Start your tour at the main bus-stop on Serangoon Road in front of Tekka Centre, which we will return to at the end of this tour. You are standing on Serangoon Road, one of the oldest roads of Singapore. In fact, this road was marked on ancient maps as "The Road Through the Island".
About The Street Peddlars
Little India has a wonderful array of traditional business still practised today by itinerant tradesmen. Don't miss them when you are exploring the five-foot ways (corridors) of the shophouses. For a small fee, let the fortune-teller's parrot read your future. Alternatively, let the astrologer dictate the right days to shift into your new house. And if you're thirsty, try a cup of home-made thairu from the last Indian yoghurt street vendor in Singapore. You can find her with two red plastic buckets at her feet outside a restaurant at No. 62 Serangoon Road.
|
 |
|
 |
Across the bus-stop you will see Little India Arcade. This cluster of shophouses was conserved in 1982 and later turned into this bustling shopping haven. Look out for Handlooms, a sari shop supported by the Government of India. Take a closer look at the more elaborate fabrics and you will see real gold and silver threads woven into them.
Enter from the Serangoon Road entrance and you'll see a confectionery selling traditional Indian sweets and snacks. In the arcade you'll also find Ayurvedic medicine shops. Ayurvedic medicine (Ayus meaning life and veda meaning knowledge) or the "Science of Life" is a very ancient Indian medicinal practice. You can buy some of these traditional remedies which are used for different ailments from haemorrhoids to rheumatism.
Nearby, look out for the paan wallah (betel nut seller). Mildly narcotic, betel nuts are believed to be good for the digestive system. Pieces of betel nuts, chopped fine or coarse, are mixed with lime paste and sometimes other spices. They are then rolled up in a betel leaf, popped into the mouth and chewed.
If you fancy some intricate design anywhere on your body, let a henna artist create a pattern for you. Henna, made from plant leaves, leaves a black or brown design that last for about a week to 10 days. Artists can be found in the arcade or at the numerous Indian beauty parlors in Little India.
At the air-conditioned food court, you can buy a souvenir copy of the story signs that you will see placed amongst traditional products in the arcade to explain their symbolism and values. They are available at GGS Publications, Books and Stationery at #01-03 Little India Arcade or the Asian Women's Welfare Association at No.9 Norris Road.
Leave Little India Arcade by Campbell Lane, turn right and you'll see the vividly colourful flower shops selling garlands and fresh flowers. |
|
Beyond the aromatic flower shops, you will notice a large brightly painted yellow shop front. P. Govindasamy Pillai & Sons or "PGP" as affectionately known, is located here. Founded by P. Govindasamy Pillai, a patriarch of the Indian community well-known for his charitable works, the shop is now run by his sons. As one of the earliest sari shops in Serangoon Road, it is now a key landmark in Little India.
To get into PGP, first walk into Kuna's Handicraft Shop where you'll find a wide range of traditional Indian arts and crafts. You will see sculptures tucked away in corners, alongside oil lamps, bangles and peacock feathers.
Walking through Kuna's will lead you to the PGP supermarket, well-stocked with everything from Indian utensils and sandalwood incense to spice mixes for fish and meat curries, freshly ground at a traditional spice grinder. Don't forget to proceed upstairs to the sari shop filled with sari, shawls, scarves and modern garments in both traditional and modern designer fabrics.
Walk through PGP, exit onto Dunlop Street and turn right. Pop into the different provision and textile shops along this road. You'll find staples sold here as well as a curious variety of products ranging from special Indian cosmetics such as kohl, henna dyes (for decorating the hands) and perfumed oils, to terracotta pots for cooking curries. Walk further down and you will see an interesting mix of textile and Indian dress shops.
At the junction of Dunlop Street and Clive Street, you can either make two left turns to the food joints in Upper Dickson Road or make a detour and walk down Dunlop Street to the next two stop-points - a mosque and a church. |
|
Keep walking down Dunlop Street for another ten minutes and you'll find on your right the Abdul Gaffoor Mosque, one of Singapore's 32 national gazetted monuments. This recently restored mosque boasts a sundial with Arabic calligraphy denoting the names of 25 chosen prophets, the only one of its kind in the Islamic world.
