Charity Singapore eatery dishes up priceless food

[Guest guest]

SINGAPORE, Jan 12 (Reuters Life!) - Singapore's Annalakshmi Indian

restaurant has all the hallmarks of an expensive night out: the

lights are dim, the artwork on the walls authentic, the doors

ornately carved and antique.

 

But instead of a hefty bill, prepare to be greeted by smiling staff

who urge you to pay as much as you want and remind you that it's all

for charity.

 

Named after the Hindu goddess of nourishment, Annalakshmi's

philosophy is " eat to your heart's content, give as you feel. " The

vegetarian restaurant, part of a welfare organization, is run largely

by volunteers, most of them devotees of Hindu monk Swami Shantanand

who preached love for God through service to mankind. " Businesses

usually wait until they've made a profit to think about giving to

society, but we started giving from the start, " Suresh Krishnan, who

manages the restaurants, told Reuters.

 

" There are tables who can pay, and those who can't, so what we

provide is a form of table-to-table charity. And the people who work

with us do so for the satisfaction, not the reward. "

 

Annalakshmi has three outlets in Singapore, and eateries in Malaysia,

Australia and India. Staff range from retired civil servants to women

from broken homes to executives and doctors who believe serving and

preparing food is the ultimate blessing.

 

Any money left after covering costs is donated to the Temple of Fine

Arts, a religious and cultural organization set up by the monk, who

believed music, art and dance are a form of the divine.

 

The organization also runs free medical clinics in Malaysia and India

and raises funds through " pay as you want " artistic performances and

the sale of the Indian handicrafts and paintings that adorn the

interiors of the restaurants.

 

FOOD FOR THE SOUL

 

The monk's devotees are known as the Shiva family, and as expected,

they don't like to talk about their finances. But unlike most

families which only take care of their own, everybody gets special

service at Annalakshmi.

 

The flavorsome food -- and unique concept -- attracts hundreds of

tourists, expatriates and Singaporeans every day. The restaurants

serve north and south Indian specialities such as tamarind soup,

chickpea curry and savory lady's fingers.

 

Lunch is served buffet-style at the Chinatown bistro or at the stall

in the bustling Lau Pa Sat downtown food center. The main restaurant

offers the most choice with a dinner menu that changes with the

seasons.

 

" We cook in the traditional way, how our mothers' cook, and you can't

put a value on your mother's food, " said Suresh Kumar Kannan, a

former mechanical engineer who quit his job to become as a full-time

chef at Annalakshmi.

 

" The joy you get watching people eat your food is the biggest

blessing ever, better than anything money can buy, " he added.

 

Bistro manager Ananthan Somu admits it's sometimes hard to run a

business on goodwill. But having faith in humanity has paid off: the

restaurants have a huge, regular following.

 

" We pay with satisfaction and keep coming back, " said Kanchi

Seshagiri Rao, regional director for technology firm IGTL

Solutions. " There is a price for everything in today's world, but you

can't put a price on the love and the food you get here. "