Mainmain Cafe @ Jalan Choo Cheng Khay, Kuala Lumpur

-Love. Care. Dedication. These are the words to describe Mainmain cafe.-

Have been getting too frequent on cafe hopping, sipping a cup of coffee with a hearty plate of Egg Benedict or Waffles with Ice Cream and so on. Hence we decided to make a twist, changing our weekend hang out place to places which are still cafe, but different concept.

We discovered Mainmain Cafe, a charming, humble cafe tucked away in Jalan Choo Cheng Khay, Kuala Lumpur (behind Dewan Pustaka, next to Kwong Wah Jit Poh publications). The cafe is well surrounded by flats, housing area, but managed to highlight itself through a small, colourful shop sign draped with red cloth.

Follow the staircase up, rang the doorbell and get welcomed with “home away from home” interior. Shiny concreate floorings complemented by walls painted in baby green, adorned with comic-style pictures, and bird nest’s shape lamps hanging from ceiling.

Other than these, everything in Mainmain Cafe seems to be in white- from tables to chairs, window frames, curtains and counter.

Mainmain cafe is brimming with ornaments at almost every corner, liven up the entire environment with homegrown potted plants, hand-grown green mints, handsewn patchwork quilts, handcrafted beads, wooden cockhorse, oversized spoon, antique iron etc.

We like their tables and chairs that add on not only raw and rustic touch, but also the “back-to-school” feeling. In fact, they are really primary school’s furnitures, but repainted and heightened up to suit general dining table height.

Menu are well written on chalkboards reformed from platation shutters. Main dishes are generally five types, rotates depends on chef. You may get nourishing soup like Wintermelon Soup, Corn Soup on different days. Desserts are must-have too, ranging from Tofu Cake, Tiramisu, Rum Marscarpone, Mango Mousse, Lemon Cheese Cake, Blueberry Cheese Cake, and you may come across Cucumber Tofu Cheesecake or other one-of-its-kind cakes occasionally.

So far as Summergirl knows, Summerkid hates pumpkin. He repels all dishes come with the words pumpkin- Pumpkin porridge, pumpkin soup, pumpkin cake, pumpkin mousse, etc.. However, in Main Main, with limited choices available in the menu list, Summerkid had no choice but to order Pumpkin Pork Ribs, thinking to have only pork ribs and skip all pumpkins.

But to Summergirl’s surprise, Summerkid polished the whole plate clean, and yearning for more. Asking him why, Summerkid said: ” Don’t know. Just very delicious.The gravy tasted very much like potato.” . Couldn’t deny that Main-main has whipped up a wonderful plate of  Pumpkin Pork Ribs, braising the meat till tenderly soft, easily fall off the bone and laid them in a bed of moist, creamy pumpkin puree packed with natural sweetness. Double thumbs up deserved.

Summergirl tried out their Butter Chicken which fared a homey taste, having huge chunks of deep-fried chicken tossed in rich, buttery sauce, lingered with faint hint of curry leaves’ aroma.

Tofu Cake, the reason Summergirl dragged him to visit Main Main Cafe. Ever since Poco Homemade, the cafe specializes in Tofu Cake stop operating in Bangsar, the chances to try Tofu Cake becomes thin, even though they still provide homemade dessert to certain cafes.

Lucky that Poco Homemade premise is now taken over by Cultura, who also sources their cake from Poco Homemade. Greater news is Mainmain Cafe brought in Poco Homemade’s Cake too, and now you can further trace them down in Cultura, Ikano Power Center (IPC).

In fact, the love to Tofu Cake is very subjective. While Summerkid found it mediocre, Summergirl loves the mellow sensation of tofu cake, like eating tofu, yet not. You may expect it to taste similar as cheesecake, but it was actually a whole new chapter of taste and texture- delicately soft, mild, and clean to the palate.

We visited Mainmain Cafe in two consecutive weekends, not just because of the tofu cake, but also their superb homecooked dishes. Choice are limited, but this is how homey dishes should be like. Taste of home is unbeatable, all the time. High recommended KL cafe!

Photography: Summerkid
Write Up: Summergirl

Address:
Mainmain Cafe
Jalan Choo Cheng Khay,
50460 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
(Behing Dewan Pustaka, next to Kwang Wah Jit Poh光华日报)
Contact：+6016 – 215 5523
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mainmaincafe
Business Hours：11am – 8pm (Closed on Mondays)