Kueh Cafe PJ is your next lepak spot for a chill snack with family and friends.
Picture this. It’s a hot Sunday afternoon in Petaling Jaya, and you’re looking around for a cool place to enjoy a little tea time snack. A trendy cafe perhaps? But after spending the equivalent of your bank account on brunch and drinks on Saturday , your bank account says otherwise. But hold on. Tucked in a little corner in Petaling Jaya you find Kueh Cafe.
You expect a usual mamak spot looking like their familiar Seksyen 13 branch, until you step inside.
The cool breeze of air conditioning and lo-fi cafe music hits you as your brain does a double take. The interior is cream coloured with green accents, and the smell of freshly-brewed coffee and coconut milk hit you. You’ve just walked into Kueh Cafe PJ, their latest branch.
Kueh Café is part of a larger franchise of shops that have been running since 2020. In fact, I once went to their Subang Jaya branch for a quick tea-time snack. The previous outlets felt like a nice ‘warung’ spot, perfect for family time and casual hangouts. As per their name, kuih muih is their specialty, laid out in a buffet style, nicely packaged for you to take home or enjoy in the café.
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But never would I have expected the total facelift that this PJ outlet had to offer. I told the staff there that it doesn’t even feel like a Kueh Café outlet and more like a fancy cafe to get your latte fix. But luckily this place also serves good coffee and kuih.
Although I’m more of a tea-drinker by nature, the vibe of the café got me caffeine-curious, so I tried a black Americano. The darkly roasted coffee was rich but not too bitter and gave chocolatey notes, just the way I like it.
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There was a variety of over 50 types of Malay kuihs, and although I would have loved to try them all, here’s what I would recommend from the selection that I did. The pancakes served with sambal are a surprisingly good combo. The soft and springy crepe-like texture of the pancake blends well with the salty spice of the sambal, which is strong in belacan flavour.
Their onde-onde is also a highlight, with a soft, chewy texture with the fresh crisp of coconut. And of course, the burst of melted gula Melaka is the only sweet surprise I’d take in my mouth. If you don’t fancy surprises, you can always have the gula Melaka separately with the kuih lopes, which maintains that nostalgic chewy texture and same great taste.
If you’re feeling more peckish and looking for a light meal, Kueh Cafe has also got you covered. The nasi lemak is quite well-balanced with a more sweet and spicier sambal. Thankfully, they’re not shy with their sambal portions, which comes served in a small bowl on your plate. The rice and the sambal pair well together and the cucumber and peanuts add crunchiness and fresh flavours to every bite.
The cafe also serves a flavourful nasi tomato with ayam masak merah. The tomato rice was well-seasoned, making it the perfect accompaniment to the ayam masak merah, which offered just the right amount of spice to tickle the taste buds, yet with a sweetness that kept me coming back for more.
Sadly, there aren’t many nice cool places to escape from the heat at with reasonably priced food. It’s just a product of rising prices and KL’s food scene’s race to the top. Thankfully, places like Kueh Café PJ are a welcome reminder that you don’t need to pay cafe prices for good food, delicious drinks, and a lovely atmosphere in the Klang Valley.
Kueh Cafe PJ