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Sri Vijaya Restaurant – Just Plain Yummy!

Rating:

By Veron Ang

In keeping with my recent craze over thosai, I have been scouting for delicious thosai at Indian restaurants. Having delicious Indian food alone isn’t enough; it must be in Little India too, because that’s where you get the most authentic Indian dining experience! (Actually, the most authentic would be in India itself. But we make do with what we have here!)

A street-side coffee shop I’ve found is Sri Vijaya Restaurant, where dining is definitely no-frills (authentic dining experience!). So do not expect any cushy seats or air-conditioning.

Oh, the food is freaking cheap too!

Teh Tarik

Teh Tarik (“pulled” tea)
S$0.90
Rating:

My, was I pleased with that thick froth on my teh tarik (“pulled” tea). The staff must have “pulled” the tea several times to create a bubbly froth that thick! I love a good frothy teh tarik!

Bubbles and froth aside, that was one of the most excellent teh tarik I’ve ever had (and I’ve had a lot of it before). The tea was extremely rich but not overpowering. It was also not overtly sweet (but I know some people may like it sweeter). By any standard, this was the perfect teh tarik. Definitely better than the famous one at Lau Pa Sat!

Chapati

Chapati
S$2.40
Rating:

Like Ananda Bhavan Restaurant two weeks ago, Sri Vijaya is also a vegetarian restaurant. You can choose from a variety of vegetables to go with your chapati!

The chapati is served folded in half into a semicircle. I’m no expert but I thought it tasted a tad flaky and powdery for my liking. Or is that the way it’s meant to be?

Anyhow, my main purpose in going to this place was to try out the thosai, which I’ve heard is the best around!

Paper Masala Thosai

Paper Masala Thosai
S$2.50
Rating:

Two weeks ago at Ananda Bhavan Restaurant, I had exclaimed:

At the next table, we noticed people eating thosai that were 2-3 feet long! Boy, am I gonna have one the next time I drop by!

That’s the paper thosai and this time round I got to have it! (so I didn’t drop by the same place, but we should always be game to try out new places right?) my paper masala thosai was two feet long! Yay! It was big and long and boy, was I surprised at how crispy it turned out too!

I also loved the gravies that were served with the thosai. We could have as much of those gravies as we wanted! The staff would walk around with big metal buckets and scooped more gravy onto our plate whichever gravy ran out (authentic dining experience!).

Paper Masala Thosai

But herein lies the real deal — the potato masala! It was creamy (very yellow and fresh potatoes), spicy (all the yummy Indian spices and chilli), tangy, tasty and had a lot of oomph! (“Oomph” may just be my new pet word after “hawt”!)

By the way, what are those purple bits speckled among the yellow potato filling? Are those pepper?

Update: Oh, those are mustard seeds! Thanks, NTT!

Sri Vijaya Restaurant

(Check out what the staff is wearing! How’s that for authenticity? He looks ready to “pull” a teh tarik anytime!)

The restaurant lies on the fringe of Little India along a row of shophouses. After exiting from the Little India MRT station, we found ourselves walking back and forth along Selegie Road before finally realising we had already walked right past Sri Vijaya Restaurant without realising it! It’s along the main road so keep a lookout for it!

Ah… I love Indian food!

Sri Vijaya Restaurant
229 Selegie Road
Singapore 188344
Tel: +65 6336 1748

Tags: casual, dinner, Indian, Little India, lunch, teh tarik, thosai, vegetarian

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About the Editor

Veron Ang is the Founder and Chief Editor of Sparklette, a Singapore restaurants guide, lifestyle and travel blog. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science from the National University of Singapore and runs a web design firm at Sparklette Studio. To get in touch, head on over to the contact page or follow @Sparklette and @VeronSG on Twitter.

