A potential explosive mood was soothed the moment I walked into Annalakshmi at Jalan Berhala, Brickfields. I very nearly gaped open-mouth in wonderment as I was ushered into the restaurant.
Never had I expected that Annalakshmi to be such a posh; even at the point of being classy, restaurant. Soft indian prayers music played in the background, patrons are greeted warmly at the door & politely enquired of the number of guests; before being ushered to their seats.
The real reason for my bewilderment was simply because I know Annalakshmi observes a Swayamvara concept, where patrons of the restaurant pay as they wish for the food consumed. Based on the philosophies of Swami Shantananda Saraswati, the founder of TFA, Swayamvara encourages selflessness and peace. Food is prepared by volunteers, flavours are simple yet very home feel, and everything is vegetarian.
** At Annalakshmi, you Eat & pay as much as you wish, but do contribute fairly.
Hence I had expected a bustling restaurant, plain, with utilitarian tables & chairs and fans above. I admit this has certainly thrown me off my equilibrium.
And I went dressed in post-gym shorts & sleeveless! *faints*
LOL. I cringed in embarassment when I saw the sign above & wondered wildly if I have any decent change in the car. Darn, I muttered, I didn’t come all the way to be turned away!
However, in true Swayamvara spirit, the kind man at the door allowed me in. I was requested to wear a cloth-like skirt tied at the waist to cover my legs. Then I was showed to my table. Whew! 😉
Happily settling into my seat, I browsed the buffet line.
The choices are not exhaustive, but then again this ain’t a hotel!
For the uninitiated, grab a plate & take your pick from the buffet line which ranges from idli, varied dishes of vegetables prepared numerous ways, soy/gluten curry, plain rice or pilaf, resam, sambar, dhall, thayir sadham, raita. A small section features the desserts. Breads like naan, prata & chappati are upon order. Drinks too, and their mango lassi is the best! Fresh, not overly sweetened & thick.
My meal as above left me happy, satiated & contented. I walked out a calmer person & felt truly thankful that there are still such a selfless mission around, and there are all these wonderful people behind it.
Annalakshmi Vegetarian Restaurant
Temple of Fine Arts, Jalan Berhala, Brickfields.
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 – 2272 3799
VEGETARIAN.
Closed on Mondays. Open for lunch from 11.30am to 3pm and dinner from 6.30 to 10.30pm.
GPS: N 03. 07 ’69
E101. 41 ’25
Okay now I gotta go eat dinner all your fault! 🙂
I feel like loads of vegetables and briyani with fresh chutney and curry!
Veges are good for ya! 😉
And less calories!
Heheh… Ya, good food, warm service, and the most attractive prices possible! My only possible complaint would be the lack of parking 😀
Oh yes! I went early so I got a space. Can’t imagine the parking woes when it’s smack lunch hour!
Didn’t know there was a dress code! Love the atmosphere here and the food. Glad you enjoyed it.
Ya lor…somemore I thought very casual one, thus turn up in shorts & sleeveless!
The ppl there & the food has a very “sincere” feel!
Oh No!! I want to go there Now!!! Good to know that they are getting good patronage now.. Darn! I want the Idlis and I want them NOw! 🙂
NOW?? Hehe.. today is mon they are not open! 😉
Love this place! Particularly love how it instills better eat-all-you-can etiquette too. A friend of mine got a major lecture from one of the aunty staff for leaving a piece of chapati unfinished once!!
Whoa! Serious!
It’s good that they do so, some Malaysians does need to be taught humility & respect~!
Wow, the food looks great there. And the settings are neat and clean. Just don’t know whether I can go with Vegetables only 🙂
LOL! Aiyo!
U r allowed in, but my frend who wore a khakis shorts wasn’t allowed… it was indeed a very bad experience for me. It was my fren’s birthday n brought him for a treat in annalak$hmi.Then v realized shorts r not allowed, then the first indian man said its okay v give u a “dothi”.He called his friend n told him to pass the cloth to my fren.V entered n while i was looking for a place to seat, the 2nd indian man sort of pull my fren out.I didn’t realize tht. Then my fren told me tht the 2nd indian man were saying something bout no table for us to seat … …while i can see theres a couple of tables tht r empty…charity event…i dont like people with shorts…n he keep saying to the 1st inidian guy…bring them to canteen ….sigh !!! seriously wht is he thinking ? i think he reserving tables for people who have the “im filthy rich” look…as i believe they r having some charities thingie gng on tht day. This whole incident is very distubing for me 🙁
OMG! Indeed disturbing. Must been some kind of misunderstanding!
