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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Xiao La Jiao (Part II)

Something has to be done about the air-conditioning in 112 Katong. The other place I know that can rival the bitter winter winds of 112 Katong is Vivo City. It took some hot and spicy food from Xiao La Jiao to warm ourselves! (Click here for the first entry I wrote about Xiao La Jiao.) 

I like it when websites of restaurants are transparent, where they reflect both the menu and the prices. Here's the menu! 

We decided to get some noodles to share. The Pork Noodle Soup ($8) was pretty ordinary but good if you are just seeking something warm. 

The Dan Dan Noodles ($8) was also nothing exceptional.

The GeLeShan Style Chicken ($10.90) is deep fried chicken with spice seasoning. Eat it when it's still piping hot so that it is crispy. After a while, it becomes kind of hard after cooling off. But I like the spice seasoning and how the seasoning is salty at an acceptable level.

Sichuan Style Boiled Fish ($17.90) was something I had to order ever since I went to a restaurant in Boston that sold this. Soaked in chilli oil, this is a mean dish. Don't order this if you have a low tolerance for chilli. The fish slices were fresh.

The thinly-sliced Sichuan Pork Belly ($10.90) was very flavourful and had a wok taste to it.

The Claypot Eggplant ($9.80) was ordinary.

The Stir-fried French Beans ($8.50) had a very good bite to it, crunchy and juicy.

I don't really like baos so it doesn't come as a surprise that  I didn't really like the Sichuan Bun (4 pieces for $4.50, pro rated). They are pan fried buns with a layer of sesame below it with pork fillings. It comes with ginger shreds, as though it's xiaolongbao. The meat filling is juicy.

Besides the above, we also ordered Mapo Tofu ($9.80) which is really nothing to shout about. I don't eat frogs but the rest at the table said that the Griddle-cooked Tian Ji (Frog) ($16.90) was good. We also shared a plate of Stir-Fried rice with egg and crispy fish ($7.90). The fried rice was fragrant and the crispy fish added another dimension to the dish.

Here, when we asked for rice, they gave us Sweet Corn Steamed Rice ($1 per bowl). Didn't like it very much because the corn made the rice stick together. As dessert, we had Mixed Sugar Guokui ($5.90) which is a  traditional Chuan style sweet bread baked with brown sugar. It tastes like green bean paste buns.

Service by a particular waitress was exceptional. She was very friendly and even offered her jacket as we told her that it was very cold in the restaurant. While there are some hits and misses, the prices here are wallet friendly, and the quality of food is decent. Just make sure that if you can't take spice, check out beforehand which are the spicy dishes and which are not.

Xiao La Jiao 
112 Katong
112 East Coast Road
#03-05
Tel No: +65 6636 3736

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Riders Cafe

Someone holds me safe and warm, horses prance through a silver storm.

For those who actually watch Disney cartoons, you will find the above lyrics pretty familiar. We were hoping to see some horses at the Saddle Club. Unfortunately, as it rained before that, no horses were in sight. This place is difficult to get to by walking, so it's ideal to drive in.

We reached at 11:06 a.m., just 6 minutes after the breakfast cut-off time. The waiter when handing us the menus told us that breakfast was over. With pitiful looks on our faces, we asked if it was possible to still order the breakfast items. He asked the chef and they said yes! How accommodating.

As we went on a weekday, it was pretty empty all the way until around 1 p.m. when the place became full.

I got a Blackstone Benedict with Bacon & Tomatoes, Poached Eggs & Hollandaise on rustic Sourdough ($15). Don't laugh, but this is the first time I'm eating eggs benedict. If I never eat it, I will never understand why people love it so much right. So I realised that Hollandaise is actually an emulsion of egg and yolk and butter and other seasoning. 

I like the way the eggs were poached nicely, runny but not too runny. I haven't eaten bacon for something like 2 years and this was done just right, not too fatty but just enough fats to make it moist. The juicy tomato and the hollandaise sauce seeped into the bread which made it a pretty satisfying eat. But truth to be told, I'm not much of a brunch person. So, while I find this pretty good, I probably won't pay this to eat such a dish. 

I also got a Death by Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice cream ($12). On the menu, it was stated that it takes at least 12 minutes to prepare this dish. Well, this is a whole new level of sinfulness and decadence. Two of us shared this and it totally filled us up. It was incredibly moist and warm and all that chocolate sauce was moderately sweet. That intense shot of chocolate was just wonderful. But don't attempt to eat it on your own, or you might really get death by chocolate cake in the long run.

After lunch, we took a stroll around the place and took a few pictures. Lovely place with colonial buildings which transports you out of the busy life just for a while. Service was good. Although I have some issues with the wooden tables which were pretty sticky. One of the waiters who helped remove my dish had quite some trouble trying to remove it. But overall, a wonderful place if you are a brunch person.

Riders Cafe
Bukit Timah Saddle Club
51 Fairways Drive
Tel: 6466 9819 

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Princess Terrace

I was inspired to go to Princess Terrace after the Duchess of Cambridge visited Singapore. Actually, no. I'm kidding. Honestly, there's nothing regal about Princess Terrace, compared to the other fancier buffet places in town. 

Princess Terrace's Weekday Buffet Lunch (Monday-Thursday) is $38.80++. Click here for the prices on other days. They have some promotion going on as well, so you might want to call and check. 

Well known for serving Penang Buffet, I've been here many times over the last decade. Unfortunately, standards seem to have slipped a little. 

There are a few stations, including the rojak station, the cooked food station, dessert station, the chef-cooks-for-you station etc. 

