Makanai at West Gallery Place BGC is the new food concept from the CIBO Group, and its significance as the first opening of the post-Margarita era is not lost on me. While Margarita and Jorge Mendez, our Makanai-San, conceptualized the restaurant, and she was instrumental in the design, that Makanai only opens now can be attributed to the tragic events that overtook its coming to fruition.

During the lunch tendered to introduce us to its food and ambiance, I loved the little touches that were executed to make Margarita still feel like a presence. This included how our names had been written in her distinct penmanship, and how the physical space and flow still had her as a major influence. This was all explained to us by Edgar Allan Caper and Mercedes Fores, while Chef Jorge Mendez was visibly close to tears recounting why Margarita and he decided on the name.

Makanai in Japanese literally refers to staff meals, in-house food that is shared like a family or community; and Jorge recalled how he always felt like he was part of the CIBO family, tracing back their partnership to when Margarita took over the F&B of the Ascott at BGC. At Makanai, the menu is a la carte and good for sharing, so that one increases the number of menu items one gets to sample. It’s Japanese in inspiration, but pure Jorge Mendez; and I teased them, calling it Modan-Lite! It’s Jorge’s take on Japanese, but in a more affordable and casual setting. And trust me, it is so worth the visit!

For this bountiful lunch, the idea was for us to get a taste of a number of their early favorites, and to get stuffed so that we would be rolled out after the feast!

First up was the Sweet Corn Chowder, and the consistency and texture of this chowder make us forget every other version of Sweet Corn Soup we may have tried at Chinese restaurants. This was our warm welcome, and the foreshadowing of what was to come.

The Watermelon Sunomono is your salad that showcases the Mendez flair for subtly mixing up flavors and textures. Each bite of the watermelon cubes was like a little taste of Nirvana, with the sauce, vegetables and condiments all soaked up within the watermelon. Priceless!

The Kanpachi Crudo is yellowtail ceviche given a place of honor in the menu. There’s a subtle kick at the end of your biting into this, and it was great! The Gyoza Tartare is Jorge being playful and offering the unexpected. You think Gyoza and have some preconceived notion of what you’ll have plated in front of you, and Jorge goes all subversive!

The two pastas offered were the Crab Aglio Olio, a light but flavorful and delicate mix of crab with noodles, and the Wagyu Bolognese Maze-Soba, a heartier option with the sauce wonderfully adhering to the thick noodles. The two are so different, and yet form two sides of the one coin that is Makanai inventiveness.

We had three Donabe Rice dishes and you can imagine that after two pastas, we were relegated to just indulging in small portions of these three; and that was a shame, as they were all worth the visit.

The Wagyu Shortrib had great touches of garlic and daikon, plus the egg in the middle to mix with the rice. The King Crab Claw was our second rice dish, and my favorite of the three as the ikura would pop in your mouth and be a cooling, refreshing element. The Unagi Fish and Chips is called as such but it’s the unagi that’s deep-fried and taking the place of the fish, while the chips aren’t potatoes. Ikura and tamago form parts of this dish.

For dessert, we had the Popcorn Purin, purposely salted chantilly, popcorn and flan — a mélange of textures. And the light, semi-sweet Matcha and Dark Chocolate Cake.

What I really liked with Makanai is that when I asked to see the menu, I realized that all we got to sample is just the tip of the Makanai iceberg! Kudos to Jorge for the creativity and sorcery behind all the dishes. If what we were served is an indication of what Makanai stands for, Margarita is smiling up in Heaven’s Cucina, proud of Jorge and how the group is carrying on her tradition of culinary innovation and excellence.