1/26/13 - Little India

The monsoon is gone (at least in Singapore) and the weather was gorgeous all weekend.  So much so that we actually just opened up all the windows and let the breeze in.  It even got all our clothes completely dry, which seems to be a constant battle with the humidity and is compounded with my refusal to use the dryer unless absolutely necessary.  With the sun on our face and the wind at our back.... how to spend the day?  Off to Little India for some adventure we decided.  Ok, ok, we were lazy, had a breakfast of pineapple, mangosteens and oranges on the porch, dranks some coffee for awhile and read the newspaper, but then it was off to Little India for dinner!

I'm positive if you blindfolded me and lead me out of the various subway stations on the island I would have no idea where I was.  Not so at the Little India stop - the smells hit you immediately once you walk down the stairs onto the street.  Fragrant spices, fresh produce, incense burning, its all very refreshing in its own sort of way.  The city is so clean and orderly that its kind of nice to have a little disorder and chaos.  Half the time you have no idea what you are smelling or what you are looking at. In your head, you're thinking, is that a watermelon crossed with a beet?  Is that even possible?  What would one of those even taste like?  Then you realize the whole reason you came here was for dinner and you might be eating one shortly so you better keep walking and keep your mind open.

I get Indian food in Malaysia about once a week and it is quite good, but its just not the same.  The menu in Malaysia is quite large, the size of one of the large placemats on your dining room table.  The problem though is just because that's how big the menu "is" doesn't mean they actually serve everything on it.  In reality there are only about 6-10 dishes available from a menu with about 80 items on it.  I'm convinced it completely depends on whomever happens to be working that day and what they learned to make at home at some point in time.  Anyway, when we sat down at Khansama, our favorite restaurant in Little India, there were over 200 items on the menu and yes, they actually serve all of them.  Most importantly, palak paneer.  I hadn't had this spinach/cheese dish in months and it used to be an old standby back in the States.  If you want cheese in Asia, best way to find it is to track down an Indian restaurant.  On top of our spinach and cheese, we had a chickpea dish, curried vegetables, rice, two types of naan and some Tiger Beer.  Starving we were when w got there, not so much when we were done.  All for less than the triple digit mark (major win in Singapore) and we almost needed to call a taxi to get home we were so full.

The crazy part was, just as I was thinking we might taxi it home, a driver pulled up and parked about 8 inches away from us (we were sitting at a sidewalk table).  I mean, his wheels were millimeters from the curb, I could have reached out and shaken his hand with neither of us getting out of our seats.  I'm not really sure how he got out of the car as it was pretty low to the ground and he was a tall, older gentlemen with a long white beard.  It reminded me of how I have to unfold myself when getting out of the taxis in Malaysia, but he was much more graceful.  I turned back towards my food, but then 2 minutes later he was sitting 2 tables behind us sipping tea and his taxi had disappeared.  It was kind of like a creepy dream/movie sequence - almost like the spiritual guide in Wayne's World 2.  Which meant it was probably time to go.

On our way back tot he subway we passed by one of the Hindu temples in the area which had a fair amount of activity going on around it.  Today was the Tamil celebration of Thaipusam, where people carry offerings or pierce themselves and then walk for a few miles.  We had thought the procession started in the morning and were surprised to see the police officers closing down the streets.  There were a lot of men walking around barefoot in long yellow skirts (for lack of a better word), and thinking we actually might get to see the offerings, I pulled the trusty iPhone out to see how long we would be waiting.  When the answer came back as midnight..... we bailed, yes I know kind of lame on our part.  After that meal, and a 30 minute subway ride to get home, we didn't need to fall asleep on the train and wake up 8 stops from home in the wrong direction.  Maybe next year we'll plan the day out a little better to get the full experience.  Regardless, it was a successful mini trip out of the bubble and a reminder we need to visit that part of the city more often.