Little India Route

What Little India is

Little India is the heart of the life and faith of Singapore's Indian residents. Along Serangoon Road, shops selling spices, hardware, bright cloth and flower garlands stand in a row, and the smell of incense and spice drifts through the whole quarter. The vivid gopuram towers of Hindu temples mark the street, and at festival time the streets fill with light and music. At its centre is Tekka Centre, whose ground-floor food street serves briyani, curry and thosai all day. Less a sight than a place where life still breathes — a corner of South India set down here as it is.

What to eat at Tekka Centre

This street's food turns on the spiced cooking of South India. Briyani cooked with saffron and meat, fish head curry simmering a head in scarlet liquor, thosai griddled thin from a fermented batter, roti prata stretched in the air and cooked. To drink, sweet teh tarik pulled to a foam. Many houses are vegetarian, and meatless plates are plentiful. Yet mixed dishes were born here too, like mee goreng, a Chinese noodle remade to an Indian taste. Stand in the food street of Tekka Centre and the smell of cooked rice, spice and frying rushes at you at once. A corner of thick scent, eaten by hand or spoon.

How to walk this route

Starting from Metro Little India Stn, head first to Tekka Centre. On the ground-floor food street take a plate of Allauddin's briyani, or gather a few round a fish head curry. From there walk Serangoon and Race Course Roads to the roti prata and thosai specialists, a sweet teh tarik for a breather between. The spicing runs strong dish after dish, so if you are not good with heat, the vegetarian thosai and prata make it easy to adjust. Many shops open from early morning to late night and suit breakfast too. That many are halal, using no pork, or vegetarian is part of the character. Cash is safest, though cards and QR are spreading. It is especially crowded at festival time, so allow time.