We all have our favourite Little India haunts. Mine have long been landmark staples such as Banana Leaf Apolo, MTR, Komala Villas and Madras New Woodlands. I know – so Singaporean, so… basic.
Little India, after all, is home to a panoply of restaurants, from mamak sarabat stalls and salt-of-the-earth eateries to Italian trattorias and hipster cafes. There is no lack of choice, but that surfeit of options can get in the way of discovering the less obvious, more region-specific kitchens that thrive quietly within this colourful, cacophonic enclave.
To get a different lens on the neighbourhood, I roped in my friend Vasunthara Ramasamy, a private dining chef and self-professed food geek who knows more about South Asian cuisine than anyone I know. With her taking the lead, we traipsed the neighbourhood, skipping familiar South Indian staples in favour of food from other parts of the subcontinent.
The result of those jaunts is this short list, which should make for a great start if you are curious to explore a different side of Little India and discover how the enclave’s moniker is brought to life in the richly varied cuisines of the wider subcontinent.
