Annalakshmi @ Brickfields

Imagine this, a comfy cozy nicely decorated restaurant, friendly and good service, eat and refill all you want, reasonably good food, bottomless fresh mango lassi..and …u get to decide what you want to pay. Whaaaaaaat ? Like that also can ? Well, experience that when you dine at Annalakshmi  

Annalakshmi is a vegetarian restaurant serving a variety of north and south Indian menu, and with the tagline ‘where vegetarian dining is a cultural experience’   , Annalakshmi is the Hindu Goddess of food .Read more about this from their official website  here.  

The entrance , intricately carved wooden door.

 

Once you walk through the door, you will be greeted by this lovely sight

 

 Checkered tablecloth line the tables

 

The spread

 

It’s self service, first you collect the big steel plate at the beginning of the line, also collect  the steel bowls ( for gravy /curry/dessert). Then u get in line..and fill your plate /bowls…

On that day of our visit, there were 2 different types of rice, plain white rice and rice plus some condiments, was this  Pulao  rice ?   And  if you would like to have  tosai ( plain, ghee, paper, masala or rava) or plain Ootthappam  – which were not served on the buffet table- you can order these from the waiters.

The menu : ( can read ahh ?)

 

 There were various dishes available, I am not an Indian food expert ( not even a regular) , so I won’t attempt to name them, this was what was on Chunny’s plate

 

And this was mine- no points for spotting that I had a bigger portion than my fellow diner ..greedy person that I am…

 

What was on my plate : potato in dried curry ( nice), vegetable chutney ( I like), bittergourd curry ( the first bite into this, when u taste the spiciness, then aiks..the bitterness..wonderful combination), some chopped mixed vege, pampadam ( fried fritters). In the bowls, dhall and something that has a soy-ish, taufoo pok-ish texture thingy.

And guess what, after finishing what was on my plate..i got into line again…had my second helping of bittergourd curry and vegetable chutney, tried some fried bee-hoon as well..

Some of the food, up close, maybe you could name them better than i can..

 

 

 The cozy and nicely decorated environment

 

It was only towards the end of the meal did we realized that the available food is not just what is on the table , but that you can also order some of these stuff on the menu from the waiter ( no extra charge, i.e. still falls in the pay-as-you-eat-category). And although I was very close to full capacity, I had to have my mango lassi..

The lassi was nice –thick and mango-ey..yummyyyy

 

After the meal..that will be where the dilemma creeps in..hmm..how much to pay worr..? we start to work on what we would normally pay for this quality and quantity of food , factor in the nice ambience and good service..and while Chunny visited the bathroom, I was observing (kaypo-ing ) what the other dinners were  paying..i saw this guy ( family of four) counting four fifty dollar bills and passing to his wife ( is that the weekly allowance or to pay for dinner ?), another couple passed a RM50 bill to the waiter behind the counter, but  saw i saw the cashier returning 2 RM10 ..sooo…how..? hahah…anyway, the thing is, be sincere lah..just pay what you feel is right, and at the end of the day, what you give will support the temple of fine arts activities..so, enjoy the food and don’t be too greedy…as mentioned on their website – You cannot put a price on the food prepared by a mother or a wife, and this is why at Annalakshmi you – eat as you like and pay as you feel.

I think this would be a nice place to bring guest ( local and foreign) and being vegetarian..i guess it should be halal as well..

Close on Monday. Operating hours :

Lunch 11:30 am – 3:00pm

Dinner 6:30pm – 10:00pm

 

Location :

Annalakshmi @ The Temple of Fine Arts

114-116, Jalan Berhala,

Brickfields

50470 K.L

Tel : 03-22723799

(across the road from the side entrance of the Brickfioelds Buddhist Temple). Map is available here

Kam Yen Vegetarian Restaurant @ Serdang

The continuous melodious chant of ‘namo ormitofu, namo ormitofu’ playing on the PA makes me solemn and melancholy as  it reminded me of funerals and Ahber in her last moments at the hospital..well, it’s just me… anyway, that is what you will probably hear as you step into Kam Yen for a meal…

Our choice  :  mutton curry, asam fish and plain fried spinach. Herbal drink of the day was barley

The mutton curry was not too bad, although i find the curry powder taste was a bit strong and the texture of the mutton was slightly on the ‘soft’ side lah. The potatoes that came with  the dish was nice and mushy though..

 

 The fried spinach was ok

The asam fish…hhmm..this was tasty and very sour as well , could sort of imagine my intestine shriveling, I don’t think I would be able to eat this dish without rice. There were also slices of  brinjals, ladies fingers and pineapple, this was the best dish amongst the three.

 The bill came to  ~ RM35, although it was not a big fat bill, I somehow felt  that it was not cheap – considering the set up of the place, the size of the servings and the quality of the food.

 

Kam Yen Vegetarian Restaurant 感恩素食馆

No. 6-1 Jalan SP 2/4

Taman Serdang Perdana

43300 Seri Kembangan

Tel : 89442298

( Kam Yen is located at the shoplots on the left of  South City Plaza)

Closed on thurs of every 2^nd and 4^th week. If this falls on 1^st  and 15^th day of the lunar ca;ender, business will be as usual.

