If Exhibit Cafe were a person, he'd be someone we'd want for a friend, with his guileless capacity to place us at ease, have us linger with him & leave us feeling nourished by the experience. This is one of 2013's nicest new cafes.
Malaysian-born Loo See Hin & his Japanese wife have opened a suburban purlieu that's stylish without being stuffy or showy, polished but free of vain pretensions. It's supremely peaceful here for now, but expect the crowds to come very soon.
Here's a cafe with a story, with reasons behind each piece of Mid-Century Modern furniture & a background even to the bear that sits by the window with wombat companions, pausing perhaps to ponder its trek from Brisbane to Taman Tun Dr Ismail.
Exhibit's food represents what the cafe's owners want to eat: Wholesome fare that tastes as fresh & natural as imaginable, noticeably low in sugar & salt, exemplified by this tuna sandwich in a baguette that's par-baked in France before being finished off at Exhibit.
Sweet potato soup is on the current warm-food menu; on other occasions, folks might find broths brimming with clams & tomatoes, or maybe a vegetarian one with broccoli, celery, green peppers & lady's fingers with bay-leaves-infused extra virgin olive oil.
Preservative-free pastries, from poppy seed puffs stuffed with Japanese red bean paste, cheesecakes topped with fresh strawberries & pain au chocolat centered with Belgian chocolate ...
... to croissants constructed with Aussie butter & raw almond cream (RM8 nett) ...
... & soft-baked cookies with components like pumpkin seeds & oatmeal.
Chemex coffeemakers to brew Exhibit's distinctive beverages for sipping slowly while savoring what sounds like Coltrane-era jazz on the cafe's speakers.
Love the Japanese Maruyama dark roast blend (RM15), richly nuanced & maybe a little nutty.
Lion Coffee, bearing the fragrance of vanilla beans & macadamia nuts, served at Exhibit with a bit of Valrhona chocolate on the saucer. RM15 nett.
Belvoir organic elderflower cordial (RM16), excellent for caffeine-averse customers.
Valrhona hot chocolate, made with the buttery Dulcey Blond variety.
Exhibit Cafe opens 11am-9pm, except Wednesdays. Its signboard should be up by week's end, but for now, look for it above Taman Tun's SMiLE CLINIC.
Note: Exhibit will be closed this Sunday, July 21, but is usually open on other Sundays.
Note: Exhibit will be closed this Sunday, July 21, but is usually open on other Sundays.
"Hoot-bye, until we meet again," these owl figurines from Bali seem to say (in our mind's ear).
Exhibit Cafe TTDI,
86A, Jalan Burhanuddin Helmi, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 03-7731-3311
