Mingle Cafe, Jalan Sultan: Handmade Pasta with Local Flavours

Amid the bustle of Chinatown, Mingle Cafe at 55 Jalan Sultan offers a much slower pace. The café sits on the ground floor of an early-1900s shophouse that now houses Mingle Hostel, about a one- to two-minute walk from Petaling Street and not far from Pasar Seni station.

The building has its own story. It's linked to the tycoon Cheong Yoke Choy, co-founder of Kwong Yik Bank, and was occupied by various tenants before being restored. The original layers of paint, stone arches and the airwell in the middle of the building have been preserved, while furniture made from wood and reclaimed materials gives it a warm vintage feel.

The kitchen's main draw is its fresh pasta, kneaded and rolled in-house every day using durum wheat semolina and free-range kampung eggs. We tried the pasta asam pedas fish fillet: the fish is tender, not fishy, and the sour-spicy sauce is well balanced. The pasta rendang is rich with spices, perfect for rendang fans, while the pasta masak lemak with chicken karaage pairs a smooth coconut milk sauce with chicken that's crispy outside and juicy inside. There's also pasta tomyam kung, sour and spicy with a thicker texture.

If you'd rather have rice, the nasi ulam ayam percik (herbed rice with grilled chicken in percik sauce) comes with plenty of percik sauce, acar (pickles) and sambal belacan. For dessert, there's tiramisu, Biscoff cheesecake and a smoothie bowl, which was our favourite. The drinks we tried included kombucha, pineapple coconut coffee and mocha.

Mingle Cafe is open daily from 8am to 10pm. Based on the menu reported in 2025, pasta and rice dishes cost around RM26 to RM37. It's a handy spot for a meal before continuing your walk around Pasar Seni.