Monday, October 24, 2005

Bombay Woodlands Restaurant, Singapore

Paper Masala Dosa

Holy Cow! (and I say that as a mildly intentional pun given this place is an Indian vegetarian place) I was totally floored tonight. I'm not a huge fan of the usual South Indian curry and rice thing, and I'm also far from a vegetarian (with the possible exception of Original Sin). So when the sign in front of this place said that it was an Indian Vegetarian place (19 Tanglin Road #B1-01/02, Tanglin Shopping Centre, 6235-2712), I clinched up a bit, thinking that I wouldn't like it. Oh man, was I wrong. This is one of the better meals that I've had. Who'd have known??

Tamarind RiceWhat the heck was so good? The Paper Masala Dosa simply kicked ass. It was paper thin with a good amount of grease, and one of the chutneys was even more mindblowing: made from coconut milk, chili, and dal, this chutney almost tasted like a spicy sesame. WOW. The Tamarind Rice was also cooked just right and with just the right amount of spices - no more, no less (gotta love the raita and little papads too). The mildly sour rasam soup was thin and spicy, providing a great complement to an already amazing meal. I finished it off with some masala tea as I questioned my carnivorous values.

OK, honestly, I felt a bit incomplete after this meal - I was almost craving a McDonald's burger. But I was still totally blown away by this place and never thought that I could like a vegetarian meal so much. And it was cheap too (by Orchard Road standards anyway). I'm definitely coming back here.

Interestingly, it looks like they are open at 9:30 AM, which makes me contemplate coming here for breakfast one of these days. They've got a buffet lunch too; I normally hate buffets, but I'm willing to give this one a try. Two very big thumbs up from me here. (Wow - I guess I really do like South Indian food after all!)

5 comments:

shakester said...

cool- good to se you liked this stuff! dosas and the like are more like 'snacks' in south indian food, but serve as wholesome meals. for breakfast you could try idlis (they're steamed rice things) that wont be too oily or anything at the time of the morning.
there are a couple of really small but excellent places in Little India for this kind of food0 awesome.

Also, have you been to Vansh at Stadium waterfront? Its got loads of kebabs (indian style) and other north indian cuisine- expensive but real tasty!

Anonymous said...

Hi, Can you post the cost of the paper dosa? Just to get an idea as to how costly the place is. I am a student in Singapore. Like your blog, keep writin'.

bma said...

Thanks! I think the dosa was S$5.50 (US$3.25).

Brian said...

i would think dosa could be found cheaper in singapore. but maybe that seems about right.

but in india, the dosa is USD $0.30.

Anonymous said...

Want the authentic thing. Try Madras Woodlands in Upper Dickson Road. They make dosas, idlis and vadas (like a salty spicy fried donut) the way it's made in India. Two hungry guys can eat for around 9 bucks.