Sparklette Magazine » teh tarik

Prata Wala – Conquer Your Late-Night Cravings Here

Veron Ang — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 06:29:43 +0000

Night owls on the prowl for places serving late night supper, mark down Prata Wala. This Indian eatery operates 24 hours daily at Jurong Point and remains open till late at Tiong Bahru Plaza as well as the new NEX Mall in Serangoon.

The food and clientèle are decidedly casual, with the menu comprising of common Indian fares such as roti prata (pancake), naan and biryani (a rice dish cooked with spices).

While the plain roti prata is a traditional South Indian food, in Singapore it comes in a variety of concoctions with cheese, onion, fruit, and even chocolate and ice cream!

Banana prata
S$3.90
Rating:

The one pictured above is the fruity rendition with banana slices tucked within the dough layers, served with a saucer of meat-based curry. It strikes a nice balance of fluffiness and crispiness, and the banana has just the right sweetness and ripeness — not too mushy or too green.

Curry chicken prata set (with tea)
S$6.50
Rating:

For a more well-rounded meal, go for the sets that include a meat, a rice/naan/prata and a hot coffee/tea. The curry chicken prata set has a large piece of chicken simmering in hot curry, and plain prata served on the side.

Perhaps due to the busy chow hours, this dish takes quite a while to be served as compared to the banana prata. Unfortunately, I am a little let down. I mean, the meat is tender and the prata is a joy to savour with its delightfully crispy edges. However the curry is lacking in flavour and so very oily, a pity given how generous the portion is.

With its bright red furnishings and matching seats, it is hard to miss the vibrant joint. An amusing image of an Indian chef tossing a prata greets customers at the storefront.

At Tiong Bahru Plaza, Prata Wala occupies the former premises of Mr. Teh Tarik Cartel. There is even an alfresco dining area filled with comfortable couches for when the weather cooperates.

If you’re in the mood for Indian food, Prata Wala may be just the place. With its breezy atmosphere, this is a suitable gathering place for meeting up with friends especially when a late night craving strikes!

Have Your Say!

Share your favourite prata stalls in the comments!

Prata Wala at Jurong Point

Jurong Point Shopping Centre
63 Jurong West Central 3 #01-71/72/73/74
Singapore 648331
Tel: +65 6795 2530

Open 24 hours
Drinks only from 1am – 5am

Prata Wala at NEX Mall

NEX Mall
23 Serangoon Central #02-K05/08
Singapore 556083
Tel: +65 6634 2910

Operating hours:
Sun – Thu: 10am – 10pm
Fri, Sat & Eve of Public Holidays: 10am – 11pm

Prata Wala at Tiong Bahru Plaza

Tiong Bahru Plaza
302 Tiong Bahru Road #01-12
Singapore 168732
Tel: +65 6844 1852

Operating hours:
Mon – Thu: 11am – 11pm
Fri & Eve of Public Holidays: 11am – 12midnight
Sat: 9am – 12midnight
Sun: 9am – 11pm

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Steven’s Tea Garden – Best Teh Tarik

Veron Ang — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:58:37 +0000

As I was strolling along the huge Mid Valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur, the sign from a brightly lit eatery caught my attention.

It screamed, “Best teh tarik in the world!” (or something to that effect). The place is Steven’s Tea Garden, a mamak restaurant chain. As a teh tarik lover, I had no choice but to go in. Right?

Okay, actually it’s really the cute ~~sarong-wearing~~ lunghi-clad guy at the entrance that enticed me to enter the restaurant. (you’ll see that I even took his photo!)

Teh Tarik (“pulled” tea)
RM$3.88+
Rating:

On each table are slips of paper with check-boxes that allow you to mark down your order. I immediately put a tick next to the world’s best teh tarik. At 4 ringgit, it’s the most expensive teh tarik I’ve ever had. Well it should cost a premium for the best stuff, I guess.

The tea came with a super thick layer of froth on top, just the way I like it! I’ve had my fair share of the drink where the froth is thin or non-existent because it hasn’t been tarik or “pulled” enough. It pleases me so when I see a head of bubbly froth, kind of like cappuccino :)

The balance of tea flavour and sweetness of the condensed milk is mixed just right. Sometimes when it’s not done properly, it may get more bitter towards the bottom. Not this one though; the taste is consistent throughout. It is not sickly sweet, yet I don’t find myself reaching for more sugar.

Simply put, the taste is quite perfect! The only other teh I’ve had that fares a wee bit better is Sri Vijaya, thankfully, in our very own Little India!

