welcome...
Gosh, my Internet has been even slower than a snail.....so much so that uploading pictures has been a real chore and bore. Taking the cue from one of my blog readers, who mentioned she recently became vegetarian, I thought I'll share with all of you, my great vegetarian experience last weekend.
one of the best ever chappatis tasted - fluffy, soft and not oily
I have had Annalakshmi on my list of must-eats for a very long time. The last time, I wanted to eat here, I didn't have the full address hence I couldn't find it but this time, I was all prepared with the address and telephone number. Located within the modern looking Temple of Fine Arts (TFA) on its ground floor, this is right opposite the Buddhist temple.
unusual green tinged pilau rice with a variety of vegetarian dishes
It has been a while since I visited them, I think the last time I ate here was when they used to be in Bangsar! I had a colleague who was vegetarian on Fridays, hence it was a favourite place for us to drop by whenever he joined us for lunch. For those new to the Annalakshmi experience, the food is prepared by volunteers and completely vegetarian. You pick what you wish from the buffet line, order your breads (prata or chappati) and drinks (mango lassi is the best!).
tiny vadai packed with flavour with white payasam with cashew nuts at the back
Sounds simple and completely ordinary but wait, unlike other places in town, here you eat what you like and pay what you feel like. Hence, the price can range from anything depending on how much you decide. An amazing service concept, this is based on the philosophies of Swami Shantananda Saraswati, the founder of TFA whereby, "the guest is God" or "athithi dhevo bhava". Here, the principle objective of the restaurant is service. Volunteers help to serve and cook the food with no expectations of anything in return.
It is probably why the food tastes delectable and the whole dining experience is even better with the polite and courteous service. For me, I find the food has a home-cooked air about them. Akin to eating in a family friend's house, the food tastes does not overwhelm like other places with the overusage of spices. Instead, flavours tend to sing out true blue here. Even though we were a little unfamiliar with the food and how to pair it, everyone is helpful in giving gentle suggestions. Not surprisingly, this place is packed with people streaming in to help themselves to the array of foods from Northern and Southern India - sambars, vegetarian dishes, idli with a superb fresh coconut chutney, vadai rasam where the sourness does not overwhelm, vadai, green pilau rice, fluffy chappatis, pratas and etc. For dessert, they serve a white payasam with cashewnuts.
And, how much did we pay? Honestly we couldn't put a price tag to it but we felt for the taste of their food and the great service, this is definitely even better than those posh Northern Indian restaurants in town. Do go and experience it for yourself and give as you wish. Hopefully you will feel the same way as we did and pay top dollar for the superb food.
Annalakshmi
Temple of Fine Arts
114-116, Jalan Berhala
Brickfields
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 - 2272 3799
(Pork free. Closed on Mondays. Open for lunch from 11.30am to 3pm and dinner from 6.30 to 10.30pm)
*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.
Tagged with: Brickfields + Annalakshmi
