You know her as Nancy Go Yaya during the day, but beginning this weekend, the bright and lively Singaporean cafe reveals her ‘evening identity’.

‘Casuarina Nights’ will be a weekend-only casual wine bar serving Singaporean street snacks and chosen-to-pair wines. The menu will be entirely different from daytime offerings, as will the atmosphere. Taking it’s name from the Casuarina tree, a pine-like genus that is native to Singapore and is commonly found growing wild along sandy coasts, Casuarina aims to impart something of the place where the Casuarina grows, which is to say: relaxed and tropical. One might even say: ‘sultry’.

On the food side: Chef Jian Cheng, a Singaporean himself, has built Casuarina’s menu to offer Singaporean street food favourites (adapted and ‘elevated’ to fit the wine bar vibe). Expect a thoroughly sharable line-up of plates that include: Peranakan spicy pickles; soft and satisfying steamed rice cakes served with preserved radish and xo sambal; a fresh salad of cucumber, jicama, pineapple, pomelo, and Humboldt squid; pork & prawn sausage wrapped in crispy bean curd skin; seared fish filet of the day sprinkled with crispy tempura bits; and ‘winner winner’ (Hainanese) chicken dinner. Clearly, the best strategy will be to come with friends and order everything to share. Make sure you save room for Milo Pavlovas and Pineapple Upside Down Cassava Cakes.

A thoughtfully composed wine list has been created to work with the food. Although I haven’t seen the full inventory of offerings, if the bottles of Rathjen Cellars, Averill Creek and Scout Vineyards that I did see during my visit earlier this week are any indication, things are looking pretty good.

For a sense of the food you can look forward to, take a closer look at the photo gallery below…

Casuarina Nights will be open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 5:30pm – 11pm (10pm Sunday). Walk-ins only. Service begins Friday, December 10th.

Nancy Go Yaya

Neighbourhood: Chinatown

265 East Pender St.

(Closed)