Trail #5: Little India

Introduction

It's said that the only place in Singapore where you can get a birthday cake at 3 a.m. is at Mustafa. Wanting to see if it's true (not at 3 a.m. though), I embarked on a trail at Little India. 

Little India Trail

I did a Little India trail and here, I've marked the places on Google Map. If you are interested in retracing my footsteps, all you need to do is to print out the map and to follow it accordingly. Why I did this was because sometimes when I was travelling, I was often bothered by which sequence I should take in order to maximise my sightseeing.

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A. Rochor Centre 

Ordinarily, this shouldn't be part of the trail. However, I slotted this in because in the near future, this will be part of our history. It was built and completed in 1977 but will be demolished to make way for the construction for an expressway. Nowhere else in Singapore will you be able to see such happy coloured buildings! 

B. Abdul Gaffor Mosque
This mosque caters to mainly the Indian Muslims in Singapore. It is built in a fusion of Southern Indian and Moorish styles. Please note that only worshippers can enter the prayer hall.

C. Campbell Lane 
Named after a British military officer, Campbell Lane is a visual feast of colours. It sells vegetables, accessories, prayer items etc. During Deepavali, this road is closed to traffic.

D. Little India Arcade
A conserved building, it supposedly houses "all things Indian" under one roof. We entered the small hidden lanes and found some shops selling clothes and random knick knacks. There's also a variety of Indian snacks sold.

E. Tekka Centre 
Tekka means bamboo clumps in Hokkien, which once grew on the banks of Rochor Canal. It's hard to imagine seeing bamboo around in Singapore, but I guess they definitely have some now, now that the pandas are in Singapore. The first floor is a hawker centre. The second floor sells clothes at a very good price! I once bought a sari for racial harmony day somewhere else and now I realised I should have come here for a better deal!

F. Residence of Tan Teng Niah

The vibrancy and shout-out of colours persists throughout the trail. This is one of the last surviving Chinese Villas in Little India. It was built in 1900 by Tan Teng Niah, a prominent Chinese businessman. 

G. Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple

This temple is dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Kali. Other Kali temples include the famous Sri Mariamman Temple in Chinatown. One interesting anecdote about this temple was that during World War II when there were air raids, many took refuge in this temple and both the temple and the people within escaped the bombings. 

H. Mustafa Centre 
You have to really see it for yourself to believe what Mustafa Centre actually sells. I think it was either 5 or 6 stories, selling everything from tuxedos to gold to electronics, to food to stationery to party essentials to oil lamps. Many people also come here to get their electronics before taking a flight home. I think the prices might be slightly cheaper here. But guess what, I didn't spot a birthday cake!

One thing that you will remember about Little India is the smell of spices and the attack of colours. A vibrant place to be, you can get a few souvenirs back from here, whether from the roadsides or from Mustafa. There are also many gold and pawn shops, probably as a result of the influence of early Indian settlers in Singapore, who were either moneylenders or goldsmiths. 

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Gokul Vegetarian Restaurant (Upper Dickson Road)

We went on a Little India trail and decided to visit Gokul Vegetarian Restaurant to try some Indian and vegetarian fare. It was pretty crowded during weekday lunchtime. 

We first got served some Papadum (I'm assuming it's papadum, please correct me if I'm wrong!) as appetiser, free of charge. This reminded me of my school days when classmates would order a whole plastic bag full of this from the uncle selling Indian food. This staved off some of our hunger while waiting for the food! It was such a kind gesture.

We ordered the Hyderbad Dum Briyani ($10) which is basically Hyderabadi style basmati rice with masala soya chunks. For those who are as clueless as me when it comes to Indian food, the Hyderabadi Birayni was created as a result a blending of Mughlai and Andhra Pradesh cuisines in the kitchens of the ruler of the historic Hyderabad State.

I like basmati rice because there is a kind of fragrance to it. I didn't fancy the soya chunks very much although the masala sauce went really well with the rice.

We also got a Chicken Kurma ($9) which is vegetarian chicken cooked in creamy Indian gravy. The texture was really like chicken until you got to the core when you finally realise that, hey this is actually not chicken! As with most cream dishes, the cream was tasty with the chicken initially but more than halfway through  it started getting a little gelat.

To accompany the cream sauce, I got a Plain Nann ($2). It's something that I always have to get when I go to a Indian restaurant. Not too charred, this nann was just as I liked it.

While the food might not be wonderful (but good enough for me), I recommend this place for vegetarian food. Big portions and affordable. The thing that makes this place so distinct is the extensive menu and the excellent service. The menu covers all kinds of Vegetarian food, from Indian food to Chinese food to Western food. You will be spoilt for choice, trust me.

The service was also very good. Weirdly, there's NO service charge. Sometimes, I have to pay service charge for really atrocious service yet when there's good service, I do not need to pay service charge.

Life works in mysterious ways.

Gokul Vegetarian Restaurant (Upper Dickson Road) 
19 Upper Dickson Road
Tel: 6396 7769 

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