Teaching has always been Esther Cheng’s dream job, but after a decade of living the dream, she found herself craving something new.
“I had really thought teaching was going to be my full-on career for the rest of my life, and then all of a sudden, 10 years had passed,” Cheng tells V.I.A. “I felt like I was ready to pursue something different and see what else the world can offer for me and what I can offer to the world.”
In her search for new passion, Cheng was inspired by her husband Jan Julian’s deep-rooted connection and nostalgia for Filipino food and culture. Now, the couple is running Orasa Café, a Filipino-inspired pop-up that blends Asian flavours, nostalgic memories and the simple joy of taking a moment for yourself.
Memories, old and new
Orasa is all about memories, some much older than others. For Cheng, coffee and food are hobbies she has always had, from visiting Asian bakeries while growing up in Richmond to working as a barista throughout university.
For Julian, Cheng shares, the connection runs a bit deeper.
“My husband spent much of his formative years in the Philippines, and one thing he really missed was pandesal — a simple, classic Filipino bun with a little bit of sweetness,” she explains. “In the Philippines, you can go and get it at the sari-sari store, a convenience store, that would always have fresh pandesal ready on a daily basis.”
As the two began experimenting with their own pandesal recipes at home, the idea for a café naturally followed.
Private gatherings with friends and family eventually turned into public pop-ups, but prior to their first public event, Cheng and Julian took it upon themselves to create new memories for Orasa.
“Jan visited the Philippines on his own, and then we were together in Japan and in Korea, where we just love the café scene and food scene,” Cheng shares. “We had some really amazing things on the trip.”
Classic flavours with a twist
Cheng and Julian’s spirit of exploration comes to life through Orasa’s creative and playful menu.
Their most recent pop-up at Toña Bakery featured beef and tofu bulgogi pandos — sweet and savoury, Korean-Filipino fusion sandwiches served on pillowy pandesals.
The turon latte, inspired by Julian’s encounter with a turon latte in the Philippines, reimagines the delectable turon flavours into a sweet beverage, and comes with its own crunchy banana spring roll coated in caramelized sugar on the side.
“‘How could we make it our own and put a twist onto it?’ That’s kind of how the ideas for our menu came to be,” Cheng says.
Taking familiar flavours and turning them into something surprising is a major part of Orasa’s image, and Cheng’s personal favourites reflect that balance between comfort and surprise. She highlights their Spanish bread, a soft roll filled with butter and brown sugar, and their refreshing calamansi espresso tonic.
“I really like fizzy drinks, so the calamansi espresso tonic was really nice to come up with,” she says. “Calamansi is not as common of a Filipino or Southeast Asian flavour as ube, for example, but I think it's going to be one of those flavours where maybe in like a year or two, [it] will be more popular.”
While the café currently leans into mainly Filipino sweets and flavours, Cheng envisions the concept evolving to reflect broader Asian influences.
“From the beginning, I wanted [Orasa] to have an Asian concept because my family’s from Hong Kong and Jan is from the Philippines,” she says. “So I wanted to find some way to introduce those flavours and cuisines into Vancouver.”
Looking ahead, slowly
Once a teacher, always a teacher, Cheng continues to apply the skills she gained in the classroom to running a business: flexibility, adaptability and patience.
“As a teacher, you have a plan for the day, but things happen,” she says. “Whether it goes the way you intended or not, we’re always on our feet…so that part has been quite helpful.”
Planning ahead for their immediate and long-term future, Cheng hopes to slowly expand their presence across Vancouver and the North Shore, where she and Julian currently reside. And as much as they would like to open up a physical storefront, Orasa will be focusing on pop-up events for a while.
“In the perfect world, I would ideally have a physical brick-and-mortar space for us — maybe next year, like 2026,” Cheng says. “But hopefully for sure by 2027.”
In the coming months, Cheng and Julian are continuing to focus on creating a space for people to pause and enjoy.
“My vision was for Orasa to be an approachable space for people, especially if you're not familiar with Asian foods like turon or calamansi,” Cheng reflects. “I hope people can enjoy themselves, whether they are by themselves or with a friend, and just take a minute for themselves and enjoy their day.”
For more information on upcoming events and menu items, follow @orasacafe on Instagram. You can catch them on Saturday, Aug. 23, at the Tahanan Studio for Eunoia's scented candle-making workshop.
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