Fusion without confusion
It hasn’t been a year since executive chef Andrés Rendón came onboard but he’s already been hitting the right notes for Uma Nota, one of the preeminent party places in BGC looking to shed its nightlife-only reputation. And with a new tasting menu honing in on fusion, Rendón may just upend the restaurant’s preconceived perceptions.
The Venezuelan chef spent most of his career overseas, training inside the kitchens of Marriott International in Caracas and the rebranded St. Regis Downtown Dubai as well as working under Masaharu Morimoto of “Iron Chef” fame. Rendón also served as head chef of Ichu in Hong Kong before finally taking on the helm at Uma Nota in Manila.
It is this confluence of backgrounds and cultures that have helped Rendón redesign Uma Nota’s culinary program into a gleaming narrative that makes it easier to encourage guests to step outside their comfort zone. It is also this characteristic that led Uma Nota to earn a Michelin Selected accolade on top of bar manager Benjamin Leal’s Exceptional Cocktails award.
The real fun begins
Now, however, comes the sequel to their reemergence over two years since opening—a new tasting menu caught in between two cultures defining the roots of Uma Nota. Frankly, Rendón appears to pull off the fusion cuisine’s exacting demands with confidence and poise. After all, who better than a Venezuelan chef with a penchant for global kitchens to translate the cultural connection between Brazil and Japan in the Philippines?
That the eight-course menu serves as the strongest evidence of dispelling myths about Uma Nota as just a place for great drinks and mediocre food is Rendón’s reminder to not keep Uma Nota—or any restaurant or anyone, really—in a box.
“The food at Uma Nota exists because food has the power to bring people together,” says Rendón. “Cultures can meet, inspire one another, and create something beautiful.”
Hero ingredients for adventurous appetites
That power to unite is deeply embedded into the tasting journey where you get a sense of what the chef believes in the most: Great ingredients anchor great experiences. Across eight courses, Rendón centers on products from Brazil and Japan that flesh out the refined cross-cultural adaptation at play.
He opens with a punchy opening bite of pastel de carne, an empanada in tartlet form, that sets the tone of what’s to come. Built on crispy dough, the pulled wagyu beef offers a luxurious mouthfeel with some zest from the Brazilian vinaigrette, freshness from the coriander foam, and some slight heat from the jalapeño.
When it comes to the raw and cured course, two dishes arrive—a beautiful plate of hamachi tiradito sitting in a bright mix of leche de tigre, Brazilian oranges, coriander, dill, and cucumber; and a lean Akami tuna styled like the rising sun in honor of Japan’s moniker.
And yet the two essential ingredients are inconspicuous. Kombu, a type of seaweed, enhances the natural umami and texture of the hamachi through the traditional Japanese technique of kobujime “where we cure the hamachi overnight in kombu and different herbs, some cumin and coriander seeds,” explains Rendón.
The result is a burst of raw buttery texture that draws from the eclecticism of Brazil and Japan’s agricultural treasures. But where the kombu and hamachi give harmony, the tuna and dendé, an oil extracted from the palm tree, feels a bit flat and forgettable.
But apart from this micro-moment that doesn’t click, the succeeding dishes see Rendón build momentum. Brazil’s national dish of feijoada—a black bean stew made with crispy pork, charred orange, and fried bananas topped with a rice crisp—delivers on its idea of recreating gatherings, celebrations, and the feeling of home. There’s a wonderfully meaty texture, a crackling of rice, and that faint spike of fruitiness that makes this a comforting, free-spirited breather from the tight polish of the rest of the courses. But even more impressive is the fact that beans are the main attraction rather than an accompaniment.
Mains of lobster and lamb soon follow, and both deliver bold flavors. While the yakiniku glazed lamb chop (peppered with furikake and sweet potato pumpkin purée) is lovely, the lobster—paired with a cheese and honey-chili-infused cassava bread—is a bigger hit, thanks to a savory puddle of moqueca, a Brazilian seafood stew base. “We wanted sweetness, a hint of spiciness, and the cheesiness from the bread inside,” explains Rendón, who rewards you with all those and more.
The palate cleanser of açaí and yuzu granita is a visual surprise, resembling a savory spoonful of minced meat but instead makes a case for presenting familiar flavors in new ways. And finally, his elevated leche flan isn’t just a great vehicle for pushing fusion’s boundaries, it is also a thunderous dopamine hit—the ice cream made with tonka beans (think vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, or cloves), the miso caramel glaze with lemon zest that references Japan, a chocolate tuile, and feta cream for saltiness.
If there was anything that would smash biases about Uma Nota as a legitimate contender among the mighty Manila concepts, it’s this. Rendón focusing on Brazilian Japanese gastronomy and the ingredients that define it is a smart move. He made black beans, kombu, cassava, dendê, yuzu, açaí, and tonka so exhilarating that it’s enough to convince customers that, yes, Uma Nota can tailor a tasting menu as well as anyone else.
