We might have already seen coffee and milk tea shops that make customer’s feel like stepping into the world of cartoons or comics. And Greem Café in Seoul, South Korea that has black and white drawings in its interior design made the theme popularized in social media.

Inspired by the same concept is the Kurimi Milk Tea Bar in Tomas Morato Quezon City. The shop’s à la Greem’s interior was drawn by 25-year-old visual artist Ralph Pangilinan, who just recently took the design a notch higher in the newly-opened Komiks 2D Art Café in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. 

After Ralph’s artworks trended on social media, he was asked by entrepreneur Herbert Bartolome to do the same in his start-up milk tea and snacks restaurant. But, since he can’t replicate the black and white mural, he suggested a house setting in colored comics instead, which upon his research has never been done before.

Herbert trusted Ralph, and the dream of putting up the first 2D mural Pinoy Komiks-inspired café became a reality. Perfect for Instagram posts, the venue’s hand-drawn items and parts of the house are cool spots for pictures. And with everything from wall to ceiling to tables to chairs painted and outlined in sunny yellow and lemon green shades, your photographs will surely depict an illusion that your dining inside a local comics Filipinos used to read.

The self-taught artist told Manila Bulletin Lifestyle that he did it because wants to do something new that people can experience for the first time. “I still have more mural ideas for restaurants. And I hope that through this art, Filipino mural artists will also be recognized worldwide,” says Ralph, who also dreams to be a national artist someday.

The mural painter is also the one who proposed the name of Bulakeños’ new hangout, which right after two weeks from the opening is now being known for their one-of-a-kind offerings too. One of which is the long fries that can be overloaded with choices of shawarma, tuna melt, triple cheese, or pizza.

The owner also developed their current bestseller Komiks signature milk tea, which is a combination of winter melon, salted caramel, and brown sugar flavors. With a long list of food and beverage, Herbert assures that there’s something more than meets the eye in his unique café.