In Both Wine and Charity, Every Drop Counts: Chef Daniel Urdaneta of Modo

Modo, the newest addition to Sanlitun Village, is the hip younger brother of Beijing favorite Mosto. Modo has a cozier, more casual vibe, and a high tech wine bar that opens up a world of wines to the casual diner. If that weren’t enough, Modo is also one of the featured locations for this year’s Chifan for Charity event, an evening of fine dining for do-gooders that raised more than RMB 100,000 in 2009. Agenda caught up with chef Daniel Urdaneta to learn more about the new design, their self-serve wine dispenser, and why every drop counts.

Tell us about your involvement for Chifan for Charity.
We did our first Chifan for Charity at Mosto last year, and it was a great experience. We had a table of about twelve people, and everyone really enjoyed the experience of having a hosted table, along with great food, company and wine. It was a really positive experience for us as well, and we were really happy that we could contribute to such a great cause. This is why we decided to do it again.

Charity is actually part of our company philosophy. We always like to give back to the places we’re in, and there are many ways to do that as a restaurant. We think it’s really important to treat your employees well, and so we start there, but we’re always looking for opportunities to do other things. There are also many people who contact us for charitable events, and we’re always happy to help out, especially since it’s hard for us to plan our own events when we’re always working. It’s not always easy, you know? We actually did a charity dinner for Haiti, which we organized in four or five days, but it was quite complicated to organize. But we’re actually really open to people who want to have charity dinners at our restaurants.

Are you planning anything special for the evening?
Of course we’re going to do something special! The idea is that people are paying for an extra value, both the charitable aspect and for a special evening at the restaurant. It’s not top-secret, but it’s in November, so I want to spend some more time thinking about it. One thing’s for sure though: there are going to be some additions that will really set it apart.

For those of us who’ve been to Mosto but not Modo, what can we expect?
The philosophy behind both places is the same, but the two restaurants are different in almost every single aspect. At Mosto, we offer a more traditional dining experience, divided into starters, main courses, and deserts. At Modo, we have the small plate concept, so there is only one size of dish. We’ve also added more variety in our dishes, which will allow people to experience more tastes and textures, and the overall direction is a little bit more South American.

To go along with this experience we’ve also introduced the wine machine, where people can choose and sample a variety of wines, giving them an even more diverse and interesting experience. Diners use cards that carry a value, and can choose from a taste, half-glass or glass of the any of the sixteen wines in the machine.

I think both places are very versatile, but Mosto is a great place for a romantic dinner, or hanging out chatting over a glass of wine. Modo is a bit more casual, and is a great place to hang out with friends for a lunch or afternoon glass of wine. That being said, Modo also has a second floor space that is perfect for a private engagement with a larger party. That’s also where the wine machine is, so large groups can come there and make full use of it, and enjoy a variety of wines and other dishes.

Chifan for Charity This year’s Chifan for Charity is taking place on November 6 and will benefit the Dandelion School, Prevention through Education and Rural Women. For more information, and the chance to buy a seat at one of the hottest tables in town, visit chifanforcharity.org.