to everything Margarita and I have shared in and out of the kitchen,” Mendez says. At Makanai, the spirit of those staff meals—humble, generous, precise—shapes every dish, from donabe assembled tableside to the desserts that balance surprise and restraint.</p><p>Flickers of Makanai appear throughout Mendez’s career: in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/modan.mnl/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Modan’s</a> progressive Japanese menus, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/somethaiph/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Some Thai’s</a> inventive Southeast Asian spins, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ohayojapanesecomfortfood/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ohayo’s</a> comforting meals, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mugenramenyaph/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mugen Ramenya’s</a> precise, refined ramen. Each project sharpened his sense of texture, restraint, and warmth. Makanai is the sum of those explorations—a distillation, rather than a retreat, into nostalgia.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:900px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758157480580MIXING OF WAGYU SHORTRIB NABE.jpg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">The donabe assembled tableside, steam curling, flavors layering | Photo: Makanai</span></span></span></div><p>All of that experience comes to life in the donabe, which arrive at the table like a miniature theater of flavor.There are three variations: <strong>Wagyu Shortrib Donabe</strong> comes with truffle chahan, sukiyaki lotus root, and a shoyu-zuke yolk that melts into the meat. <strong>King Crab Claw Donabe</strong> is layered with crab fat sauce, paella chahan, and sweet snow crab. <strong>Unagi “Fish and Chips” Donabe</strong> stacks tempura unagi, egg chahan, lotus root chips, and tamagoyaki.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:900px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758157676083WAGYU SHORTRIB NABE.jpg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Wagyu Shortrib Donabe, rich, indulgent, and elevated to art | Photo: Makanai</span></span></span></div><p>The tray arrives tableside, ingredients stacked like props. The lid lifts—steam spirals upward—and the donabe is built before your eyes: rice, broth, garnishes, meat, each placed with deliberate care. When it lands on the table, each bowl is dense, layered, and substantial. You taste the depth, feel the warmth, and watch textures settle bite by bite.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:900px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758157699704KING CRAB CLAW NABE.jpg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">King Crab Claw Donabe with its crab fat sauce and paella chahan | Photo: Makanai</span></span></span></div><p>Before the donabe even appears, small plates set the stage.<strong> Watermelon Sunomono </strong>arrives in hefty squares, sweet with tang, briny ikura, and sakura ebi snapping under your teeth. The <strong>Gyoza Tartare</strong> is hand-minced beef, topped with wasabi foam and seaweed chips. It tastes like gyoza but looks nothing like it. Delicate yet vivid, the <strong>Kanpachi Crudo</strong> features fresh yellowtail with jalapeño kosho and nira oil</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:900px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758157738626WATERMELON SUNOMONO.jpg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Sweet, tangy, and fresh—the Watermelon Sunomono | Photo: Makanai</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:900px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758157762923GYOZA TARTARE.jpg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Gyoza tartare: playful textures, bold flavors, nothing like you’ve seen | Photo: Makanai</span></span></span></div><p>The small plates are just a warm-up—the pastas are where Mendez’s imagination takes hold. Each bite surprises yet makes perfect sense, a play of textures, aromas and seasoning that pulls you deeper into the meal.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:900px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758157798825CRAB AGLIO OLIO.jpg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">The delectable Crab Aglio Olio, noodles dusted with bonito | Photo: Makanai</span></span></span></div><p>The <strong>Crab Aglio Olio</strong> arrives with a snow crab claw atop noodles dusted with bonito crumbs. Saline and buttery, it begs for a chilled white wine. <strong>Wagyu Bolognese Maze-Soba</strong> follows: thick noodles coated in yolk and wagyu fat. Dense and indulgent, it is comfort food elevated to art. </p><p>The desserts keep the tempo going. <strong>Popcorn Purin</strong> layers burnt sugar syrup, salted chantilly, and caramel corn into something fun, unexpected and delicious. <strong>The Matcha and Dark Chocolate Cake</strong> is more meditative: bittersweet cocoa, matcha buttercream, cocoa shards. One teases, the other reflects. Both satisfy.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:900px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1758157856663POPCORN PURIN.jpg" style="width:900px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">The playful Popcorn Purin: caramel, burnt sugar, chantilly | Photo: Makanai</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>The restaurant has its own rhythm, a cocoon where hours slip by. Low lighting and meticulous table settings invite conversation, quiet observation, and the slow dance of steam rising from your donabe. Start with a few small plates, share dessert, maybe pour a bottle of wine or a splash of sake. Each bite demands focus. A private dining room will soon be available, enhancing the sense of intimacy</p><p>Every bite at Makanai is a taste of a shared dream. As Mendez says, “This is a full-circle moment…a tribute to those moments, and to everything Margarita and I have shared.” Each dish is precise, generous, and fully realized. By the time you leave, the meal lingers—not just on the palate but in memory.</p><div><br/></div><div><em>Taste it yourself, and see the story unfold at </em><a href="https://www.instagram.com/makanaiph/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>@makanaiph</em></a><em>.</em></div>

<p>At Makanai in BGC, Chef Jorge Mendez transforms humble Japanese comfort food into playful, elevated dishes that honor the mentorship and legacy of Margarita Forés.</p>

At Makanai in BGC, Chef Jorge Mendez transforms humble Japanese comfort food into playful, elevated dishes that honor the mentorship and legacy of Margarita Forés.

Now Open: Makanai By Jorge Mendez Turns Japanese Comfort Food Into Playful Art In BGC

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Now Open: Makanai By Jorge Mendez Turns Japanese Comfort Food Into Playful Art In BGC

Troy Barrios

Published Sep 16, 2025 09:25 AM PHT

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Updated Sep 18, 2025 05:31 PM PHT

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Makanai

chef jorge mendez

margarita fores

bgc restaurants

japanese comfort food

donabe

contemporary japanese cuisine

small plates

wagyu bolognese

king crab donabe

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