Run by a dyslexic chef, this M’sian cafe raises awareness for the learning disability

When Nor Haslinda Mohd Hanafiah’s son Amer first got his dyslexia diagnosis, she didn’t fully know what it entailed.

She confessed that she suspected he had lowered intelligence, but as it turns out, that wasn’t true. After the diagnosis, Haslinda began looking into the disorder, wanting to support her son as best as she could.

The mother never gave up and diligently taught her son, working with him every day to help him read and learn.

Realising that Amer was more adept at using his hands, she also encouraged him to pursue culinary arts. He went on to acquire an advanced diploma from the Cilantro Culinary Academy, then worked at Pullman KLCC, a five-star establishment.  

Amer, now 23 years old, is also the pâtissier running Dyslexia Café, which first opened in Bangi circa late 2022, but recently moved to Batu Caves.

Here’s the story behind how Amer and Haslinda went from not knowing about dyslexia to starting a café all about it.

A highly misunderstood field

I first learnt about dyslexia through reading the Percy Jackson books, back when I was a teen. In the stories, dyslexia was portrayed as having difficulty deciphering alphabets, typically only happening from time to time.

It wasn’t until I talked to Haslinda that I learnt the actual scope of the disorder.

The truth is, dyslexia is not just about jumbled up letters and words, though that is a part of it. More than that, dyslexia involves other factors, such as with verbal memory and verbal processing speed.

Perhaps, there are others like me who lack understanding of the severity of dyslexia, which proves that dyslexia awareness is still sorely lacking.

That’s one of the reasons why Dyslexia Cafe was started—to help people better understand the learning disorder. Haslinda said that since opening, many people would search up the name of their store, and would end up stumbling across the disease and learning more about it.

“We just started weeks ago in Batu Caves, many actually don’t know the meaning of dyslexia,” she said. “When they see our cafe, they want to go in, and they may be curious, so they Google.”

Other than curious patrons, Dyslexia Cafe has also come to serve as a sort of hub for other families facing the same challenges. Many parents would bring their dyslexic children to the cafe. Seeing Amer work there is a source of inspiration for them, Haslinda said.

Aside from Amer, there’s another employee at the café that is also diagnosed with dyslexia. A friend of Amer’s, Abdul Qhaliq Al Azfari Muhammad is a pastry chef and coffee master at the café.

Considering the name and concept of the store, I wondered why there weren’t more dyslexic individuals employed there. To that, Haslinda shared that they have actually put out job vacancies, especially opening up a welcome space for those with similar learning disabilities.

Yet, nary a person with dyslexia applied.

This, Haslinda said, may be because a lot of dyslexic people, especially ones from older generations, aren’t diagnosed. In fact, some go their whole lives without ever knowing they’re dyslexic.

“Maybe 10 years from now, there’ll be a lot of people who are dyslexic that will come and join us,” she said. “Nowadays, the awareness is more compared to the old days.”

Serving things fresh

At Dyslexia Café, everything is made fresh.

“Some cafes, they might buy their pastries,” she added. “But we do our own pastries.”

And instead of limiting themselves to usual café foods, Amer and his team innovate a fair bit.

One recent trending pastry they carry, for example, is the crombolone, which is a croissant and bombolone hybrid. For those who haven’t heard of it, a bombolone is an Italian filled doughnut.

Haslinda told us that Dyslexia Café also does catering for events, including large weddings. They have cookies and snacks available for purchase at their store too, fitting for festive seasons such as the upcoming Chinese New Year.

An ambition to open a dedicated college

Throughout our conversation, Haslinda candidly told us that Malaysia’s education system is lagging behind when it comes to serving students with disabilities and disorders such as dyslexia.

She pointed out that there aren’t specific public school programmes tailored to dyslexic students, as more may be dedicated to autistic children. She pointed out that each group of special needs children have their own needs, and grouping them together may not be productive.  

She also shared that Malaysian teachers are often ill-equipped with the resources and curriculum to properly tend to dyslexic students as well. For Amer’s case, Haslinda had personally taught him, but that’s a privilege not everyone has.

“What saddens me is that some parents do not have the capacity to teach their children,” she shared. “That’s the reason why I actually always share the ideas of eventually opening a school for them.”

Haslinda said that she has brought up her grievances with ministers in the past as well, suggesting the formation of a new school for dyslexic children to get practical training in fields such as cooking, sewing, painting, and more.  

While supportive of her ideas, they also told Haslinda that it would take about a million ringgit to make it happen, a figure which perplexed her.

At least there’s the Persatuan Dyslexia Malaysia (PDM), which typically offers learning opportunities for those 12 and under.

To bridge the gaps, Haslinda wants to open up a college for those 13 and above.

Aside from this lofty ambition, she also wishes to scale Dyslexia Café by opening more cafes with the concept. If this works out, she can also employ more of the dyslexic individuals coming through the college.

While the passion and the ideas are all there, she is still missing something crucial—resources.

Although she doesn’t need as much as a million ringgit, financing such an idea is still challenging. Other than equipment, she’ll also need space and knowledge to run the college.

But this is something that Haslinda believes in working towards. Having brought up Amer and supported him to achieve what he has today, the mother wants to empower other families to do the same. And they already are, starting with Dyslexia Cafe.  

Featured Image Credit: Dyslexia Cafe