Just behind the mosque, join the friendly people at a little snack shop selling Indian Muslim snacks such as samosas and vadas. Take a short break and enjoy a cup of iced teh tarik (hand-pulled tea) (6.30 am - 12 noon) or teh halia (ginger tea) (3 pm - 8 pm). |
|
Open only on Saturdays and Sundays between 9 am to 1 pm, this 1850 Anglican church used to served the Chinese community of Hock Chew and Hinghwa descent in Little India.
Walk all the way up the stairs and you'll find a unique sanctuary with a huge Chinese ideogram for the word "love" above the altar. Note the Bible verses in Chinese painted onto the pillars and walls.
Leaving the church, turn right and walk down Dickson Road to Upper Dickson Road. |
|
As you encounter the countless North Indian and South Indian specialty restaurants along the way, why not take a meal break at one of the many highly recommended vegetarian restaurants? At New Woodlands Restaurant you can watch food being prepared in an open kitchen and savour interesting items such as Rocket Dosai and Thairu Vada. Just across the road, you can experience the first Indian fast food joint in Singapore called Komalas. If, however, you fancy stepping into the most established restaurant in Little India, check out Komala Vilas at No.12 Buffalo Road.
For a different dining experience, try curry with rice and accompanying pulse dishes piled high on a banana leaf. You can’t go wrong at Banana Leaf Apollo or Muthu's Curry located along Race Course Road. Race Course Road is also Little India's unofficial food street where anything from North Indian cuisine to Nepalese food can be found here.
Aside from the traditional Indian meals, you may also want to savour Indian Muslim food in one of the many open-fronted coffee shops. Try the tasty roti prata (Indian pancake). Catch the prata maker flipping the paper thin dough into the air with his hands, before folding it over and tossing it onto the well-oiled griddle. |
|
|
|
Turn right onto Serangoon Road, walk on and turn right onto Cuff Road, where you can follow your nose to one of the last spice grinding shops. The betel nut-chewing spice grinders here will grind spice mixtures or mill flour at your request. Open from 9 am to 6.30 pm and closed on Mondays.
|
Walk back onto Serangoon Road and cross the road at the junction of Veerasamy Road. Built by indentured Bengali labourers in 1881, this temple is dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Kali, the consort of Shiva. Known as the Goddess of Power, the name "Veeramakaliamman" means "Kali the Courageous". On holy days (Tuesdays and Fridays), the streets are busy with devotees on their way to pray, worship and make requests to Kali for blessings. This temple is closed between 12.30 pm and 4 pm everyday. Note that women who are undergoing the monthly cycle are considered "unclean" and are not allowed to enter temple grounds. |
|
Coming out of the temple, turn right and carry on down Serangoon Road. By now you would have noticed the numerous goldsmith shops along Serangoon Road. Traditionally, Indian goldsmiths were well-respected as they were also the image-makers of the gods. Today, many of these goldsmiths are still true Indian craftsmen, creating jewelry from ancient patterns. However, some of these shops are now run by Chinese businessmen.
|
|
|
|
Carry on down Serangoon Road until you come to your starting point - Tekka Centre. In Mandarin, the name means "the foot of bamboo shoots", reminding us of the early bamboo which used to grow in abundance by the Rochor River. The original produce market that once stood across here was called Kandang Kerbau Market or KK Market. "Kandang kerbau" means cattle pen in Malay, a reminder of the cattle-rearing days here.
Today Tekka Market is a bustling wet market, selling fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and fish. At one end there's a hawkers' centre offering typical Singaporean hawker fare. Climb up the stairs to discover the clothing, brassware and antique stalls on the next floor. From bedspreads, tailor-made dresses to quaint knick-knacks, you'll find virtually everything here. |
|
A trip to Little India is not complete without a stop at Mustaffa Centre. Open 24 hours, this department store is a popular shopping haven for electronics, PDAs and household items. Shoppers can find almost anything from its lineup of over 120,000 products. The six storey building also houses a 230-room hotel. Mustaffa Centre is located at 145 Syed Alwi Road. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
