For those in the Makati area tomorrow, particularly those who find themselves drawn to that haven of foodies and people who know good food and good vibes, Karrivin will host something worth making time for.

For two nights only, March 16 and 17, The Underbelly and Noodle Lab come together for a collaboration called “Itamessy,” a dinner service that bridges Japanese and Italian cuisines through a shared obsession: noodles.

Having experienced last year the creative power of the kooky geniuses Noel and Jackson, receiving the invite to the preview immediately excited me. Meeting the two chefs of Noodle Lab that night, Nico and Ally, I saw how bright the future is for this new breed of chefs.

And it gladdens my heart how these collaborations take place in the dining world today. The restaurant scene has matured to the point where chefs no longer feel the need to guard their kitchens like fortresses. Instead, they open them up, invite other cooks in, and see what happens when ideas are allowed to bounce around.

That spirit was very much present during the preview last Monday. What impressed me most was how naturally the four chefs seemed to work together. Chefs Noel Mauricio and Jackson Chua of The Underbelly, alongside Chefs Nico and Ally Gonzales of Noodle Lab, shared a camaraderie that made the evening feel like just four friends cooking together and having fun with the food.

What connects the two kitchens is simple: noodles, and a willingness to play around with them. As Chefs Noel and Jackson put it, “We’re all noodle nerds.” They explained that The Underbelly is about pushing boundaries and experimenting with ingredients and flavors, while always keeping the focus on noodles.

For the Noodle Lab team, the collaboration marked a different kind of pop-up experience. “This is one of our first pop-ups where it’s a real collaboration between two restaurants,” Chef Nico explains. “In the past, we would enter a space and create our own menu. This time, it’s different. It’s been a new and exciting experience to bounce ideas off other chefs, build something truly unique together, and see firsthand how a Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand restaurant operates.”

Chef Ally echoed that same spirit of openness. “For this collaboration, all the chefs from both brands worked together and played around with ingredients for the menu,” she said. “There were no egos involved. We simply wanted to create fun, thoughtful dishes that highlight the specialties of both restaurants — fresh ramen noodles and fresh pasta.”

The concept behind Itamessy plays on itameshi, the Japanese term for Japanese-Italian fusion. The name reflects a willingness to bend the rules, rooted in tradition but open to experimentation.

The menu reflects that approach. Among the dishes are arancini served takoyaki-style with pistachio pesto and balsamic reduction, Hokkaido scallop crudo with leche de tigre, grapefruit, and herb oil, and a rich uni crab raviolo with oyster broth and lime foam.

Naturally, noodles are the focus. One dish brings together yuzu aburasoba with guanciale, egg yolk, parmesan foam, and nduja salsa, a playful meeting point between ramen technique and Italian flavor. There is also steak donburi with A5 Wagyu striploin over gohan, finished with furikake, and for dessert, miso caramel cannoli filled with silky cream.

It is a menu that might sound chaotic on paper, Japanese here, Italian there, but in practice the combinations feel thoughtful and surprisingly coherent.

And perhaps that is the point. When chefs cook together without ego, when ideas move naturally across kitchens, something unexpected often happens. For two nights in Makati, that shared language happens to be noodles.