What Drives a Man to Success? The Curator and Oto's David Ong Tells His Story

Of what keeps The Curator, Oto and his other concepts on top of the game, Ong shared that hospitality is their edge. "It's so inherent in us, Filipinos, to be hospitable. It is the real edge—not only ours—but the whole Filipino F&B scene," he proudly said. "We'd go out of our way to make people feel they're welcome, that they belong, and make sure that they have a good time."

Craftsmanship also plays a central role in the success of any business as Ong explained. "It goes back to [the] authenticity of your concept's identity—being honest on what you do and doing that really well."

For business starters, Ong shares advice that craftsmanship lies in preparation in making the location space aesthetically good and comfortable, the meticulous process in curating fresh and specialty resources for food and beverage, as well as innovating to better sustainable practices, which all count much to propel one's concept to success. For his concepts, Ong admitted that when it comes to their specialty coffees, they are more of purists in treating it. They make sure that they serve specialty grade coffee and use proper techniques in executing them, as well as their craft cocktails which in contrast has limitless possibilities for experimenting.

Talking about sustainable practices, Ong also shared some of what they do in his concepts, most particularly at EDSA Beverage Design Group. Besides sourcing their beans directly from local farms and through fair traders of international coffee farmers, they also make sure that coffee and other food wastage is properly addressed. From lemon rinds being turned into a cocktail ingredient like oleo sacchrum to using it as citrus dust for garnish, not to mention using coffee grounds as odour repellant at bathrooms and more—Ong and his colleagues make sure that they do even in the least possible way they could. "I cannot say that I live a very sustainable life, but I try to with small efforts," Ong admitted. "We owe it to our children and the future to leave the Earth a better place as it was before."

This philosophy resonates well with Lexus' efforts in producing eco-efficient hybrid cars. The esteemed Japanese luxury car brand stays true to its word in tirelessly making environmental efforts: maintaining several LEED-certified facilities, and manufacturing environmentally-friendly cars like this Lexus RX 450h*.

Read more: Lexus and Tatler's Private Gathering for the Adventurous Palate

Ong shared that before he came back to the Philippines, he was at a crossroads in his life, of whether he would stay abroad. But he chose to try his luck in his home country, despite having the bleak thought that the market isn't ready for these concepts.

"During the first year of The Curator, it was really more 'for us' so that we could have a place we could hang out and drink better coffee and cocktails," he said, quite pensive. Then he showed me his tattoo on his wrist which is the logo of The Curator. "It's a coffee cup and a coupe glass, basically coffee and cocktails, and definitely, we geeked out in these for sure to improve our knowledge and make innovations or whatever." Ong then traced with his finger the tattoo: an ampersand pattern. "But we shouldn't lose sight of what's important. To us, the ampersand means to add value, not only by serving good coffee and cocktails, but having meaningful conversations wherein meaningful relationships and communities are built," he said.

"I would say I am a barista and a bartender, rather than an artisan," he humbly said. "If you dissect the word, it just means I'm a person behind the bar and tending to the guests. Still, it's all about hospitality."

Ong shared that before the pandemic hampered the F&B scene, he would tend the bar most especially on peak nights. He is also very hands-on even up to this day by making time to visit any of their locations as much as he can. But he also confessed that the health crisis has really shook them, forcing them to resort to creative means to stay afloat and continue to provide hospitable service.

"But it's hard, right? That is a question we really ask ourselves: how can our strength on hospitality shine throughout the pandemic?" he exclaimed. Ong shared further that over the past year, they have successfully created e-commerce websites for their concepts to sell online and deliver as much products as they can. Oto, in particular, is open from Tuesday to Saturday for dine-ins and takeouts starting at 11am. "We just try to be more understanding, kinder, and not be discriminating towards a colleague or a regular customer who has been exposed to COVID-19," he said. "I guess the term is malasakit. In social media, we try our best to have that in communicating, but you know we can only do so much as it has no face-to-face interaction. In our dine-ins, we are all out in providing them amazing experiences," he explained.

Of how Ong and his colleagues managed to stay in business amid the ongoing crisis, he is already humbly grateful and celebrates it as a success. Driven by his ambition to continuously soar to greater heights, he's far from slowing down. He happily shared that he and some partners are currently helping out Gonzalez in his new concept and hopefully revisit few more plans when the situation with the pandemic improves.

"What drives any person to their success? Ambition, for sure," Ong said. "I'm never satisfied. I try not to rest on my laurels because honestly, I feel like I haven't achieved anything yet. It [achieving success] is really not settling and trying to do as much as you can personally."

NOW READ

JJ Atencio of Januarius Holdings Inc on the Importance of Versatility

Lexus RX: The Luxury SUV that Can Steer Through Any Road Condition

Kumu's Roland Ros on Success, Precision, and What it Takes to Succeed in Today's Fast-Paced World

*The Lexus RX 450h is a mid-size luxury crossover that pairs a V6 3.5-litre direct injection engine with a powerful, self-charging electric motor to deliver 308 horsepower with maximum fuel efficiency. Being a hybrid car, it draws power from both electric and petrol motors, resulting in instant torque and surprising acceleration.

Learn more about Lexus RX 450h here

Please drink responsibly. Do not drink and drive.