That’s Steven, the cute Indian guy wearing a white tee, sarong and slippers that attracted me in the first place. He can be seen welcoming customers at the 24-hour outlet in Mid Valley Megamall just opposite toast box. Not only does he have to demonstrate the art of pulling the tea, he also has to entertain the many amused passers-by that want to take a photo with him!

The friendly manager informed me that Steven’s Tea Garden would be making a debut in Singapore soon! I think that’s great news!

Besides teh tarik, the restaurant also sells various mamak cuisine such as roti canai, nasi lemak and mee goreng. Boy, would Singaporeans love those!

This is the aforementioned Sri Vijaya Restaurant, with a REAL ~~sarong-wearing~~ lunghi-clad Indian guy at the entrance. I love that place!

Steven’s Tea Garden ( )
All outlets
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Website

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Mr. Teh Tarik Cartel – Perfect to the T(ea)

Veron Ang — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 10:03:22 +0000

I am sure many of you would be familiar with Mr. Teh Tarik at Far East Square. It’s the little pushcart stall with the green roof that sells all kinds of teh (tea). People would sit around on wooden stools to enjoy their drinks.

At least, that’s how I remember it.

When we paid a visit recently, we found that Mr. Teh Tarik has upgraded itself to Mr. Teh Tarik Cartel. No longer is it a modest little pushcart in the outdoors. Now, it occupies an actual stall unit in the Far East Square building!

But if you ask me, I still prefer its old look. There is somewhat of a 60s feel when you queue up at a wooden pushcart stall, purchase your drink and wait for the Indian seller to tarik (pull) your teh.

Photo by ixii

This is how Mr. Teh Tarik looks like in its (his?) former days. People would drink their teh under big umbrellas.

Photo by dc6

Still, it’s always a good thing to see a thriving business being able to upgrade itself! In fact, this reminds me very much of the game lemonade tycoon.

I used to run a little lemonade stall in the game. Similarly, I started out with a tiny lemonade pushcart and eventually was able to afford an air-conditioned stall with multiple upgrades! Haha!

But I digress. At Mr. Teh Tarik Cartel, you can enjoy both hot and cold drinks, including the Milo Dinosaur and Horlicks dinosaur! They also have all different renditions of teh. teh o, teh tarik, teh halia. You name it, they have it.

Iced Milk Tea & Hot Ginger Tea Si
S$1.50 & $0.90
Rating:

So I put that to the test. I ordered teh halia si (tea with ginger and evaporated milk), and — surprise, surprise — they actually had it!

Prices here are extremely affordable too. No wonder the place is always packed and people have trouble finding seats!

Not only do they have tea, they serve coffee too, similarly with all the different renditions. So the next time you’re done dining at one of the numerous restaurants at Far East Square or China square, do pop by Mr. Teh Tarik Cartel to get your fix of teh or coffee!

Mr. Teh Tarik ( )
- 135 Amoy St #01-01 Far East Square
- 1 Raffles Place #b1-04 OUB Centre
- No 1 Changi Business Park Crescent #01-21 (Plaza 8)
- Blk 201D Tampines St 21 #01-1155
- Blk 503 #01-293 Tampines Central 1
- 902 East Coast Parkway Blk B #01-04/07 Playground@BigSplash
- 970 Geylang Road #01-02 Tristar Complex
- Blk 204 Bedok North St 1 #01-435
- Blk 608 Ang Mo Kio Ave 5 #01-2771 (opening soon)
- Blk 306A Woodlands St 31 #01-01
- Blk 456 Jurong West St 41 #01-750

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Sri Kamala Vilas Restaurant – Chicken Masala Shiokness!

Veron Ang — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 04:15:49 +0000

In my continual quest for good thosai, I found myself at Little India again. Armed with the brand new knowledge of another Indian eatery to check out, I made a trip to Sri Kamala Vilas Restaurant.

I got curious about these cute-looking hollow breads after seeing people eating them on two separate occasions. My friend simply calls them “the two bombs”. Eventually we learned the proper name, “poori”.

Poori
S$2.40
Rating:

The poori was served with two vegetarian sides — chickpeas and curried potato. I’m not a fan of chickpeas (or any kind of peas for that matter) but I loved the curried potato! Do they use some special breed of potatoes for this? It certainly looks very yellow and very fresh!

As the poori is just a thin layer of wheat and completely hollow on the inside, it started deflating shortly after it was served. This doesn’t affect the taste of the food, but food bloggers and photographers may want to take note.

Teh Tarik (“Pulled” Tea)
S$0.80
Rating:

What’s Indian food without some good ol’ teh tarik (“pulled” tea)? The one over here tasted only average. The froth layer was a tad thin too. Having had the awesome teh tarik at Sri Vijaya Restaurant previously, probably anything else would always fall short!

