This M’sian ditched a career in S’pore to open a PJ cafe specialising in English muffins

For the average Malaysian, a typical breakfast would consist of nasi lemak, roti canai, or even a hearty bowl of bak kut teh.

If you’re a little bored of these and want to spice up your mornings, maybe you’d like a classic English muffin. 

I’m not talking about the kind from McDonald’s, rather, I’m talking about homemade ones at the rather new O’Muffin Cafe in Damansara Jaya. Here, they specialise in all things English muffins and English scones.

Turning a woe into an opportunity

Coming from a corporate background, Nicole Chang didn’t really see herself starting an F&B business back then. 

Sure, she had learnt to bake from her grandmother as a kid in primary school and collected baking recipes from newspapers and magazines. But she never had any formal training and had actually been working in Singapore for five years before the idea came about.

Like many others, the pandemic left her stranded in Singapore. 

It was quite a challenging time in her personal life as she had just recently lost her grandfather. “This made me reevaluate my priorities,” Nicole explained.

While waiting for the borders to open and the chance to return home to Malaysia, Nicole began looking into alternative career paths. This had to check two main boxes: 

Together with her boyfriend, whom she only referred to as Mr Lim, the two came up with O’Muffin Cafe in 2020.

Not only did it fulfil her personal criteria, it also addressed an untapped opportunity at the time.

Tapping into a niche market

“When we looked at the market, we noticed that while McDonald’s offers English muffins, there were no other specialists for them in Malaysia. Similarly, scones [only] had a notable presence in Cameron Highlands [and] high-quality scones were hard to come by.”

Pair these with Nicole’s interest in the baked goods and it was a recipe for a new venture.

O’Muffin started out with a different name called “Laku Artisan” in August 2021. As the pandemic was still ongoing and the future uncertain, it was rather risky to open a physical cafe. 

So Nicole resorted to launching an online business instead. She rented a baking studio in Damansara Jaya and began selling English muffins and scones for delivery to locals around the area.

Over the course of a year, the brand transitioned from an online bakery to joining pop-up events. She eventually began supplying her baked goods to other cafes as well. 

Call it luck or a good coincidence, but it wasn’t long before Nicole found the right spot to set up O’Muffin Cafe. 

It’s a half-shop just around the corner from their baking studio and a short drive from the bustling SS2 area. It was an ideal location that allowed her to continue serving the local neighbourhood community while being still accessible to new visitors. 

Baking up an English storm

Looking at O’Muffin Cafe’s menu, there’s no doubt that English muffins are the star of the place. 

From a Big Breakfast platter to various “burgers” with homemade patties (Personal Best, RM14) or even fried chicken thighs (Awesome, RM16), O’Muffin Cafe offers a good range of offerings. You can even choose to add different sides and curate your own special English muffin meal.

The cafe’s English scones also come in various interesting flavours, such as earl grey, cranberry, walnut, and chocolate. They’re created using Nicole’s own recipe that she’s been perfecting since 10 years ago.

In true British fashion, O’Muffin Cafe’s scones are paired with clotted cream which gives patrons a more authentic experience. For context, clotted cream is the traditional English way of serving scones, but it’s not common in Malaysia.

“We wanted to introduce Malaysians to this classic pairing and provide a taste of something different,” Nicole shared. 

“So far, the feedback has been positive. Customers appreciate the novelty and quality of the pairing, and many have enjoyed discovering a new flavour combination.”

All of these menu offerings are whipped up by her boyfriend (the chef) and Ms Chew (Nicole’s friend), the latter being the in-house baker. As for Nicole, her role has shifted from handling every aspect of the business to focusing on business development. 

Learning from past mistakes

It’s only been about eight months since O’Muffin Cafe opened the doors to its brick-and-mortar store. Nicole was happy to report that business has been growing steadily.

When reflecting on her entrepreneurial journey so far, she pointed out that building a brand alone was tough. She was fortunate to have later found a small but supportive team.

Looking back, she noted that hiring and training a reliable team earlier would have helped manage the increased workload more effectively. 

“Investing in thorough staff training and establishing clear operational procedures from the beginning would have eased the transition,” Nicole shared.

But as the saying goes, when you know better, you do better. “While the transition [from online to offline] was challenging, it was a valuable learning experience [that] helped us to refine our operations and better understand our market.”

For O’Muffin Cafe’s future, the brand will continue to focus on English muffins and scones as they’re the heart of the brand.

By concentrating on these, Nicole’s hope is to continue to innovate the flavours to suit the Malaysian palate, allowing her to bring the cafe’s creations to a wider market. 

Featured Image Credit: O’Muffin Cafe