It’s only been seven years since Mingle Cafe first opened, but stepping inside feels like entering a living, breathing scrapbook of Chinatown’s history.
Wearing its heritage in timeworn textures, Mingle Cafe evokes a rustic-retro reverie where chipped walls, creaky chairs and charming curios weave a collective memory, welcoming wanderers for wistful conversations and contemplations.
As part of a backpackers’ hostel in an early-1900s building, Mingle Cafe is a crossroads of cultures and cuisines, casual but cosmopolitan. When we walked in at 2pm on a Wednesday, the space remained bustling even after lunchtime, laidback yet lively.
Mingle’s latest menu of handmade pastas is more soulful than ever, served in styles spanning the classic Italian pomodoro to the crowd-pleasing Malaysian rendang. Succulent steaks, sandwiches and smoothie bowls share the spotlight with the signature nasi ulam ayam percik.
Whether you’re a traveller traversing the world or a local craving comfort close to home, Mingle Cafe is where shelves of fermented fruits, vegetables and kombucha remind us that the most meaningful places take time to unfold, slowly and naturally.
Made by hand, with heart: Mingle Cafe takes pride in its pastas, crafted with semola di grano duro, or premium durum wheat semolina, from Italian producers like Granoro and Caputo.
This choice of flour ensures elasticity balanced with bite, enhanced with free-range eggs, soaking up the richness of house-blended sauces with fresh ingredients.
The pasta dough is patiently kneaded and flattened with a wooden rolling pin, an old-world touch that tempers the process with human warmth and wisdom.
Next, the pasta sheets meet a manually cranked pasta machine, sleekly fed through rollers to surface as supple ribbons, sliced into fettuccine, ready to be cooked al dente.
The Classic Bolognese (RM32) leans into homeliness, robust with minced chicken or beef, blanketed in tangy-sweet tomato-based sauce, finished with Parmesan for savoury satisfaction.
We won’t go wrong with the Pesto (RM26), vibrantly verdant with herbs that swirl into a garden-fresh sauce that clings to every strand. Button mushrooms bring earthy notes to the basil brightness, its breezy sharpness mellowed by hints of cheese.
The Pomodoro (RM30) feels light but layered with its luscious tomato-based sauce, a meat-free marvel with eggplant, carrot and olive oil for a low-guilt, high-nourishment indulgence.
The Rendang Pasta (RM26; with chicken or beef) fuses Malaysian and Italian inspirations with fun flair, bold and resonant with heady spices, supplying hearty sustenance to fuel us up flavourfully.
Also evoking East-West influences, Mingle’s Minute Steak (RM37) is unmistakably unique, a skillet of tenderloin steak slices paired with percik sauce.
The beef is subtly seasoned to let the firm-bodied meat shine, aromatically cut through with Kelantan-style sauce, rounded out with crisp fries, fried egg and salad for a powerhouse meal.
Bread buffs, bookmark Mingle’s Pesto Chicken Sandwich (RM28), lined with tender chicken breast and the kitchen’s own-perfected pesto with sliced cheese, onions and tomatoes, stacked in soft, pillowy bread. Fuss-free and feel-good, partnered with plenty of chunky fries.
Mingle Cafe
55, Jalan Sultan, City Centre, 50000 Kuala Lumpur.
Daily, 8am-10pm. Tel: 011-6214-5167
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