Regina Troy Barrios

Two Nights Only: Saigon’s Renowned Little Bear Comes To Ayà Manila

Article (news)

<p>On <strong>February 27 and 28</strong>, something quietly exciting is happening at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/aya.manila/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Ayà</strong></a>. Chefs from Saigon are flying in for two nights only as <a href="https://www.instagram.com/littlebear.sgn/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Little Bear</strong></a> joins Ayà&#x27;s team for <em><strong>“Xin Chào, Little Bear,</strong></em><em>”</em> a four-hands dinner collaboration. It’s the first installment of Ayà&#x27;s new<strong> Inayà Series</strong>, which opens with a collaboration that brings Vietnamese flavors into a Manila kitchen.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17719154627121.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo: Ayà Manila</span></span></span></div><p>The visiting chef is <a href="https://guide.michelin.com/vn/en/article/people/duy-nguyen-little-bear" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Nhật Duy Nguyễn</strong>, one of Vietnam’s youngest Michelin Young Chef Award recipients</a>. After years cooking abroad, he returned to Vietnam to revisit the flavors of his childhood and co-founded Little Bear, a small Saigon wine bar where traditional Vietnamese flavors meet the refinement of modern technique. There, he reimagines the dishes of his childhood with the calm authority of someone who has worked in kitchens around the world. In his hands, familiar Vietnamese flavors take on a new clarity: the nuoc mam is umami-rich and artisanal, and each dish features Little Bear’s signature herb combinations.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17719155644002.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Chef Nhật Duy Nguyễn | Photo: Ayà Manila</span></span></span></div><p>If you’ve ever eaten in Vietnam, you know that the cuisine is rarely heavy-handed. It coaxes rather than insists. Little Bear carries that spirit into a wine bar setting; their bottles are chosen to play along rather than overpower. I expect this same thoughtful restraint will guide the collaboration in Manila, letting each chef’s flavors speak for themselves.</p><p>In Manila, Chef Duy will cook alongside <strong>Thirdy Dolatre</strong> and <strong>Kevin Navoa</strong>, chef-owners and partners at Ayà and its sister restaurant, Hapag. As Chef Navoa put it, this collaboration is taking place in “a space where we allow ourselves to be more playful and open.” That ethos is likely to shape the kitchen&#x27;s energy, with the chefs tasting new ingredients, sharing ideas, and nudging one another toward discoveries that are as much about dialogue as they are about flavor.</p><p>In recent years, Hapag and its sister bar Ayà have quietly become one of Manila’s more interesting stages for chef collaborations—from collaborations with Malcolm Lee of Singapore’s Candlenut, to sessions with Melbourne-based Filipino chef Ross Magnaye of Serai. In 2025, they even took their kitchen to Roots in Siargao for a two-night collaboration that intertwined Filipino island produce with Hapag’s own research-driven tasting ethos. </p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DUrit60E2HV/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=1080&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A513019%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="925" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><p>Those collaborations weren’t just flashbulb affairs with big culinary names. They were conversations at the table—with each kitchen borrowing from the other’s ingredients and techniques to craft its own stories.</p><p>The <em>Xin Chào, Little Bear</em> dinner will appeal to diners who follow Southeast Asian cooking closely, and for anyone who enjoys flavors that unfold gradually through nuanced, thoughtfully composed dishes. For two nights only, you can watch chefs in dialogue, letting their flavors speak to one another as much as they speak to the diners. </p><div><em><br/></em></div><div><em><strong>Xin Chào, Little Bear</strong>, a four-hands dinner on<strong> February 27 and 28</strong>, is a collaboration between </em><a href="https://www.instagram.com/aya.manila/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Ayà Manila</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.instagram.com/littlebear.sgn/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Little Bear</em></a><em>, in partnership with </em><a href="https://www.instagram.com/arugabyrockwell/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Aruga by Rockwell</em></a><em>. Seats are limited; reserve at </em><a href="https://www.hapagmnl.com/reserve" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>https://www.hapagmnl.com/reserve</em></a><em>.</em></div>

<p>Saigon’s acclaimed wine bar Little Bear joins Ayà Manila for a rare two-night four-hands dinner, bringing bright, nuanced Vietnamese flavors and a playful chef collaboration to the city.</p>

Saigon’s acclaimed wine bar Little Bear joins Ayà Manila for a rare two-night four-hands dinner, bringing bright, nuanced Vietnamese flavors and a playful chef collaboration to the city.

Two Nights Only: Saigon’s Renowned Little Bear Comes To Ayà Manila

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Two Nights Only: Saigon’s Renowned Little Bear Comes To Ayà Manila

Troy Barrios

Published Feb 20, 2026 03:15 PM PHT

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Updated Feb 24, 2026 03:35 PM PHT

Read More:

aya manila

hapag manila

little bear sgn

vietnamese cuisine manila

aruga by rockwell

four hands dinner manila

chef collabs philippines

southeast asia tasting menu

michelin young chef award

Nhật Duy Nguyễn

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