Little india.

 

A couple stops after Chinatown on the "Purple Line" of the SMRT, you will find Little India. We visited this little gem one evening when my parents were in Singapore a few weeks ago, leaving the baby at home with her Papa. Tonight, I was craving some curry, so Linna and I went on a search for it in Little India. Did we find a delicious curry?! Oh yes we DID!

Gold and jewels in the street markets.

Sign above the streets.

 

Much like Chinatown (only better in my opinion), Little India is a happenin' little night spot that's waiting for tourists to come and explore. When we first got off the MRT and hit the street, I was like, "Where is all the "Bollywood action?". As we walked a couple blocks further, we were greeted with bustling shops filled with brightly-colored fabrics, and sparkly merchandise. This was my kind of place!

Flower garlands.

Every street market we walked down, we found people making fresh, hand-made flower garlands that were absolutely gorgeous. I thought this was a "Hawaiian thing", but the flower garlands are one of the oldest surviving Indian traditional offering. We could smell the delicious curries and spices that the restaurants and shops were cooking too. I wanted to eat the air.

Instead of "Where's Waldo?", this is "Where's Dale Specken?"

When I visited with my parents, the first shop we stopped at had the beautiful fabrics with hand beading and crystals covering every inch. You could literally purchase a traditional Indian Saree in any style, fabric, texture, or color you can imagine. I found one that was a turquoise color with crystals covering it, and it was priced at about $180. I didn't think it was a bad price, but I decided not to get it for "practical" reasons. My mom and I, however, did find some beautiful dresses for Linna. I first thought "PAGEANTS" when I saw the dresses, but they really are darling and unlike anything I've found in the US. At $20-ish a piece, we bought two for Linna, and they literally fit her body like a glove. I'm hoping she doesn't grow out of them by the time we get home so we can have some photos taken of her in the dresses, and maybe where the red one for Christmas:)

The place we got Linna's dresses.

As Linna and I walkeded up and down the streets looking for a place with good (and not spicy) curry, we finally stumbled upon this little restaurant called Lagnaa on Upper Dickson Road. The only reason we stopped here was because there was a lovely woman out in front who came to ask us if we had questions about the menu. I told her we wanted a good chicken curry that wasn't spicy. She said, "Try the Butter Chicken Curry". Done.

Linna hanging out with one of Lagnaa's servers.
The man behind them is from Scottland.

I may or may not have gotten a little excited about the food
before I realized I should take a photo:)

This dish was probably one of the best curries I've ever had! It was so flavorful, and not at ALL spicy (I don't do spicy), but you can get the dishes to any level of "spicy" you'd like. Linna also had some of the chicken curry, but she REALLY loved the Papadum, which is a crispy bread made with lentils. The Papadum came with a mint dipping-sauce that was to DIE for. The nice woman who helped me select my meal also recommended their Lime Juice to drink. OMG yum! It was so refreshing, sweet, and ice cold. Linna sat so nicely in the chair next to me (they don't have highchairs because the restaurant can only fit about 25 people), while the ladies in the restaurant entertained her, and I devoured my delicious food.

Spice-level chart at Lagnaa.

"Mom, these Papadum are the size of my head!"

If anything brings us back to Little India, it will be this food! Not the Dengue Fever warnings all over the place...

These were everywhere in Little India. Yikes!