Cafe 5 at Pudu, Kuala Lumpur welcomes us with charming Taiwanese-style shop front, surprises us with delicious Belgian liege waffle, keeps our excitement with silky smooth latte.
For years, Pudu is an area that we frequent mostly for local street food like old-school dim sum from Tuck Cheong, comfort bowl of pork noodles from Yuyi Kopitiam, crackling crispy roasted pork from Wong Mei Kee, homey steamed fish from Mun Kee Fish Head Restaurant, and flavourful curry chee cheong fun from Yee Hup Kee Yong Tau Fu, just to name a few.
While these all-time-favourites are still Pudu major eateries, it is good to see some young vibe getting into this KL downtown with modern cafes. First was A.Toast Cafe, a breakfast shop that serves really good sandwich and next, Cafe 5 in Jalan Brunei, a waffle shop that we stumbled upon when passing by those narrow streets flooded with printing shops. Haha.
Cafe 5 is located next to Urban Bird Hotel KL, along a narrow, busy street that still give headaches when comes to parking. Instagram worthy right at the entryway – large window framed by white bricks wall, adorned with green plants and sturdy wooden chairs, forming super mini garden at sides.
Wooden floorings, a mix of white and black on furnishing and wall colours, dim yellow light – standard interior for a cafe but our attention got raised with the many hand crafted decor and origami placed around. Random decoration that has somehow, reflected patient, detail-oriented personality of the owner. True enough, as we further confirmed this when seeing him making waffles.
Murakami – waffles with flamed takoyaki sauce and Japanese mayonaise, Japanese spices, bonito flakes RM13
Belgian liege waffle and coffee take the centre stage in Cafe 5. More than 10 flavours to choose from the menu, combining both sweet and savoury. Be it original waffle; waffle with cinammon sugar; waffle with maple syrup & butter; waffle with Belgium dark chocolate, marshmallows, strawberries; waffle with strawberries, fresh cream, maple syrup; waffle with chocolate peanut butter & bananas;waffles with takoyaki sauce, Japanese mayo, spices and bonito flakes; waffles with smoked salmon and so forth, none of them disappoint.
Tom & Jerry – waffles with melted cheddar cheese and suces RM13
The reason why is because Cafe 5 has got the essential base – waffle, done right. The platter goes better with carefully selected pairing ingredients. Each waffle is baked upon order, using waffle dough that has taken 20 hours of traditional yeast fermentation to ensure the best development of natural taste, flavours and aroma.
Painstaking process, but satisfying. Expect crispy outer layer with caramelized sweetness of imported pearl sugar thinly coated over, contrasting by buttery, moist, chewy center, like a cross of cake and bread texture as you sink your teeth onto their waffles. Sooooo good.
Willy Wonka – waffles with Belgium chocolate fondue, strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, 3 scoops of ice creams RM38
We sampled 3 types of waffles – Murakami, Willy Wonka and Tom & Jerry. Murakami is inspired from Japanese okonomiyaki, replacing savoury pancake with waffles, torched then topped with richly flavoured with sauces and umami from dried bonito flakes. Tom & Jerry is more straightforward but we liked it so much! Cheddar cheese, half melted over fresh, pipping hot waffles.
Willy Wonka is a greedy order but we were happy to get the best of both world together, or more actually – waffles with ice cream and fruits, accompanied by Belgium chocolate fondue! In fact, ice cream is another must-have in Cafe 5, because the team behind Cafe 5 actually started out as artisan ice cream maker & supplier. They have a great ice cream recipe, especially on mango ice cream and salted egg yolk & curry leaves ice cream. Yay, you read it right. They have SALTED EGG YOLK ICE CREAM!
Latte RM9 hot, RM10 iced
Didn’t put much expectation on their beverage but Cafe 5 surprises us with silky smooth, beautifully frothed milk in their latte. Matcha latte is equally good, matching just nice with sweetness from milk but hehe, we greedily hope to get heavier dose of matcha powder.
Japanese Matcha Latte RM10
Ice Cube Coffee RM13
Thanks Cafe 5 for extra Ice Cube Coffee treat. Super aromatic. They are using houseblend of 50% Brazil Mountain Mogiana and 50% Guatamale SHB Huahuetenango, medium roasted. More fruity in black, nutty with hints of caramel in white.
Other beverage option include English Tea, Ice Blended Banana Coffee, Ice Blended Oreo Toffee Coffee, Banana Milkshake, Chocolate Banana Milkshake, Gula Melaka Iced Latte, Natural Soda Drink from Tapping Tapir, Chai Latte and more. Reasonable price, within RM15.
Cafe 5 Pudu 五号咖啡.松饼屋
Address:
(*Below Hotel Urban Bird)
No 5, Jalan Lengkongan Brunei,
Off Jalan Pudu
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Opening Hours: 12PM – 10PM daily
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cafe5pudu/