Vegetarian- Mama Sayang @ Taman Desa

I always used to think that being vegetarian means abstaining from meat- simple as that, one words says all, but I guess life is more complicated that that – and I later expanded this to the following  ( extracted from www.vegparadise.com)

 The vegan, the strictest type of vegetarian, does not eat any animal products. Vegan diets are based on grains, seeds, nuts, legumes, soy, fruits, vegetables, and oils.Some people distinguish between vegan and pure vegetarian, considering the pure vegetarian one who eats no animal flesh, no dairy products, or no eggs, and follows a strict plant-based diet for dietary reasons only. While vegans follow a diet consisting of plant-based foods only, they are further committed to a philosophy that respects animal life and the ecology of the planet.

*As a result, vegans also do not eat honey because many bees are killed in the process of forced procreation to maintain the beehive and the continued production of honey. Frequently, large factory beekeepers kill off their hives late in fall or at the onset of winter. The practice is partly for convenience and partly for economic reasons. Rather than maintaining the hives throughout the winter, bee farmers find it more economical to start with a new beehive in spring.Vegans do not eat refined cane sugar, because it is clarified over animal bone char in the final steps of the process that makes the sugar white. Instead, vegans choose unrefined sweeteners such as evaporated cane juice, maple sugar, maple syrup, date sugar, Sucanat, and agave nectar.Vegans also avoid gelatin which is made from the bones, skin, and connective tissue of animals.

Lacto -ovo vegetarian : Eats no meat, poultry, or fish, but includes dairy products and eggs in the diet along with plant-based foods.

 Lacto vegetarian: Excludes all animal products except dairy products. Includes all plant-based foods in the diet.

Ovo vegetarian: Excludes all animal products except eggs. Includes all plant-based foods in the diet.

 If you are looking for a vegetarian meal with a difference, head on to Restaurant Mama Sayang, who serves vegetarian food ala nyoya styleAfter going through the swing-back wooden door, you will find yourself transported into an old kopitiam, with marble table tops, red chequered curtains,  tiny Chinese outfits  in wooden frames adorned  the walls plus  krosene lamps and old fans hanging from the ceiling .

 While waiting for drinks to be served, the appertizers will be delivered : acar ( pickled vegetable) and keropok ( crackers). The acar is a combination of cucumber, cabbage and carrots topped with grounded peanuts. We sometimes need to order seconds. Yummyumm..

sour plum+lime drink and keropok

 For drinks – a variety of fresh fruit juices,  a variety of teas, soya bean, cendol and ice kacang too ! I ordered  the sour plum+ lime. Try the kedondong drink ( it’s full of umpppp)  and the cendol is pretty popular too.

 There is a choice of white or brown rice to go with the dishes, and most of the dishes comes in 3 sizes ; small, medium and large.

For this meal, there were 5 of us, 3 guest of the company which include En Ahmad , a retired gentleman that hadn’t had a Chinese vegetarian meal in his life, so he was pretty excited and insist that we ordered the ‘deer meat’. The venison slices came with ginger shreds and spring onions – just like the real thing. En Ahmad was impressed.

 

The dish that could never go wrong- mutton curry, the ‘meat’ is tender , the potatoes just at the correct softness and the curry is rich. En Ahmad’s gave a thumbs up.

 

Kalian+ salted fish – this dish came with a slice of lime, we didn’t do anything with the lime as the dish taste ok without any further adjustment to it.

 

 

Asam fish – this looks like the real fish, complete with the ‘skin’ . En Ahmad asked ‘are you sure this is not fish ?’

 

Asam prawns – with these prawns,  you do not have to worry about your cholesterol level lah, the ‘prawns’ are served with chunks of pineapples and tomatoes. En Ahmad asked for more rice.

 

For those that would just want a simple ‘stand-alone’ meal, Mama Sayang has a wide range of noodles / rice , including : mun yee mien, S’pore fried noodles, fishhead noodles, nasi lemak, fried rice, fried koay teow, Cantonese koay teow ( wat tharn hor ( with or w/o egg)  etc.

 

Other dishes : yam ring, bayam in broth, claypot tofu, satay chicken, kangkong belacan. Roast goose  etc etc, anyway, the menu comes with pictures -which will help in making your decision.

 

Apart from serving food, you can also get some other vegetarian stuff here like : various sauce for cooking, pickles, dried ‘meat’, instant noodles, cereals , nuts and etc. and for the mooncake festival- the also carry vegetarian mooncakes. Near to the entrance  there is a variety of Buddhist  CDs  (mostly in Chinese ) chants, music or talks and also some books that you can take away ( and also a donation box if you wish to contribute)

 

If you are a frequent / potential frequent customer, apply for the member card, where you pay RM10 for a year of membership and enjoy 10% off for food( doesn’t apply to drinks)

 

Interestingly, before we parted our ways, En Ahmad said that he will bring the family including his mother-in-law for a meal at Mama Sayang soon.

 

Restaurant Sayur-Sayuran Mama Sayang

21, Jalan Desa,

Off Jalan Klang Lama, Taman Desa

Tel: 79846651

Same row as Taman Desa Medical Centre ( TDMC) opposite the Taman Desa Bomba station

 

Opening hours: everyday

10:30a.m- 3:00pm

5:30 – 10:30pm