I was hoping to see some youtiao for the rojak and was disappointed to realise there were none! So it seems that penang rojak doesn't have my favourite ingredients. What you have instead is an assortment of fruits like green mango and guava, vegetables like jicama and some cuttlefish. 

Nothing special about the salad section. Oh the croutons were bad though- obviously toasted a long time ago and just left there.

At the station where your food gets cooked on the spot, you can order char kway teow, penang laksa, prawn noodle, popiah and kueh pie tee etc. The popiah and kueh pie tee were chock full of ingredients and were delicious. 

Despite all the food, there's only so much one can eat and I attempted ordering a bowl of duck soup noodles with kway teow instead of mee sua. The chef gave me an annoyed look and asked me exactly what I wanted in Mandarin. 

Nonetheless, my friend enjoyed the char kway teow and apparently the herbal soup was good too. 

Here is a picture of some Penang style appetisers (which I didn't try!). 

I love satays. I love well-marinated satays. While the meat is tender, it was unfortunately lacking in flavour. In my memory, I imagine it used to taste better.

The cooked food station was nothing much to rave about.

Desserts used to be my favourite station. I used to take many of these little kuehs, especially the pulut tatai. But this was a huge disappointment. The ang ku kuih, while looking petite and extremely edible, turned out bad enough for me to spit it out. My friend who's normally not fussy about his food had the same feelings about it. As for the pulut tatai, there was just something about it that didn't taste like how it used to. 

Nonetheless, the desserts' saving grace was probably the tub of beancurd next to it. There was also a banana dessert which was not bad. If you are craving cold desserts, you can go for some ice kacang.

Princess Terrace used to be somewhere I would go without hesitation  But while the food here isn't so bad that I would give it a complete miss, it has deteriorated over the years.

Princess Terrace

Copthorne King's Hotel 

403 Havelock Road

Tel: 6318 3168 

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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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Tuckshop Cafe

Safely tucked in an industrial building, Tuckshop is a place where you wouldn't really go to unless you knew that it existed. If you are thinking old-school tuckshop, then you can't be more wrong.

There are furniture samples in the shop. If you are interested, you could buy them or ask to get a new piece done for you.

Here's the menu for your reference, although I forgot to take another picture of the dessert menu on the flip side.

I ordered Fish and Chips ($10.90). Personally, I felt that the portions were a little small. But that might be because I'm a big eater. The fish and chips does not taste greasy and is exceptionally smooth inside. Glad they provided salad greens instead of the standard coleslaw as well. I'm not clear what batter this was and any form of enlightenment is welcome. It looks and tastes different from the normal beer battered fish though.

My friend ordered Four Cheese Sandwich ($7.80). I didn't try it but according to him, it tasted pretty good.

To round of the meal, we decided to go for an Apple Crumble ($6.90). My idea of a good apple crumble is where the inside is gooey and filled with chunky apples and yet not too sweet, and lastly topped off with lots of crumbs. This particular apple crumble (besides it being rather small) satisfied the gooey and not too sweet criteria but did not impress me with the crumbles.

Overall, this is a cool hangout place with nice music. Familiar tunes from the Beatles or Frank Sinatra were played. Friendly servers. Pity they don't serve water. Food is pretty good, except that I felt that the portions were too small.

Tuckshop Cafe 
178 Paya Lebar Road
#07-02
Tel No: 97373971/6748 9308

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Victor's Kitchen

The queue stretched on for quite a bit during weekend lunch. While waiting, patrons read the various newspaper/magazine clippings plastered on the glass window. 

Be prepared to share tables because there simply is not enough space in the shop.

The Phoenix Porrdige ($4) was good for 2 to share. The consistency of the porridge was smooth.

The King Prawn with Vegetable Cheong Fun ($4) was pretty good. The thing about Victor's Kitchen is that their prawn dishes are fresh. It's not really king prawn as the name suggests though.

I didn't try the Golden Egg Yolk Lava Bun ($4) but I've heard about its fame. Indeed, the yellow custard started oozing out of the bun the moment it was peeled apart.

As mentioned earlier, the Victor's King Prawn Dumpling ($5) was one of their better dishes as the skin was thin and the prawns were big and fresh.

The Tasty Queen Size Siew Mai ($4) tasted a little more "porky" than usual but other than that, it was pretty good.

The Crispy Fried Shrimp Dumpling ($5) was served in smaller sizes than normal. I felt that it was a little over deep fried but nonetheless, crispy and again, since it's prawn, good.

This is supposed to be one of their famous dishes: Scallop, Sausage Carrot Cake with XO Sauce ($4) Honestly, this didn't strike me as being an unforgettable dish. Of those who ate this dish, most felt that there was nothing special. In fact, some thought that it tasted weird. For me, I think we are not used to its mushy consistency. The scallop and sausage also did not feature prominently in this dish.

Together with Chicken & Sausage in Glutinous Rice ($5) (which was a little too dry) and drinks, it worked out to be about $16 per person. This place deserves an award- but not for its food. Its food is average or at best, slightly above average. For this price (actually less), I could easily get something better at Dragon Phoenix (provided they have their 50% promotion). Whoever says this place is cheap is clearly mistaken. You are paying restaurant prices for non-restaurant quality, non-restaurant ambience and non-restaurant service.

This place deserves an award for Worst Service. Furthermore, we weren't provided with a receipt at the end of the meal and were just told simply to pay.

Victor's Kitchen 
Sunshine Plaza
91 Bencoolen Street
#01-21
Tel: 9838 2851 

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