Sisters bring Filipino street food to city's newest laneway café

From the menu, music and decorations, the sisters have transformed the laneway next to Organics Bendigo into a snack bar straight from the Philippines with their business called Pinoy Tambayan.

"We want the vibe of this place to bring back the memory of the Philippines," Ms Dimacuha said.

Bendigo has a thriving Filipino community, but Ms Dimacuha said they weren't Pinoy Tambayan's only target audience.

"We offer some coffees, since Aussies are known for loving coffees," she said.

Coffee isn't as popular in the Philippines as it is in Australia, Ms Dimacuha said, but for those who do drink it, the bold flavour of Liberica beans is a favourite.

"It's more on the dark chocolate, nutty side of things," said Ms Dimacuha.

The café offers it in a number of popular Filipino styles.

Ms Dimacuha has been working in pubs around Bendigo since she moved to Australia in 2022, but it was always her dream to open a Filipino-style cafe.

"I already made the menu before we even leased it out. That's how excited I was at that time," Ms Dimacuha said.

The cafe's official opening was held on Friday, 5 April, but the sisters were unexpectedly able to soft launch it on the first day of Bendigo's Easter Festival.

"It was really so sudden because we did not expect the council to grant us [the licence] before Good Friday," Ms Dimacuha said.

"We were processing it and they told us that we have to wait for like four weeks or more."

The sisters and Ms Ballantyne's husband spent the night before Good Friday setting up the restaurant, putting together furniture and fixing up the kitchen.

"We did not have enough sleep that night," Ms Dimacuha said.