Annalakshmi

Eat all you want, pay as much as you wish! Does this sounds too good to be true? It is right here, at Annalakshmi! This is their buffet range, neither too much nor too little, just enough to fill your stomach to the brim.

After we were seated, we were asked by the polite service staff for the choice of our drink. There was no menu, no price list. We were a little bit disappointed that mango lassi was not available, but this blueberry lassi pretty much made up for it.

The buffet line started with tomato rasam soup. The light texture, slightly sour soup easily stimulated our appetite.

Next in line was nuts pilav. The basmati rice was cooked in well seasoned broth, enhanced with spices and nuts.

Chana Dal is a kind of split chickpeas, low in glycemic index, easy on waistline and nutritious. What a perfect combination!

Each of the naan was cut into four pieces. Although there were not much displayed here, it was refilled promptly once the basket emptied out.

Tandoori roti is similar to naan, except that it is made with wheat flour. Personally, I prefer naan to tandoori roti as it is more chewy in texture.

A friend once told me that yoghurt was commonly used in Indian cuisine as it has cooling properties, which balance out the heatiness from curries. This yoghurt has a consistency similar to yoghurt drink, it was not very sweet but more on the sour side.

Lemon pickle has an intense sour and bitter taste, a little bit is enough to flavor your dish. Once I put a spoonful in my mouth and I learnt it the hard way.

Avial, originated from Kerala, is a mixture of vegetables, curd and coconut. The texture was rather thick without much gravy. Curry leave rice was fragrant, with a tad of spiciness from dried chilli.

The freshly replenished veg kheema.

Kheema was traditionally made with meat, but this vegetable version does not lose up to the meat version at all! Right beside kheema was alu jeera, where the potato chunks were tossed with cumin seeds, turmeric and other spices.

When I first saw the word 'drumstick' on the tag, the first thought came into my mind was 'chicken drumstick'. However, this is an vegetarian restaurant, hence no meat served here. I later found out that drumstick is a kind of long shaped vegetable which possesses medicinal value.

This round and thin papadum was very crispy. I could hear the papadum cracking up in my mouth with every single bite.

I love the mee goreng, it was spicy and flavorful. Wished I had a bigger stomach to fill them all in. Medu vadai is a fried doughnut-shaped snack made of urad dal batter. It was crispy on the outside while remain soft inside. An addictive snack indeed.

This creamy coconut chutney goes well with almost everything. It is a mixture of coconut stew with some other spices, usually served as a side dish for idli and dosa.

The last in the buffet line were the desserts - fresh watermelon and parrupu pradhaman.

Parrupu pradhaman is a lentil based dessert originated from southern India. It has a sweet and nutty aroma. After the heavy dinner, I only took a sip of the Parrupu pradhaman.

Overall, the food here were tasty and the environment was cosy. It was spacious so that we could easily move around, which is an important factor for having a comfortable buffet.

The setting here was ethnic rich and colorful, with many art pieces and sculptures around the restaurant, some were even for sales!

Quietly tucked at a secluded corner, their front door seems to be always shut. If you do not pay attention, you may even thought that the restaurant was closed.