Royal Selangor Cafe

A familiar guest at weddings and a must to bring when visiting friends abroad. Royal Selangor pewter. Its one of those places where you never think of going unless you are buying a gift or you have friends from abroad wanting a "truly Malaysian" product. I love their signature melon teapot and photo frames. The last time I visited the Royal Selangor Visitor Centre, I brought my two Aussie friends to the School Of Hard Knocks. They were able to have a go and banging out their very own pewter bowl. I think it was very therapeutic especially for Hogey who was particularly agro at the time. More recently, they have added a cafe within the building. It is a lovely space with lots of natural light and a small koi pond with humongous mutant kois. Seriously, what have they been feeding the kois? Ex-employees? They are huge! If there was a Biggest Loser for fish, they would be worthy contestants. Back to the cafe, it was my first time dining there last Friday. I was fairly quiet at the time as there weren't any tourist buses. The tables were all occupied by employees. And there was me.

It is a simple cafe that has a small menu consisting of salads, sandwiches and cakes. What is really nice here is the daily local menu. Monday is nasi lemak, Wednesday is Hainanese chicken rice, and Friday is asam laksa. I can't remember Tuesday and Thursday (probably because it wasn't something I like!). I always say I am not a fan of asam laksa but whenever I eat it, I do enjoy it immensely. Its the noodle that I am not so keen on you see. I am prejudiced against fat noodles. I much prefer waifs like mee sua and bee hoon. It was on the encouragement from the manager that I ordered the asam laksa. I'm so glad I did! The broth smelt so sour, spicy and sweet all at the same time. And it really was very good. It had just the right balance of the three. It was spicy enough to make me reach for a tissue but not enough to burn a hole in my stomach. And it was sour enough to make my mouth water now as I recall the hot aromatic broth. So much for not liking the noodles, I ate it all! TGIF! By 1pm, the asam laksa had sold out. I don't think they make that many portions which is probably why the stock tastes so concentrated. And only RM8.90 for a bowl. I also had a slice of lemon cheesecake with raspberry topping (RM8.90). Very nice! It was simple, smooth, creamy and fluffy at the same time. What a lovely way to spend Friday afternoon.

So if you find yourself around Setapak, make sure you come and try the food at the Royal Selangor Cafe. I would estimate the pricing to be very similar to Secret Recipe, so do yourself a favour and come here instead. The food is made with a lot more love I can tell you that! The best part is parking is easy and free! Call 03 4145 6186 to check on the daily specials which do change occasionally. The cafe is open 7 days a week from 9am - 5pm.

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