Chris Brown and Rihanna party in NY

Chris Brown sent champagne to Rihanna when they partied in the same nightclub at the weekend.

The former couple - who split in 2009 after the 'Yeah 3x' singer assaulted his then-girlfriend - sat at different tables at New York's SL on Saturday (09.06.12) but onlookers say they were very aware of one another inside the club.

A source told the New York Post newspaper: "After Chris made his way into SL with a group of friends, Rihanna pulled up with her own group of friends. The infamous exes sat far enough from each other to not be able to talk, but close enough to keep an eye on one another.

"Chris sent Rihanna two bottles of Ace of Spades Champagne. DJ Sinatra had both Rihanna and Chris dancing at their tables."

The meeting comes a few weeks after Rihanna came face-to-face with Chris and his current girlfriend Karreueche Tran at Los Angeles club Greystone Manor but things were not so friendly.

A source said at the time: "Chris and Rihanna sat a few tables away from each other and shot dirty looks at each other all night.

"No one saw them actually interact. Rihanna was escorted to the bathroom multiple times and walked by Chris' table each time, not even batting an eyelash."

Rihanna and Chris recently worked together on two tracks, 'Turn Up the Music' and 'Birthday Cake' and Rihanna recently admitted she was surprised about the backlash over the collaboration.

She said: "I thought people were gonna be surprised that we finally did a record together, but I didn't see how people could think it was a bad thing. In my mind, it was just music.

"I mean, if I went back to him [as a girlfriend], then that's a whole different discussion. And if I ever do, then that's something that y'all have to talk to me about when - if - that ever happens. Until then, look at it for what it is."