KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 — The first thing you notice is the colour.
The butterfly pea rice in Tian Jing Café’s Nasi Kerabu is visually striking, but the rest of the dish is assembled with equal deliberation.
Pork ribs, braised in rendang spices until fork-tender. Ulam, fresh and assertive. Sambal matah, sharp with citrus and raw aromatics.
Salted egg and chilli belacan, carrying fermentation and depth. Nutty toasted coconut and delicate fish crackers.
Familiar but also fun, a classic viewed through a fresh lens.
Tian Jing Café sits on the second floor of a row of shophouses in Cheras. You walk up a staircase and emerge into a space that resembles a blend of someone’s home and their garden. (Its name in Chinese, Tianjing Kafei Guan means “Courtyard Café”.)
The space resembles a blend of someone’s home and their garden. — Picture by CK Lim
Concrete and exposed brick establish a stripped-back foundation. Hanging plants soften the edges. Potted greenery occupies corners. A green feature wall divides the counter from a more secluded dining area.
Speaking of the actual dining, one can begin with small plates that function as introductions to their surprisingly expansive menu.
The Bacon & Corn Chowder Soup is slow-cooked, thickened naturally through vegetable purées, with sweet corn and bacon.
The Sate Pork Belly Mantou places grilled pork belly inside fried mantou, whilst the Beer-Battered Onion Rings are crisp and supported by a Parmesan and smoky bacon ranch dip.
These small plates help prepare the palate but Tian Jing is at its comfort food best when it comes to the mains.
Trio Mushroom. — Picture by CK Lim
Their Trio Mushroom appears basic but is packed full of umami. The pasta is dressed lightly, allowing the mushrooms to take centre stage: eryngii provide firmness, shiitake savouriness, button mushrooms familiarity.
For lovers of grains, the Belly & Lard Rice will be a rewarding plate. Plain white rice is the perfect background for slices of grilled pork belly, their fat rendered and fragrant. Thai style nam jim jaew supplies acidity and heat, whilst a sunny-side egg and crisp pork lard completes the picture.
Belly & Lard Rice. — Picture by CK Lim
Some of us may still be leery of fusion fare. The Carbonara is both a classic and a lovely compromise.
There is no cream, of course. Instead, egg yolk, parmesan and hot pasta water are combined with care to form a smooth, clinging sauce for the spaghettini. Black pepper — the “carbon” in carbonara — is used generously, giving warmth and depth.
Tian Jing Café’s take on the classic Carbonara. — Picture by CK Lim
Elsewhere, the menu continues in the same spirit of blending cultures and cuisines.
Prawn Marinara combines tomato passato with sambal belacan for a lively, savoury sauce. Scallion Pesto Noodle uses coriander and scallion to create a fresh, aromatic dressing for handmade noodles, accompanied by pork belly and pork lard.
For an unexpected marriage of German and Japanese traditions, Tian Jing’s Pork Schnitzel offers crisp panko-coated pork with mozzarella tomato béchamel, chips and salad — a complete and very filling meal.
Yet it is the Nasi Kerabu that remains most firmly in the memory. The tenderness of the rendang pork ribs, the delicacy of the ulam, the balance between richness and freshness — this is a dish that understands both tradition and adaptation.
The tenderness of the ‘rendang’ pork ribs makes the Nasi Kerabu worth the return visit. — Picture by CK Lim
Fusion cooking can sometimes feel awkward and uncertain, as though unsure of its own purpose. At Tian Jing Café, thankfully, it feels assured. The flavours are distinct, the combinations considered, the results utterly pleasurable to eat.
And that, in the end, is reason enough to return.
Tian Jing Café 天井咖啡馆
7A, Jalan 33/154,
Taman Bukit Anggerik,
Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.
Open Sun-Tue & Thu-Fri 9am-7:30pm;
Sat 9am-5:30pm; Wed closed
Phone: 012-878 1622
IG: https://www.instagram.com/tianjingcafe/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/tianjingcafe/
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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