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Responses Leave a comment

NTT
7 comments

“by the way, what are those purple bits speckled among the yellow potato filling”
Those are mustard seeds. They are generally shallow fried along with other spices and mixed with veggies..
Reply
Posted July 23, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Veron
3439 comments

Thanks! I have added the little snippet of information into my post!
Reply
Posted July 23, 2007 at 2:54 pm
walter
72 comments

Looks pretty yummy and good though probably high calorific too (which is usual for Indian Vegetarian Food). Must go and try soon! The last time I ate at Komalas was donkey years ago….
Reply
Posted July 23, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Veron
3439 comments

High calories due to the flour and potatoes? It’s such a shame! Indian vegetarian food is so awesome that I can have it everyday!
Reply
Posted July 23, 2007 at 4:51 pm
py
183 comments

Looks cheap and good food. I will be nearby the area on coming Sunday, maybe if time permits, I could check it out.
Reply
Posted July 23, 2007 at 8:49 pm
NTT
7 comments

Since you are so excited about Indian food, let me recommend you another Indian restaurant.
And I promise you the food is completly different that what you have tried before as Indian food. This is food from Mumbai (Bombay).
Makaan Mumbai
84 Telok Ayer Street
#01-0184 Far East Square
Singapore 048468
Reply
Posted July 23, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Veron
3439 comments

py: Hey, even if you don’t find this place, you might stumble upon a different Indian eatery. Then we can all hear about it!
NTT: Far East Square! I love that place! This Indian restaurant certainly sounds promising. Can’t wait to check it out dude. Thanks!
Reply
Posted July 23, 2007 at 11:48 pm
IZ Reloaded
4 comments

Next time I must not read your blog at 1 plus in the morning mate. Now I’m hungry for supper.
Reply
Posted July 24, 2007 at 1:18 am
Veron
3439 comments

Hey mate, didn’t you know the best time to read my blog is at noon? It would whet your appetite just in time for lunch! Haha!
Reply
Posted July 24, 2007 at 1:39 am
Miccheng
90 comments

Ha ha… i get hungry reading your blog all the time… :D
The food looks pretty standard fare… but i guess the secret’s in the gravy and the condiments. :D
Reply
Posted July 24, 2007 at 2:45 am
Veron
3439 comments

Yup! You have to try it to know it! The potato masala sure had a lot of oomph!
But right now I’m really craving for that teh tarik though. (One of the) best I’ve ever had.
Reply
Posted July 24, 2007 at 2:51 am
Jayson
44 comments

Indian food are nice. The spice, the curries and all.
But have your tried Turkish food?
The range of kebabs they have are brilliant!
Try go turkish one day, and you won’t turn back.
Reply
Posted July 24, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Miccheng
90 comments

*foams in the mouth from haiku overload*
Grr….. :D
Reply
Posted July 24, 2007 at 3:19 pm
Veron
3439 comments

Jayson: My Turkish ex-boss introduced me to Turkish cuisine before. Not exactly my cup of tea. Check out my one and only review of a Turkish restaurant here: Turkuaz
Miccheng: Dude, that was no haiku! Jayson, where’s my haiku?
Reply
Posted July 24, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Miccheng
90 comments

Oh… that’s broken English then. :D
Reply
Posted July 24, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Jayson
44 comments

I will deliver the haiku whenever i got the inspiration …
now, dont have the good vibe feeling yet …
need to gather more “chi”.
by the way, the Turkuaz article you posted – the restaurant do take great pride in their layout and presentation yeah? Should be quite expensive right?
If you want cheap, simple, good Turkish food.
Try Deliturk at Suntec City, Sky Garden.
I had great experience there …
Reply
Posted July 24, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Daphne Maia
22 comments

did someone say turkish? haha try sofra (http://www.sofra.com.sg) at shaw tower (beach road) :) i loved it
ok my haiku for the day
chapati thosai
puri naan prata roti
it is simply flour!
HAHAHAHA.
p/s: my fave is puri :) try it nxt time
Reply
Posted July 24, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Veron
3439 comments

Jayson: Yup, Turkuaz is a nice place in Holland Village. The lady boss pays a great deal of attention to the design of her restaurant and presentation of the food. It won “Best Design” in my list of Best (& Worst) Restaurants in Singapore for 2006. Thanks for your recommendation!
Daphne Maia: Hey babe, thanks for the haiku and your recommendation too! (Haha why are y’all talking about Turkish cuisine out of the blue?) By the way, I think it would sound better if “naan” was used as the last word in the second line!
Speaking of puri or poori, my friend and I just had it yesterday evening!
Reply
Posted July 24, 2007 at 10:27 pm
py
183 comments

Thank you very the recommendation. I tried the masala paper thosai this evening for dinner. I like the crispy texture of the thosai and the gravy was good.
Reply
Posted July 29, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Veron
3439 comments

Glad you enjoyed it! Ahh… I’m craving for some good ol’ thosai and teh halia now!
Reply
Posted July 30, 2007 at 10:27 am