Foni Kiri Kiri Teahouse

by Iyath Adam

If you’re looking for a quiet space to get some work done or even a tea place to go with friends and family, then you should definitely check out the newly opened teahouse, Foni Kiri Kiri. 

Located on Roashanee Magu, opposite to Noor Miskiy, Foni Kiri Kiri is a small, cosy space with warm lighting and soft tones, reminiscent of coffee shops in movies. 

The display shelf is filled with delectable-looking desserts – cinnamon knots, brownies, cakes – and savoury short eats. The letter board behind the counter shows the available drinks – coffees, teas, and hot chocolate. 

Run by wife and husband duo, Adlyn and Ahmed Shamym, Foni Kiri Kiri came about from Adlyn’s Bakery food page. A home baker of 12 years, all the cakes in the café are made by Adlyn herself.

“When we were running the home bakery, a lot of our customers wanted cakes and other products for instant purchases. They wanted to taste our cakes before buying, so Foni Kiri Kiri came about as a way to offer readily available products to our customers,” said Adlyn. 

‘Foni kiri kiri’ means ‘making food just sweet enough’ or foni heyovaru kohlun in Dhivehi language. It certainly aptly describes the café’s food, sweet without being overpowering.

“I myself don’t like food that’s too sweet. I think the natural taste of different ingredients should come out in desserts, which is how I focus on making our products too,” said Adlyn. 

The duo pays extra attention to make sure that all ingredients are of premium quality with as less preservatives as possible. All the components of the dishes are made from scratch with whole foods while the drinks are made with in-house blends. 

“All of our drinks are made with real, superior ingredients. For example, our matcha latte is made with matcha powder sourced from a Japanese tea factory and our hot chocolate is made from actual chocolate which we use in our desserts too. Our flavoured teas are made with house-made tea blends,” said Shameem.  

Evening is the peak hour of the café where families as well as friends gather together for teatime. The bestsellers of the café are their Victoria sponge cake, New York cheesecake and brownies. The savoury eats are outsourced from local vendors, meticulously quality checked before being offered to customers. 

Foni Kiri Kiri is open from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM from Saturday-Thursday.