I like the food served at Annalakshmi. The last I had was at their previous outlet at Mid-Valley, KL.. But the sign Eat-and-Pay as You Wish does not reflect its true meaning. The cashier was rude and remarked on the amount we paid for the food we took. Most embarrassing.
Hahah.. yea. Same here. cos instead of a box where you can drop in your “donation” discreetly, here you have to pass them the money in full view!
me too, I went there when I was a student. The cashier showed me a weird face when I paid. I know I didnt pay much but I paid a reasonable amount for what I ate…”I thought I can pay as I wish!”
Hi Jas!
I know what you mean! Especially since they take the $ from you, instead of having to put it into a box or something.
I paid what I thought was reasonable too, and got the same “look”.
hey found them finally. I remember going there when they are at Mid Valley one of my favourite places to eat!
How was your experience ? 🙂
Is thwe restaurant considered HALAL, please advise. TQ.
Hi Haji, I don’t think they have a halal cert per se.. but it’s a vegetarian restaurant ….
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It has been my fav place from the time Ms.Para was there till now. I love the atmosphere.
Bad experience in Annalakshimi Restaurant Malaysia
Well, here’s the incredible bad experience me and my husband had while we went into Annalakshimi Restaurant in Brickfields this afternoon.
As usual, we walked into this fine dining vegetarian restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, at Brickfields, the waiter an elderly man told us to sit at two seater table at the corner (dim light corner by the way).
Since i would like to put my bag on a chair, i informed this waiter i would prefer 4 seater table (politely).
Then he pointed us to the back of the area and told us to sit there at number 24th table, without leading the way. (Wow, does he need to control which table number we have to be seated)
It was too far away from the food counter and there were several empty seats in the middle (i saw a 4 seater table with 2 person seated just now), so i would much prefer to sit in the middle. He then said, he expected crowd and he need to optimize their seatings. (FYI, there were lots of empty seats at that hour). And so my husband told him, it was already after lunch time. He’s replied back this way: “Just now i told you to sit at the 2 table seat and you don’t want, so i told you to sit at the back 4 seater seat and then now you said you want to sit in the middle..
Does that mean, we can’t choose where to sit when we paid for our food? It wasn’t cheap after all. With such customer service treatment?? Wow!.
Even in cinema, you can select your seats, because you paid for it. The cashier never even once reply in such way (above).
Such a “FINE Dining experience at Annalakshimi Restaurant Malaysia”..
Would you spend your money for such attitude?
In the end, we don’t bother to argue with him for his rude behaviour, we left and had our lunch elsewhere with better treatment where our money are worth spending to.
http://rosamundwo.com/2014/bad-experience-in-annalakshimi-restaurant-malaysia/
“Pay As You Wish”?? bullshit.
I was presented with a whopping bill of RM 42 for 2 buffets and 2 drinks.
I am not complaining about the price. I would have paid nearly that much.
Why promote it as a “PAY AS YOU WISH” joint when it is NOT.?
Never will visit again.
My comment on food: below average for what I was ASKED to pay.
Please do not bullshit: Just tell it as it is.
pissed off… to say the least…
Hi Raj
I believe this was an old post. There are now 2 sections to the buffet, one is pay as you wish and another by headcount.
I’ve been there recently and I was surprised when presented with the bill too. But the person there clarified. as for the taste, it is subjective but yea, not quite what I’ll pay for vegetarian fare.
Dear Sir,
ANNUAL DINNER –MARCH 2015
We are looking for halal,non-vegetarian n 2person vegetarian.
30people.
We will use your menu & quotation in our decision-making.
Hopefully the price being discount if applicable.
Thank you.
From
Kohmathe
Dpi industries Sdn Bhd.
34-2 Jalan 3/146
Bandar Tasik Selatan
57000
Is Good.