KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 – If you’re like me and enjoy a morning walk bright and early, you’ll understand that part of the appeal is discovering new sights, smells and sounds when the rest of the world is still sleeping (or stuck in traffic).
Some of us pad the pavements, some the side of the main roads (never mind the smog or the irate motorists). Others, perhaps more sensible ones, stick to the green spaces such as large gardens or small parks.
I humbly belong to the latter category. It has become a morning ritual of mine, to put on my tracksuit and running shoes before the previous night’s dreams have quite left my bleary eyes and just head down to the condo garden, the chirps of the plantain squirrels atop the palm trees as my soundtrack and the marmalade felines lazing on some neighbour’s balcony observing my progress.
From the garden out past the security guardhouse, across the street, to the small park that straddles the middle ground between the condo and the row of shophouses. This is Taman Bukit Desa, perhaps the quietest enclave of the tree-lined Taman Desa neighbourhood.
And at eight in the morning, there are only trees and pigeons and the odd resident or two that feeds them (the birds, not the trees). No shop or restaurant is open yet, aside from the trusty mamak stall. Even that only has a couple of regulars digging into their roti canai while shooting the breeze.
So it has been for years and years now. Until recently, that is.
The first clue was the startling golden hue emanating from beyond a greenery-filled shop front. This turns out to be the entrance to a new café. The rays-of-sun logo declares the establishment to be Café Superfluous.
The name might be an attempt at reverse psychology or a knowing wink to the neighbourhood; the owners realise that their offering is yet another bakery-café along Jalan Bukit Desa 5, making it the indisputable pastry lane of the taman.
Unlike the longstanding Encore Kitchen (formerly Encore Pâtisserie Café) and the vegetarian-friendly Kews Pâtisserie on the same row, however, Café Superfluous opens three hours earlier at 8 a.m. Perfect for residents who go out on morning walks and enjoy their coffee bright and early.
As you approach the doorway, the sliding French windows plastered with yellow suns (stickers, these), don’t neglect the little window on the left side. Rather than a takeaway porthole, it allows a peek to the pour-over station.
I chatted with the barista through this hidey-hole during one visit, even before entering. He shared with me the beans they had that week – a washed Condorpuna, Peru from Kopenhagen Coffee and two bags from Toothless Coffee, a Kenya AB and a natural anaerobic Colombia.
We settled on the Kenya AB and as he brewed my filter coffee, I turned my attention to the counter, with its countless choices of cookies, pastries and cakes. Dangerously enticing.
Some mornings, I pair a pain au chocolat, glazed with a shiny coat of dark chocolate ganache, with the single origin brew. A slice of chocolate banana cake with a caffè latte may hit the spot better for teatime in the afternoons.
For couples, sharing is the way to go. On a different day, we had a long black and a piccolo latte to match our pastries - a soy gula Melaka cruffin (croissant + muffin) and a chicken bakkwa & floss croissant.
There are cardamom buns, spiced with eucalyptus and subtly peppery, and decadent looking coffee Mont Blancs. Marmalade pinwheels and bratwurst danishes. Taro loaves and chocolate chilli tarts. Malaysian-inspired tartines (open faced sandwiches) with toppings such as chicken rendang and tuna asam laksa.
Truly, who doesn’t enjoy the aroma of freshly baked breads and cakes? These delicious scents waft from the kitchen occasionally, the sacred space of their bakers following a semi-open concept as the dance of their gifted hands can be viewed through a long, neon-tinted window along the length of the café.
The colour scheme might be part of the charm. Two thirds of the interior is lusciously lit and salmon-hued. Further back, the rear of the café has lime-green walls and natural light flows in via a high window.
If the name of the shop begs the question whether its offerings are superfluous, given the plethora of pastry and coffee options already available in the neighbourhood, then the palette insists that this café must stand out.
At least for the residents here, if for no other reason, where else are you going to get a decent cuppa and an excellent croissant this early in the morning?
Café Superfluous
35, Jalan Bukit Desa 5, Taman Bukit Desa, KL
Open daily 8am-5pm
FB: facebook.com/cafesuperfluous/
IG: instagram.com/cafesuperfluous/
