Since its days as a marketplace for cattle merchants within the 1800s, Little India has been the center of Singapore’s South Asian neighborhood. Beginning with Tekka Market at its southern finish, the bustle unfolds upward alongside Serangoon Road, punctuated by homes of worship, pre-WWII shophouses, pocket-friendly lunch rooms, old-time grocers and, in fact, the well-known Mustafa Centre.
But current years have introduced hip new entrants to this historic neighbourhood. The Michelin-starred Sri Lankan restaurant Kotuwa, impeccably embellished Podi & Poriyal and industrial-chic Meatsmith Little India have launched new alternate options to the standard eating panorama, whereas picturesque resorts comparable to Owen House and The Great Madras inject a way of luxe into this in any other case price range traveller-friendly locale.
It’s an thrilling time to expertise Little India. Four locals share their insider information on how greatest to do it.
Mathangi Venkatesh
Docent, Indian Heritage Centre
On pedestrian-only Campbell Lane, the spectacular glass-and-concrete facade of the Indian Heritage Centre comprises a formidable assortment of artefacts that inform tales of Singapore’s South Asian diaspora. And docents comparable to Tamil Nadu-native Mathangi Venkatesh deliver them to life for guests.
“This place is a slice of my hometown,” she says of Little India. “When I first came here, I was impressed at how the sounds and smells were straight out of Chennai. It’s nice to have a place where our children can be immersed in our native culture.”
“I’m most taken with the area around Tekka Market,” observes the mom of two, referring to the epicentre of Little India, the place mutton butchers, fish mongers and vegetable sellers rub shoulders with dozens of hawkers. There’s even a procuring centre on the second ground, the place you should purchase ready-to-wear clothes and even order a brand new sari.
Venkatesh recommends the year-end season as the perfect time to go to Little India, when the festivals of Navaratri, Theemithi and Deepavali are held. “That’s when our traditions are on full display,” she provides.
Kenneth Lim
Founder, Generation Coffee
Little India is the form of neighbourhood that loves its caffeine the standard manner: assume kopi and masala chai. So it’s stunning to see Kenneth Lim’s specialty espresso stall nestled inside Tekka Market and Hawker Centre.
The former air drive technician and his enterprise accomplice began Generation Coffee in 2020, with a thoughts to promote connoisseur espresso-based drinks at hawker costs. “After working here, I’ve learned to respect our food hawkers – this environment is hot, sweaty and intense. And there’s always a long queue so you have to serve quickly.”
When it involves consuming in Tekka Market’s hawker centre, he recommends having a holistic view. “The Indian stalls are good, but so are the Chinese and Malay hawkers – this is multicultural Singapore, after all,” he presents.
“Personally I’d go for Lim Kee Chicken Rice, Heng Gi Duck Rice and 545 Whampoa Prawn Noodles.”
Regunarth Siva Thyagarajan
Third-generation proprietor, Jothi Store and Flower Shop
From a tiny hole-in-the wall in 1960, the Jothi Store and Flower Shop has grown to grow to be a five-storey heritage establishment a stone’s throw from the Indian Heritage Centre, promoting not simply spiritual gadgets, but in addition pots, pans and strain cookers.
“We will be here for as long as the Indian community needs us”
Having spent his childhood days right here, Regunarth Thyagarajan now continues his grandfather’s legacy as the shop’s third-generation director. “We will be here for as long as the Indian community needs us,” he declares. “We see it as our duty to provide the materials needed for religious and everyday life.”
“Though the infrastructure has greatly improved and the streets are more orderly now, the close-knit community where I grew up is still around,” Thyagarajan displays.
He factors out longtime neighbours Komala Vilas – one in every of Singapore’s oldest eating places – and Tiffin Bhavan, the place he used to eat as a child. For a dose of nostalgia, he recommends hitting up close by old-school provision retailers Thandapani Co. and Selvi Stores.
Kavitha Chakravarti
Co-Founder, Podi & Poriyal
Standing out towards a backdrop of bustling curry homes, upscale vegetarian restaurant Podi & Poriyal serves up lavish thali spreads and spice-infused cocktails inside a captivating pastel-inflected postwar shophouse.
Its co-founder, Kavitha Chakravarti, envisions her institution to be extra than simply one other trendy F&B joint: “I plan to collaborate with South Indian artists, chefs and performers to showcase Indian culture in Singapore,” the Bangalore native shares.
Chakravarti suggests trying out the close by locations of worship. “There are three Hindu temples and two mosques within walking distance of Podi & Poriyal,” she says referring to Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, Sri Vadapathira Kaliamman Temple and Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple and the historic mosques of Angullia and Abdul Gafoor.
“Anyone can visit them all – come and see for yourself how tradition is still a big part of everyday life in Little India.”
All photographs by Lester V. Ledesma until in any other case acknowledged.