Noodles and dumplings are a classic pairing, but there’s nothing traditional about this limited collaboration.
Both trailblazing brands, The Underbelly made waves this year as a bold new addition to Manila’s ramen scene with its experimental takes on Japanese favorites, while Tupi Dumplings won over households during the pandemic with its ready-to-cook, handcrafted gourmet dumplings and still remain a pantry staple to this day.
Chefs Noel Mauricio and Jackson Chua of The Underbelly once stumbled upon the Tupi Dumplings pop-up at Salcedo Market, which gave them the idea for the crossover.
“It was, like, Michelin-level dumplings at a weekend market. From then, the possibility of collaboration was always at the back of our minds,” Mauricio reveals.
“It really makes sense,” states Chua. “It’s ramen and dumplings.”
The crossover, however, isn’t a simple match up of dishes. Tupi Dumplings’ chef Potz Isaac noted the many directions the crossover could have taken, especially since The Underbelly had free range to play with flavors and come up with exciting dishes.
“Every country or region has its own dumplings,” says Isaac. “Japan has its gyoza, China has jiaozii, there’s mandu and so on and so forth, so the possibilities were endless.”
Mauricio notes that they leaned into other cuisines for this crossover menu. ”For The Underbelly, we do have the ramen, but the menu is not purely Japanese. We’ve tried the stuff from Tupi and experimented during our R&D, and it’s easy enough to build on an already good product.”
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Bold flavors, unexpected pairings
The Underbelly and Tupi both redefine comfort food in their own ways. The former thrives on reinvention and playful experimentation, reimagining ramen with bold flavors and inventive techniques. The latter makes gourmet dumplings accessible—each one crafted with care, creativity, and the belief that comfort food can be just as exciting as fine dining.
Their crossover menu showcases three types of dumplings, two noodle dishes and a dessert.
The Scallop Tostada is composed of minced Hokkaido Scallops cured in lime and mint, set atop a golden wonton crisp and topped with spring onions. The textural contrast of the tender scallop meat and the crispy tostada, punctuated by the bright zestiness of the lime, makes for a great starter.
“We infused Japanese flavors in the tostada. We have sansho pepper there, yuzu kosho… all the good stuff,” Chua explains.
Isaac describes it as “technically an open-faced dumpling,”
The Pork Floss Gyoza features pan-seared dumplings—tender on top and perfectly crisp at the base—dressed with chili garlic salsa and generously capped with pork floss.
“I started Tupi with the Pork Floss Gyoza as my first product, so I wanted to showcase it in a dish.” Isaac asserts. “It has our signature chili garlic salsa, and the dumpling is pork so it’s more Taiwanese in terms of flavor profile.”
The Pork and Shrimp Dumplings are an umami bomb, packing a punch of flavor with the squid ink wrapper, chili crisp, and a yuzu aioli drizzle, and a dipping sauce of black vinegar and chili oil.
First on the noodle offerings is Shrimp Wonton-men, showcasing a riff on The Underbelly’s in-house Tantanmen Ramen. A nutty, sesame-based broth with a fiery spice and interesting depth of flavor, this is a bowl that is both homey and appetizing.
“We increased the shrimp oil to pair it with Tupi’s shrimp wontons, then topped it with sakura ebi and leeks,” recounts Mauricio.
Meanwhile, the Szechuan Chickpea Noodles is a dish with chickpea wheat noodles, a zingy Szechuan sauce, Tupi’s kuchay dumplings and a liberal amount of cilantro.
“This is an in-your face flavor bomb, meant to be eaten super hot and fresh,” Chua adds.
The surprise at the end of the meal is the dessert: vanilla ice cream with lao gan ma chili, definitely sealing in the inventiveness that The Underbelly is known for. The ice cream is set on a bed of buttery, nutty crumble, then drizzled with a chili-caramel sauce to tie it all in.
“This sounds weird, but it really is very interesting, and when you taste it, it will make sense,” concludes Chua.
Catch The Unfolding, available for dine-in and takeout, at The Underbelly from October 24 to November 2, 2025.The Underbelly is located at The Alley at Karrivin, Chino Roces Avenue Extension, Makati City. Follow @the.underbelly.ph on Instagram for updates. Follow @tupi.dumplings on Instagram for updates.
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