Game to try a different kind of thosai, I skimmed through the menu and found something with an unfamiliar-sounding name — rava thosai. A quick check with the staff revealed that this had a green chilli and onion filling. Sounds good to me!

Rava Thosai
S$1.70
Rating:

The thosai came folded neatly and had multiple holes on the surface. I found the green sliced chilli and onion to be severely lacking or else this would have made for a much more flavourful dish. As usual, it was served with different types of gravies. As usual, my favourite was the orange-coloured coconut chutney.

The Indian staff would gladly scoop more gravy onto your plate when any of it runs out. For me, it really completes the entire Indian dining experience!

I just needed to get some pictures of these metal buckets of gravies!

Chicken Masala
S$3
Rating:

And now, we get to the best part — chicken masala! For $3, you get a juicy chicken drumstick with lots and lots of fiery-red gravy! That gravy was practically bursting with flavour! It was rather spicy (it had all sorts of Indian spices) too and went extremely well with both the poori and thosai. Heck, with a gravy that thick and tasting that good, it would go well with anything!

This one is a must-try!

Like Sri Vijaya, sri kamala vilas (not to be confused with the more famous and similar-sounding komala vilas restaurant) is a no-frills coffeeshop too. No air-conditioning, fairly large place with ample seating. It is tucked at the foot of a HDB block beside tekka market, along buffalo road.

I know I had visited sri kamala vilas to try out the thosai. As it turned out the thosai wasn’t exactly worth making a special trip for. But at the end of the day, the chicken masala really made it all worthwhile!

Sri Kamala Vilas Restaurant
662 Buffalo Road #01-16
Singapore 210662
Tel: +65 6291 1164

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Sri Vijaya Restaurant – Just Plain Yummy!

Veron Ang — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 06:08:49 +0000

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 (“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
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
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!).

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!

(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

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Niqqi’s the Cheese Prata Shop – Not for People on the Move

Veron Ang — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 14:07:03 +0000

I have been missing Niqqi’s the Cheese Prata Shop ever since graduating from NUS. All NUS staff and undergraduates, especially the hostel residents, would no doubt be very familiar with the eatery. As it is open 24/7, this is a popular place to grab late night supper. When I paid a visit to NUS recently, I made use of the opportunity to pop by here for my favourite roti john.

Roti John
S$2.50
Rating:

French bread is typically used in roti john. It is pan-fried in beaten egg mixture and onion so that it gets crispy on the outside. The cheese prata shop serves an ample portion of the bread along with a generous serving of sweet chilli sauce. Very savoury and satisfying! One serving is already enough to make a full meal!

For those of you who love the simple yet delightful roti john, here’s a bit of the history behind it.

The origins of roti john can be traced back to 1976. A man named Shukor ran a stall in Taman Serasi Hawker Centre, opposite the Singapore Botanical Gardens. At that time, his Caucasian expatriate customers (always addressed as “John! John!” regardless of their actual names) frequently ordered onion omelettes along with French bread. It got so popular that Shukor decided to fuse the two together.

And that is how roti john came to be, affectionately named after Shukor’s foreign clientele.

Locals grew to love this humble dish as well, which has clearly stood the test of time. It was named one of the 15 Singapore hawker legends by Makansutra in 2005.

I have yet to try out Shukor’s legendary roti john. Today, the stall is run by his daughter at Serangoon Garden Market and I would love to pay a visit one day! Despite being an ubiquitous dish, a good roti john is hard to come by. Most hawkers can’t get it right; either the French bread isn’t properly prepared, or the wrong kind of chilli sauce is used.

Sometimes chicken or tuna is also added but I still prefer roti john the way it’s meant to be — plain and at the same time oozing with rich egg fragrance and onion flavour. Oh and the chilli sauce has to be sweet and served in a large quantity for this dish to be properly enjoyed.

So what goes well with roti john? A piping hot glass of teh tarik (“pulled” tea) of course!

Teh Tarik (“Pulled” Tea)
S$0.80
Rating:

It is a shame that the drinks here are really mediocre. Teh tarik is supposed to have a frothy top from repeated “pulling”. But the guy who pulled the tea must have gotten tired of doing it. There was little froth on our teh tarik.

Even the Milo Dinosaur isn’t made the right way. It should be a saturated Milo drink topped with a generous heap of Milo powder. Instead, noticeably little Milo powder is used, resulting in a very watered down Milo that is nothing like what Milo Dinosaur should be like.

Maggi Goreng Pattaya
S$4.00
Rating:

An interesting dish worth mentioning is the Maggi goreng pattaya. We often come across nasi goreng pattaya. This Maggi version, however, has Maggi Mee substituted for the rice. I didn’t really fancy it though.

