THERE’S something about food that relaxes one’s mind and gets the creative juices flowing.
This is the thought behind the setting-up of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM)’s Academia Cafe & Bistro at its Kuala Lumpur campus in Kampung Baru.
The brainchild of UUM vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Seri Dr Mohamed Mustafa Ishak, the Academia Cafe & Bistro was inaugurated on Nov 1 last year, following the establishment of the Academia Lounge UUM at the university’s Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz School of Accountancy (TISSA) in Sintok, Kedah in 2012.
Mohamed Mustafa said apart from being a means of generating revenue for the university, the main purpose of the eatery was to enable academic staff members to get together and hold meetings and discussions with students in a comfortable and laid-back setting.
Academia Cafe & Bistro is also open to the general public.
Speaking at the launch of a new menu, he said the university not only views the outlet as an innovative product but also a future competitor of greater innovative potential for the existing service providers in the city centre.
The new menu includes dishes such as kambing panggang Raja Alang and udang petai Academia, in addition to current favourites such as nasi goreng Academia, nasi goreng kampung, chicken chop, chicken wings, and mushroom soup. He said that the Academia Cafe & Bistro boasted a Celebrity Corner — a specially designated area in the cafe where Malaysian artistes, mostly those enrolled as students of UUM, would stage live performances.
With a capacity to accommodate about 100 patrons with ease, he said the cafe provides its customers sufficient comfort with which to enjoy delicious meals at reasonable prices. The Academia Cafe & Bistro also furnishes a VIP room for the convenience of special guests, as well as free WiFi access.
On enrolment at UUMKL, Mohamed Mustafa said 38 students have registered for its Bachelor of Creative Industry Management (BCIM) programme via the UUMKL Distance Learning Mode (PJJ), since its pioneer intake in October last year.
Among the students are artistes Pekin Ibrahim, Tomok, Zahid AF, Fattah Amin, Ariel AF, Haziq AF, Raja Mukhriz, and Akma AF.
The menu launch was also enlivened by the presence of Zahid AF, Farhan AF and other personalities.
“Artistes who have successfully completed their studies in UUM include Syamsul Hirdi Muhid (Diddy Hirdy AF), who received a first class degree and has been appointed as tutor at UUM Media and Communication Technology Centre. He is pursuing his doctorate at University of Glasgow in Scotland and Zehra Zambri, who completed her Master of Science (Managerial Communication) and is working in RTM,” he added.