17-Year-Old Poly Students Run New Aesthetic Toastie Cafe In Bugis With $21 ‘Omakase’ Meal

How they came to open a cafe

But these young entrepreneurs have had help in setting up their cafe. Qays tells 8days.sg that she thought up the concept for Siësta together with the owner of Mediterranean rice bowl joint Overrice, Megan Lim, while she was working there as a part-time server.

Overrice is located on the first floor of 41 Sultan Gate, while Siësta occupies the second level above it, a space that Megan also owns. 

Megan first met Qays when she began working at Overrice in 2021. She describes Qays as “somebody who’s hardworking and very special, and also very smart”. Seeing her potential, Megan decided to give Qays and Aesha the opportunity to  “see how [they] can transform level two into a concept that [they] can proudly call [their] own”.

The Overrice owner explains that she “believes in listening to youths”, and wanted to “give them the empowerment and safe space to explore their entrepreneurship and make it come to life”. 

Knowing that she couldn’t run the biz alone, Qays roped in her best friend Aesha to help, as she reckons that they share the same values and “have very different skill sets that complement each other”.

While the teenagers tend to the cafe themselves and take care of most of the cooking and cleaning, Megan and the Overrice team take charge of the businessy stuff like finances. As such, while the student-owners invested a chunk of their personal savings into the cafe, Overrice “provided a substantial portion of the initial capital needed to establish the cafe”. 

On running a biz at 17

Running a business at 17 is a lot for the typical teen — it means long working hours, less time for school and social gatherings, and an inevitable loss of personal free time. The trick to it, Qays says, is to “be able to manage your time wisely”. And luckily for the girls, their courses haven’t been too exam-heavy. 

While Qays is accustomed to juggling part-time work and school for some time now, Aesha’s dad needed a little convincing before letting her take on the job. “After I showed him that I can balance [school and work], he’s like whatever, as long as I don’t fall behind,” she says. However, she’s still not allowed to work on school nights, and only comes to the shop on weekends. 

This leaves Qays running the cafe solo on weekdays, which she says is manageable, but not entirely feasible. “I’m studying in Republic Poly, which is in Woodlands, and I stay in the East, so every day I wake up early to go to school, and right after that I rush down here to open the shop,” she explains, adding that they’ll consider hiring part-timers in the future.

That said, the two youngsters find their work experience rewarding. “It’s an advantage for us because we get to apply what we learnt in school, like designing, to creating Siësta,” says Aesha.  

The menu

Qays’ and Aesha’s youthful Gen-Z energy is evident in the design of Siësta’s quirky menu, which is decorated with cute cartoon drawings. They offer four toasties, the cheese-filled 3 Cheeeze Crisp ($14), beef toastie Beefin’ It Up ($16), portobello mushroom toastie On My Life ($14) and Cinnamon Girl ($10), a dessert option topped with cinnamon and yogurt. While they make the toasties and beverages themselves, the fries are prepared at the Overrice kitchen downstairs and the desserts are outsourced.

3 Cheeeze Crisp, $14

Beefin’ It Up, $16 (8 DAYS Pick!)

Toasties aside, Siësta also offers a range of pop culture-named beverages. We tried two of Qays’ recommendations - Shrek’s Love Potion ($8) and Superwoman Energy Drink ($8).

Shrek’s Love Potion, $8

This dirty matcha oat milk latte is topped off with a dash of cinnamon. The coffee flavour is robust enough, made more interesting with the addition of raw-tasting oat milk and earthy matcha.

Superwoman Energy Drink, $8

These Gen-Z bosses have added a little retro umbrella to this zesty superfood beverage that has pomegranate, cranberry and apple juice laced with chia seeds. We find it a tad sour for our taste, but the chia seeds add a nice crunch.  

Other than toasties and beverages, customers can also opt for sides like chilli beef fries, which Qays and Aesha call Can (We) Be Friends? ($14), and desserts like 24 karat brownies (brownies topped with a layer of gold), which they have named Magic In The Air ($8) after the Bruno Mars song ‘24K Magic’. 

There is also a ‘omakase’ meal that you can order: For $21, customers can request for Aesha and Qays for “anything”, and they’ll whip up a surprise meal (usually a toastie) and drink for you.

Siësta is located at L2, 41 Sultan Gate, S198489. Open Wed-Fri 5pm-9pm, Sat 12pm-9pm, Sun 12pm-6pm. More info via Instagram.

Photos: Siësta 

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