Annalakshmi, Chinatown Point

It had taken me quite a while to come to Annalakshmi (133 New Bridge Road, #B1-02, Chinatown Point, tel : 65-6339 9993) since the time it was recommended to me. I'm pretty glad that I made the trip today. This Indian vegetarian restaurant operates on the basis of eat what you want and pay as you wish for the food that you have had. Hence the cost of eating here lies on one's conscience and generosity. Apparently, the restaurant which is served by volunteer workers belongs to the culinary arts section of the Temple of Fine Arts.

We had an order of their dahi vada which were the Indian lentil donuts in yoghurt. I was curious about them, having never eaten vadai in this manner. The vadai which featured a little slice of green chilli and a sprinkle of paprika turned out a little smaller than I had expected, but was both comforting and appetizing at the same time.

These bhaji, or deep fried vegetable fritters in dram flour tasted pretty much like how they looked. Slightly greasy, these were savoury snacks from an assortment of eggplant, capsicum and onions with the benefit of the accompanied chutneys on the side.

The butter paneer masala had a gravy that was a little thinner than I had imagined. It was however still good, being fairly rich and yet not overly tart from the tomato base. I'm inclined to compare them with those creamy and smoky ones from Jaggi's which was probably not a good idea since nowhere else I know does them like that. Couldn't help but notice that there weren't much cottage cheese in a single order though.

Our heads were turned from the aroma of their jeera pulao (cumin spiced rice) as it was being brought to our table. The rice was flavoursome and light, though a little oily. Their aroma made people from a neighbouring table turn their heads as well and subsequently, said neighbouring table made an order of the same.

These gobi manchurian were particularly noteworthy. The sauce used on the deep fried cauliflowers tasted like a combination of Chinese sweet and sour sauce and kung bao gravy. The fried vegetables had a slightly chewy crisp battered surface which wasn't soggy. Chopped garlic, spring onions and onions added crunch and their aromas to the dish.

The first dessert which we tried was a rasmalai that was thankfully not overly sweet. We got the usual flat disc of paneer textured like wet cardboard and in a milky sauce flavoured with spices and bits of pistachio. Very nicely milky and light sweet.

Feeling good what we've just had, we got a little adventurous and ordered a gulab jamun which I normally steer away from. It turned out to be a pretty good call as the gulab jamun were served warm. After separating the milk balls from the syrup, it was actually manageable sweetness.

All the food were washed down with orders of their cold sweet lassi and a masala chai. Tea had a pronounced flavour from cloves but wasn't overwhelming. I thought that it was enjoyable enough.

Definitely a place to come back to again.