Restaurateur to organise charity dinner in aid of Syrian refugees

Sapna will be serving up Sri Lankan and Malayalee speciality dishes at the charity dinner.

It TAKES one to know one and knowing what it is like to face adversity is what inspired Sri Lankan restaurateur and businessman Abbi Kanthasamy to extend his generosity to refugees living abroad.

The owner of popular Sri Lankan restaurant Aliyaa in Bukit Damansara plans to hold a five-course charity dinner, with full proceeds going to the Syrian refugees enduring the cold European winter in Serbia.

“I hold charity dinners like this once a year where customers can come and enjoy the food and donate an amount of their choice for charity,” said Abbi.

Abbi has a soft spot for refugees because he once knew what it was like to flee from the war in Sri Lanka as a teenage refugee in the 1980s.

Aliyaa Island Restaurant & Bar will be hosting a five-course charity dinner on Feb 3, with full proceeds going to the Syrian refugees enduring the cold European winter in Serbia.

“I want to donate to refugees everywhere because I myself once benefited from someone’s donation at one time,” he added, saying that he had the opportunity to study mechanical engineering in university.

This year, Abbi chose to help the Syrian refugees in Serbia after reading about their plight in an article published in The Star.

Thousands of Syrian refugees on the Serbian-Macedonian border are enduring sub-zero temperatures while travelling in appalling conditions.

“I read the article in the newspaper and felt very moved by it, so I thought it was a good time to help them,” he added.

The five-course charity dinner at Aliyaa will showcase Sri Lankan and Malayalee speciality dishes by Chef Sapna Anand, a graduate of the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu academy.

The restaurant will receive no money from this charity dinner as full proceeds will go to the Syrian refugees through the United Sikhs Humanitarian Aid Organisation.

Priced at RM168++ per person, the dinner will be held on Feb 3 starting from 7.30pm at Aliyaa Island Restaurant and Bar, No 48 G&M, Medan Setia 2, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.

Seats are limited and based on a first-come, first-served basis.

For details or reservations, call 03-2092 5378. More details can be found on the restaurant’s Facebook page – Aliyaa Island Restaurant & Bar.