The more you look at it, the more it seems like contemporary dining in 2024 skews toward a total experience. A new generation of diners want it all—a sensorial playfulness that engages and tells a story. I think it’s a good thing. It certainly adds a new dimension, steps away from the same old same old. While it is still integral, it isn’t necessarily just about the food anymore. And that is where this story begins.

You have to be a special (and good) kind of crazy to pull off something like Now Now, an experimental fast casual brunch concept. Off the usual eating path, it is located on the ground floor of the commissary of Kurimu Ice Cream. The charming couple behind it, Bryan and Maxine Kong, are clearly looking beyond their ice cream brand.

Inside Now Now, a contemporary canteen serving Asian brunch Now Now

It's also a 'fermentation lab' Now Now

Polish Chef Mateusz Łuczaj with a member of his team Now Now

Get up close to them, and you can immediately get their Nippon-vibe—it’s not just their Japanese-inspired confection creations, but their overall aesthetic, as the kids like to say these days. This concept, done in collaboration with Japanese outdoor brand Snow Peak, feels like some shop or cafe you’ll most likely stumble on in the creative corners of the world: unexpected, stark, but focused on what they want and what they wish to convey.

An earth installation by Paraluman Flora in one side, Snow Peak merch in the other, a Chino Yulo art piece floating above you, and with a soundtrack of sophisticated tunes played by Up Dharma Down’s Ean Mayor (whom Bryan met in the band scene, as Bryan is a drummer himself with the Taken By Cars), this isn’t your usual tita brunch place. And in that sense it is actually refreshingly different.

Now Now has a modern Nippon vibe Now Now

It's also a combination of shop and café with partner Snow Peak Now Now

With food and beverage managed by the couple’s friends—Polish chef Mateusz Laczaj on the savory offerings and wines, with his lovely Filipina wife Lisane Łuczaj on the pastry side, and both with quite impressive culinary cred—one may surmise that this might fly over the heads of the casual diner, and that is where one will go wrong: it is surprisingly quite accessible.

The menu is very chef-driven Now Now

Polish flatbread with labneh and gremolata. Now Now

Chef Mateusz also handles the wines Now Now

Sure, Chef Mateuszhas cooked in Michelin-starred restaurants, and there are hints of it in his preparations (he lovesto go the extra mile, fermenting this, smoking that) but upon tasting his dishes, they really arewell-executed preparations of dishes you’ve had before, like an excellent Polish flat bread withhouse-made labneh and gremolata. This was the pizza you’ve been waiting all your life! Theirtake on machang, nestled inside some nori like a remixed onigiri, was kicked up by papayachutney. Okonomiyaki played well as tortang talong (who would’ve thunk?) Fried chicken wasboosted by their own koji, as well as toyomansi. Even donuts—rather excellent ones, I mightadd, so good they’re good enough to sell—was enhanced by dulce de leche and matcha. Onthe surface, they’re so familiar, but look under the hood, and you’ll find they take quite an effortto produce. This is slow food, using local ingredients and techniques to produce somethingawesome: the philosophy of this kitchen, the bedrock of their offerings.

The Dandan Udon Now Now

An innovative fried chicken Now Now

In this creative soup lies a compass: words from a famous Japanese poet named Matsuo Basho, who wrote haikus. Known for words that encompassed his life experience, simple descriptions of ordinary scenes, it is Basho’s journey of mindfulness that accompany you as you sample Now Now’s cuisine. The people behind the scenes want you to be in the now, enjoying the total moment, eating their food, and thinking of nothing but just being—preferably with people whose company you really enjoy.

Now Now's creators: Bryan and Maxine Kong with chefs Mateusz and Lisane Łuczaj Now Now

If it seems like a lot to take in, maybe it is… for like a brief moment. Soon enough, you’ll learn to detach from distractions, and get into the groove of things. Now Now, in its sophisticated simplicity, stands out in Manila’s culinary landscape, circa 2024, because it isn’t trying to be a clone of something, but a reflection of the owners tastes. If you’re in the mood for something left field, this is the place.

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Now Now | 497-C Rosa Building, Calbayog corner Esteban St., Mandaluyong, Philippines 1550 | IG: @nownow.ph

Photos courtesy of Now Now