Irene, Shah Alam

Irene is a new cafe in Shah Alam with a deliberately shadowy, art-led room — closer to a considered interior than the usual bright neighbourhood coffee shop.

The kitchen goes further than most cafes of its kind: it can put out a full meal, not just something to sit beside a flat white.

What to Order at Irene

The garlic shio pan is the bake to start with — crisp to the bite, buttery-soft through the middle, and aromatic with garlic, parsley and cheese. For something more substantial there is mushroom soup with sliced baguette, or a tempeh chickpea salad dressed in roasted sesame sauce.

On a day when none of that appeals, the crunchy chicken burger with an iced dark chocolate — sweetened to your preference — is the indulgent pairing the kitchen suggests.

For a cafe in Shah Alam or shio pan in Selangor, Irene is the one to sit in rather than take away.