If I were to describe MOD with one word it would be originality. It’s a place that’s difficult to compare with any other, like all of the places where Hamid Trisno used to cook. We already tried his unusual, often crazy style of cooking in Yellow Dog in Cracow or in My’o’Tai on ul. Szpitalna. Every time it was different than anywhere else. Trisno has best possible foundations to do things right in his kitchen – he was born in Singapore – the culinary heaven 🙂
As soon as we heard that Hamid Trisno became the chef at MOD, we decided to see what wonders is he working on right now. Especially with the menu sounding so exciting! MOD’s originality does not only show in unusual ideas of the chef. It’s the only restaurant in Warsaw which is something completely different during the day and at night. Until 6 pm, the place at Oleandrów 8 (near Polna) is called MOD donuts and offers coffee, juices and reportedly amazing donuts and other baked goods (need to check that out!). After 6 pm it changes from a cafe to a restaurant called MOD.
for a casual evening
The place isn’t big but there’s plenty of tables. It’s loud and crowded which makes us want to sit outside since Maks is with us. Even though there’s road works on the street it’s pleasant – a warm, summer evening is always best spent outside!
The menu is absolutely fascinating. We quickly find plenty of meals we want to try. Dumplings with beef bourguignon, wasabi gel, pecorino and seaweed (PLN 19) seem particularly interesting but so are pancakes with duck confit, fresh vegetables and hoisin sauce (PLN 16). I love hoisin sauce! Łukasz on the other hand is not into pancakes at all and goes for foie gras with gooseberries, kanafeh pastry and Port wine sauce (PLN 45). We start with bread and butter which here becomes a totally unusual dish! 3 types of bread (pain de campagne bun with Sichuan pepper, milk Hokkaido bun looking like gougeres puff) are not so impressive but the 3 types of butter surely are: miso butter, herring butter, algae butter (PLN 10). You just have to try it. Have you ever heard of miso butter before??? We take hibiscus and mango lemonades for drinks as well as tap water.
bread and butter – PLN 10
miso butter, herring butter, algae butter
It takes a while for the bread and butter to arrive which is a bit weird… bread should arrive instantly, right? The buns look tasty, they’re warm but after we get inside them it turns out that we haven’t waited enough! Inside, the buns are cold, stiff and still a bit frozen (?)… a poor start! But the butters are absolutely incredible! I love the miso one, Łukasz devours herring version and the algae one? Well, a bit weird cause you’re eating a bun with butter and it tastes a bit like sushi:) I guess that’s the only place to enjoy such treats!
Dumplings with beef bourguignon, wasabi gel, pecorino and seaweed (PLN 19) are absolutely amazing The sauce is incredibly delicious (makes me wanna lick my plate clean!), beef is perfectly tender and so delicious that Maks eats it out of my dumplings and asks for more. The flavour goes great with wasabi and pecorino while the seaweed is nicely crispy. The dough is a bit disappointing though – quite thick and stiff. We wish it would be as delicious as dim sum and gyoza dumplings in Singapore. Despite that, I would be happy to have these dumplings once again. I wanted more as soon as I finished my portion!
beef bourguignon dumplings, wasabi gel, pecorino, seaweed – PLN 19
foie gras, gooseberries, kanafeh pastry, Port wine sauce – PLN 45
Łukasz is disappointed with foie gras he usually loves and which pretty much always becomes his favourite if it’s done right (like in Ale Wino). Here, foie gras flavour which usually dominates is overshadowed by the sides – gooseberries and Port wine. What a pity! The texture of foie gras is far from stunning as well – it’s soft, lacks crispy skin which usually adds to its uniqueness.
We skip main courses (called ‘plates’ in MOD) which include pork belly, duck’s breast or tempeh and quickly get to ‘bowls’. I take Paitan Ramen with ramen noodles, charsiew pork, marinated egg, sweet bamboo, chives with chicken stock and bonito as base (PLN 18). Łukasz goes for laksa with noodles, shrimps, tofu, fish balls, egg and coconut soup (PLN 35) . Yet another memory from Singapore food courts. Laksa is tasty, but it’s ramen that’s the star that makes me plan another visit real quick!!! We love it all. Me, Łukasz who always said he doesn’t like ramen and needs to try it in Japan. And Maks who does not let me eat MY soup because he wants it! It’s worth coming back for this ramen alone! And we know we will be back!
laksa – noodles, shrimps, tofu, fish balls, egg, coconut soup – PLN 35
After ramen and laksa we’re already quite full but still, we want to check out the dessert. We take Petit Fours – 4 dessert miniatures (PLN 19). I also considered ordering clafoutis with ginger, tonka, cherries and chantily cream… I regret not doing it. Only one of the four cakes is extraordinary – paris-brest with coconut cream which is a delicious and melt-in-your-mouth puff. Truffle with chocolate and chilli is tasty while miso pudding macaron with seasonal fruits is just OK. We don’t finish dacquoise with melty egg yolk… melty egg yolk is definitely not my cup of tea. Even if it’s sweet.
petit fours – 19 zł
So is MOD any good?? You can’t say it’s perfect! You can’t say it’s bad either. MOD is surely a place with menu that’s unique in Warsaw. Unusual, combining Asian and French influences bravely, impossible to compare with any other restaurant. And with good prices too – a huge ramen for PLN 18!! Get there to try dumplings with beef, laksa and amazing ramen. Maybe pork belly or duck too, however we haven’t checked that out yet. Don’t bother ordering foie gras and petit fours… See ho can seemingly incompatible things be combined. And eat the ramen! Yes, I know I’m repeating myself! 🙂
PS. The staff needs some training. Right now the level of being lost and unorganised is much too high. Hopefully they’ll work it out!
PRACTICAL INFORMATION:
MOD
Ul. Oleandrów 8
opening hours: Mon-Sun – 18:00-00:00
Between 8.00 and 18.00 the place changes into MOD Donuts
tel. 570 205 746
PS. the bill does not include bread and dessert. That’s how the restaurant reacted to our starter puffs claim
a large dinner for 2 adults and a child
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