That Cafe @ Balai Seni Islam Kuala Lumpur

Hisham, KakShan, Shima & Mazlan! Selamat Pengantin Baru!

This entry is really about the cafe at the end of our visit to Balai Seni Islam. But to recap the highlights of the day, we first stopped by kak Shan's--my wicked Vandy cum Maxis sister's--nikah ceremony that morning. I ended up handing her mom ang pau in a Maxis Hari Raya envelope like a cheeky school girl, but that's because I accidentally left her present behind and it was the only envelope I could dig up in the car. Awfully sorry kak Shan. Will Poslaju your prezzie as soon as Mazlan signs the card. 

Next, we stopped by the Tugu Negara monument because the patriotic side of Mazlan had found out I had never been. In retrospect, I remember feeling a deep sense of appreciation for the warriors who fought for our country, something which you kind off miss out from the tiny picture in the textbook, no matter how long you drool over it. Why on earth didn't my teachers organize a school trip to Tugu Negara? Now I know the source of all this annoyance I've been carrying around my entire life. The weight is finally lifted off my shoulders.

An old hand-written Qur'an..

Chinese calligraphy of Bismillah

And finally, we stopped by Balai Seni Islam, an art gallery in Kuala Lumpur which had more pieces in the souvenir shop than the entire collection on all three floors. But, there were some really nice pieces that stood out in my mind: a beautifully hand-written Qur'an from long ago with only few verses on a each page, a Chinese calligraphy of Bismillah, a pretty kurung-like dress with enormous sleeves that would make me feel like a beautiful princess.

The daggers mesmerized Mazlan the most. He had a piece of steel he wanted to de-daggerized from since I knew him--so we were checking out all the designs from Mughal and Iran because that's where they all seem to come from. We do know the secret of an everlasting dagger-&-owner relationship though, thanks to his wikipedia friends. And since this knowledge may get lost in the modernization era of Malaysia, I am just going to put it down here for the reference of our children and children's children because its really important*: the length of the blade must match the distance between the two nipples of the owner. (Custom-make one would be your best shot). Surprising huh. Well, at keast now you realize why you're not so crazy about the coveted, ancient, priceless dagger your grandpop left you. You need to workout more. 

Shwerma and latte. A++

And final stop was the cafe, and oh was it serene. It became fun discussing the menu although there were only two food sets available to order: baklava or chicken schwerma. That's a 50-50% chance I would choose a dish I love, or regretted--the highest to date. There was definitely not enough data to plot out a probability density function and write code to make a decision. So I just ordered what Mazlan did: the schawerma and latte. It was delicious. It took ages to arrive but I was feeling really forgiving that day, mainly because I messed up with KakShan's wedding present. Thus the waiter received a smile f.o.c. and Mazlan didn't punch him.

So stop by the Balai Seni Islam Negara and then the cafe. And then shop till you drop at the souvenir shop next door. They have some pretty wild quality stuff there. Don't forget to drop by Tugu Negara too with your kids. You don't want to deprive them of the Tugu Negara experience like I was. I know they'll be overwhelmed by the size. It's gigantic.

That Cafe @ Balai Seni Islam, 

Kuala Lumpur

Cleanliness: A++

Food: A 

Price: ~RM35 for two. Thank you Mazlan :) 

Satisfaction Level: A

Service: B 

Atmosphere: A++ serene. I could spend the entire day there reading.

*if google can really look up this info from a food-blog!