Casuarina Square restaurants: Tina Patterson opens Filipino eatery Kasama Cafe

A Filipino woman who moved to Darwin a decade ago seeking a better life with her two daughters built up her skills working at the casino, obtained a vocational education, and took the plunge. She’s now opened the doors to her new cafe.

Kasama Cafe, a new venue that opened up in Casuarina Square. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Casuarina Square’s popular dining precinct, The Quarter, has been given a boost with the debut of a new restaurant that promises an “exotic” taste of the Philippines.

Kasama Cafe threw open its doors on Tuesday and will eventually be open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, owner Tina Patterson said.

It is currently open for lunch seven days a week and dinner from Thursday to Saturday.

Ms Patterson said she and her two daughters moved to Darwin from her native Philippines about a decade ago.

“I brought my family here for a good opportunity, a greener future,” she said.

Ms Patterson secured a job in the food and beverage section at Mindil Beach Casino Resort, where she continues around her responsibilities at Kasama, and began building up her hospitality skills.

In 2020–21, she enrolled herself at Charles Darwin University TAFE part-time – by this stage she was juggling two or three hospitality jobs – in order to broaden her knowledge of kitchens and professional cooking.

“It’s not that I was bored of what I was doing – I was a supervisor at the casino – but I said to myself, ‘I need a change’, and maybe I think I’m ready to dive in to new things,” Ms Patterson said.

Julie Patterson and Tina Patterson from Kasama Cafe, a new venue that opened up in Casuarina Square. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“I never had any restaurant or cafe from before, but it just happened, boom.

“With my confidence, dealing with people at the casino everyday, I thought, let’s do this, if someone else can do it, why can’t I?”

Ms Patterson is joined at Kasama – which means ‘together’ in the Tagalog dialect – by her 19-year-old daughter, Julie.

Ms Patterson said she was “quite overwhelmed” after finally opening for business on Tuesday and said she was pleased with the takings for the day.

“I think it’s not bad. I didn’t do the big opening because I have high expectations sometimes and I don’t want people to be disappointed. This weekend we will be busy,” she said.

Kasama Cafe, a new venue that opened up in Casuarina Square. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Ms Patterson described Filipino food as “complex” and “exotic”.

“Our main base of cooking is vinegar and soy sauce,” she said.

Marinated meats feature heavily at Kasama, as they do in the wider Filipino cuisine.

“Because we do not have access to the fridge [in the Philippines], we have to marinate the meat, the fish, to utilise this for the next few days,” she said.

Highlights of Kasama’s menu include crispy pata (skin-on crunchy pork knuckle with spices), beef bulalo (beef shank soup with fresh vegetables), pork adobo (marinated braised pork), and sticky chicken wings.