No matter how much I love their roti john, I have a major complaint about the service over here. At any one time they have a dozen staff on duty, yet service is always slow! We were there on a weekday evening when they didn’t have many customers. Most of the staff were standing around and chatting with one another. Each time we asked for someone for help, he would say “wait” and point to another guy. This went on for about 15 minutes before we finally had our orders taken! Such tardiness can get real frustrating when you are hungry or in a hurry.

They should have a warning sign somewhere that reads: Niqqi’s the Cheese Prata Shop — not for people on the move!

Niqqi’s the Cheese Prata Shop ( Halal certified)
16/18 Clementi Road
Singapore 129747
Tel: +65 6872 1030

Open 24 hours

News updates

February 3, 2007: My list of Best (& Worst) Restaurants in Singapore for 2006
- Nominated for “Best Hawker Stall”

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Khansama Tandoori Restaurant – Packed with Spices!

Veron Ang — Tue, 23 May 2006 15:50:57 +0000

A friend and I were at Khansama Tandoori Restaurant, a two-storey eatery in Little India that serves authentic North Indian delicacies. The alfresco dining area on the ground floor was brimming with customers, mostly tourists. We were escorted to the second level that had air conditioning, purple walls and few customers.

We had samosas as appetisers. These came with two dips — green curry and sweet chilli sauce. This fried turnover is more commonly known as the curry puff.

Samosas (curry puffs)
S$3
Rating:

The samosas turned out to be instant favourites! They were of a generous size and went well with the tasty dips. The spicy potato filling was yummy while the turnover itself was not too oily. I almost felt like I could eat it guilt-free!

Being new to North Indian cuisine, we spent a long time scrutinising the menu before deciding on what dishes to order. Almost all the menu items had Indian names. We had to read the English descriptions carefully to find out what each dish was.

Chicken curry
S$6.50
Rating:

Going for something that seems familiar, we opted for chicken curry as our first dish. Surely chicken curry can’t go wrong! The dish was cooked traditional North Indian style with a curry that’s thicker than your average Chinese curry, which tends to be quite soupy.

The gravy was satisfactory, but the chicken needed more work. The meat wasn’t as tender as I had hoped, and I felt we got more bone than meat.

Fish Masala
S$8.50
Rating:

The fish masala was definitely more delicious. It was cooked in onion sauce with tomatoes and cream. The onion sauce was one mean concoction of various Indian spices; it was bursting with flavour!

Saffron rice
S$4
Rating:

Along with our chicken and fish dishes, we had saffron rice, one of the many rice variations they served. It was a shade of yellow and had a tinge of sweetness.

Green salad
S$4
Rating:

With all the curry and all the spice, we needed a vegetable dish and found our choice in the green salad. It consisted of onion, cucumber, carrot, radish, green chilli, lemon and tomato. On paper it looked good, but in actual fact it was nothing more than an arrangement of fruit slices and cut vegetables on a dish! That was one dish we virtually left untouched. I rate it one star.

Teh Tarik (“pulled” tea)
S$1
Rating:

For drinks, we ordered teh tarik (“pulled” tea). It was frothy enough, but a tad too sweet. I was fine with it though.

Despite being a picky eater, I enjoyed my first North Indian meal very much. The service was prompt. The appetiser and gravy dishes were good. The restaurant was also nicely decorated in very “indian” colours (purple, red). With Indian music in the background and Indian music videos on the two flat screen television sets, all of it makes for a very unique Indian experience.

Khansama Tandoori Restaurant
Little India
166 Serangoon Road
Singapore 218050
Tel: +65 6299 0300
Service:
www.khansama.net

also in Little India

Lagnaa – Bare Foot Dining
Ananda Bhavan Restaurant – Wholesome Thosai
Sri Vijaya Restaurant – Just Plain Yummy!
Sri Kamala Vilas Restaurant – Chicken Masala Shiokness!
Mustard – The Many Flavours of Bengal and Punjab

View the original article and join the discussion at:
http://sparklette.net/food/khansama-tandoori/ | 6 comments

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Sparklette Magazine » teh tarik

Prata Wala – Conquer Your Late-Night Cravings Here

Prata Wala at Jurong Point

Prata Wala at NEX Mall

Prata Wala at Tiong Bahru Plaza

These posts may be related

Steven’s Tea Garden – Best Teh Tarik

Mr. Teh Tarik Cartel – Perfect to the T(ea)

Sri Kamala Vilas Restaurant – Chicken Masala Shiokness!

Sri Vijaya Restaurant – Just Plain Yummy!

Niqqi’s the Cheese Prata Shop – Not for People on the Move

Khansama Tandoori Restaurant – Packed with Spices!