Annalakshmi, the Temple of Fine Arts Malaysia

Annalakshmi Vegetarian Restaurant at the Temple of Fine Arts Malaysia (25 November 2010)


Annalakshmi (GPS: 5.41818, 100.31411) is a vegetarian restaurant at the premises of The Temple of Fine Arts Malaysia. The restaurant offers buffet lunch and à la carte menu for dinner. Opened every day except Monday, Annalakshmi offers a different menu for every day of the week.

The buffet lunch comprises a few types of vegetable curry, one or two types of rice, pampadam and dessert. The dinner menu offers different types of Indian flatbreads and crêpres such as dosa, prata, uttapam, chapatti, puri, along with local dishes such as pasembur, Singapore bihun, and the like.

Annalakshmi is probably the only restaurant in Penang to practice "pay as you will". Patrons are free to pay as much as they can afford or according to their hearts' desire.

My lunch at the Annalakshmi Vegetarian Restaurant (13 April 2014)

Updates

13 April, 2014: We arrived thinking we would have a quiet lunch. Instead we stumbled upon a celebration. Apparently the Temple of Fine Arts was holding a double celebration, to celebrate the birthday of its late founder H.H. Swami Santanand Sarawathi and tying it to the Tamil New Year celebration. It opens its doors to provide free lunch to guests from nearby old folks and orphanages. Some two hundred and fifty visitors were treated to a sumptuous vegetarian lunch. Although we were not part of any charitable organization, the Temple of Fine Arts also invited us to join in.

Today's lunch was a served buffet. There were quite a number of dishes, along with dessert and even ice cream. I had the opportunity to speak with Mr J. Ramachandran, the chairman of the Temple of Fine Arts, and learned a bit about how the organization was established in Kuala Lumpur in 1981, with the one in Penang opening two years later. Today the Temple of Fine Arts is recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism for its dedication in propagating arts and culture through its centres in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Malacca and Johor.

Mr J. Ramachandran, Chairman, The Temple of Fine Arts (13 April 2014)


Annalakshmi Vegetarian Restaurant (13 April 2014)


Volunteers serving lunch during the Temple of Fine Arts Founder's Day celebration (14 April 2014)


Here I am at the Annalakshmi Vegetarian Restaurant (14 April 2014)

Annalakshmi Vegetarian Restaurant is on the Map of Lebuhraya Babington, Penang

List of Vegetarian Restaurants in Penang