Madras New Woodlands Restaurant

20 years later and I'm walking into the same institution that's weathered massive change in Singapore's Little India landscape.  Same old decor (maybe the mural is new) but the tables, chairs are the same. The metal-rimmed, vinyl-lined seats. The waiters are older but still cheerful as long as you visit off-peak. There's no rush and no pressure as you pore through the menu. Baffling if you never had Indian Vegetarian but you get the gist fairly quickly.

Idly Set

The staples are the lentil sambar or stew (in bowl), the coconut chutney (white) and the tomato chutney (reddish brown).  The various forms of carbohydrates carry the staples, but ingeniously delivering a different experience with each.  Idlys are steamed cakes made from rice/lentil, broken down by fermentation, and supposedly better for the body since it's much easier to digest.  No chewing required especially if you eat it with the condiments, since it breaks down easily and is a healthy snack, typically eaten by Indians for breakfast or at tea.

Rava Thosai Set

The Thosai family is actually also made with the same batter mix as the Idly but probably in different proportions, and then ladled onto a hot greased griddle and left until it forms a crispy almost wafer-thin pancake that takes the size and shape of the griddle ie. a pretty sizable circumference.  The Rava Thosai, however, is made from semolina which has little to no trace of fermentation.  Here, it is laced with cumin seeds and sliced green chili for added heat and kick.  This is a favorite especially with kids who are typically averse to the aftertaste of the fermentation.

The food here is not posh by any means, especially since it's got the prison-feel with the steel, compartmentalized platters, but for me, it's a nice break from the rich meats and other proteins we consume too much of.  It is no wonder that this is the stuff served at Indian temples, and often for nothing except a voluntary donation.  If you steer clear from the deep fried breads, these snacks are a good way to put the body right on track.  And it tastes a lot better than most health foods out there.  With more than 5000 years of history, the Indians must know a thing or 2 about how to get this right.

And if you want to complete your Indian experience, walk across the street to Madras' sister shop which offers Ayurvedic treatments and offers Shiro Dhara, the ancient treatment of dripping oil onto the brow chackra (the third eye) located on your forehead.  It is supposed to give you a glow and take years (read lines, crows' feet and other wrinkles) off!

For the original post and photos, visit edeats.blogspot.com

I had 4hrs with 3 Japanese Ladies with a total age of about 160 years old. "No shopping." they said.

So, in S'pore, if shopping is out, then, food is in. Me and fren wanted to bring them to somewhere S'porean, authentic and somewhere that could showcase S'pore's multi-culture society. Chinatown was out, it is a tourist trap, selling lots of junk food. The Malay Village was out, Arab Street has no MRT. So, Little India was our best bet (interesting sight, sound and smell) and we took the risk of introducing the 3 elderly Japanese ladies with the tasting of Indian food.

Went to Madras because it showcases a typical old fashion, authenic Indian Veg restaurant. The ladies were very amazed with the set-up, even went "Ah...Ohs..." over simple stuff like the drinking jugs and cups. These 3 friends also created quite a stir in the restaurant. Everyone's eyes were on us.

First, I ordered: regular Tea for fren and a marsala tea for me, a paper dosai to share by all. "No more? Just these? 5 pple?" asked the waiter still staring at my elderly Jap frens. "Yes. Try first then order. Can?" I said.

2 cups of tea came, and the waiter patiently provided us with 6 more cups and 6 more teaspoons. You see, my 3 jap frens were taking turns to try our teas. Suprisingly, all voted to order my Masala Tea. Me & my fren stared at each other in disbelief. "Better try our own tea now. Maybe they mixed them up." said fren.

Verdict: No mixing up of teas. My Marsala tea was disappointingly so very weak that the masala frangant is so very faint. No wonder my Jap friends can take a liking to it.

Paper Dosai came. More "Ahs...and Ooosss" by the ladies.Then the staff was so nice that they made effort to perform the teh tarik of the 3 marsala tea for us (without any special request)at our table. More "Ahs...and Ooos" and clapping of hands the typical Jap way. We had such fun! While they enjoyed the paper dosai and tea, the diners and staff in the restaurant enjoyed looking at them/us (the only non-Indians table of diners). We ordered another paper dosai coz it disappeared really fast to our amazement. Our Jap frens interestingly love the dips too. (I personally think that the dips were weak.)

Diners at the next table begin to strike conversations with the ladies. (I'm so proud of my fellow friendly S'porean)Then the restaurant supervisor introduced the "Big SpaceShip / Ball" looking food, Buttra I think. Which we ordered and enjoyed.

Then, he came by again, giving us free snacks for us to try. So sweet of him. Then the diners at the next table wanted to introduce Mango Lagssi and other dessert but we can't add anymore stuff into our tummy.

We all had a great time. Me & my fren were proud of our fellow friendly S'porean and the excellent service provided by the staff of the restaurant. The Manager was not present yet the Supervisor and his team did extremely well in delighting us. Well done!!!

Ratings:

I gave perfect 10 for Value because, I believe, I can't pay for such spontanous service elsewhere and at Mandras, not only it's free, it came from the staff, out of the goodness of their hearts and pride of their food and culture. We just spent about $15 as a group and we were over the moon ; )

I gave perfect 10 for Service. You & I know they deserved it ; )

Though the dips and teas were weak, they were just nice for overseas friends. Hence, I'll bring my overseas associates & friends here in future! Well done guys!

Thursday (26 June 08). Had dinner here with JC. We ordered:

Poori Bajji

2x Chola Battura with Chenna

Salted Lassi

Mango Lassi

F&B:

The Chola Battura was not too bad, but I enjoyed the one at Annalakshmi 2 weeks ago a lot more. It was my first time trying Poori Bajji. It looks like a mini-battura since it is served "inflated" as well. The taste reminds me of chapatti.

It was also my first time trying Salted Lassi. It did not appeal to my taste buds and tasted absolutely vile to me. I did not mind the salty taste, but it was the strange "cheesy" taste that bothered me very much and I could not bring myself to have more than a few sips of it.

The Mango Lassi was ok, but lassi isn't really my thing.

A/S:

Simple and no-frills, yet clean.

Value:

Good.

Service:

Excellent. The waiter was patient and friendly to explain to us the items in the menu. I noticed that he was more than happy to explain the items that were being served to the tourist at the adjacent table. The service was indeed sincere.

19 July 2007 : I came here to have dinner & a gossip session with my buddy T. It was not crowded at 645pm but there was a steady stream of customers (locals & tourists).

We ushered ourselves to a table near the back of the restaurant and immediately a waiter appeared to serve us our drinking cups. We browsed through the menu and ordered the following :

1) Set Dinner (2 types of rice, chappati, a variety of vegetables, a salad and a sweet dessert)

2) Battura

3) 2 cups of Mango Lassi

4) 1 cup of tea

TOTAL : $20.70

The food was served almost immediately. My Battura was perfect – a nice and fluffy balloon filled with air. I gave it a good poke to let out the air inside and it collapsed. The Battura was just the way I like it…. Crispy, light and chewy. The Dhal and vegetable curry served with the Battura was tasty and not spicy at all.

T liked his set dinner but found the flavour of the food rather stark. T also found the whole array of little dishes of food rather confusing – having no idea what food is in each cup or how to go about combining the rice and dishes together. It was like a journey of discovery and the assault on the taste buds was not subtle at all.

We both loved our mango lassi. The lassi was thick and served cold. It had a decent balance of mango and yoghurt. It was not too sweet.

I had a cup of tea. It was perfect… served piping hot. A great way to end my meal.

This is a good place to have a quiet meal in an air-conditioned space…a feeding place far from the maddening crowd.