Little Bangladesh Food Trail @ Desker Road Singapore

Today, we had a most interesting day in Singapore's unofficial "Little Bangladesh" with Jason and Alexandra (known to her friends as Alex).

Jason and Alex developed a deep interest and close friendships with the Bangladesh community here over the last five years. Jason does social work with the community and Alex does research work with National University of Singapore. Their interest even took them to Bangladesh to visit their friends' hometowns.

There is no "Little Bangladesh" officially but a concentration of Bangladeshi businesses at Desker Road between Serangoon Road and Kampong Kapor Road.

At the heart of Little Bangladesh is "Bangladesh Square" which is a favourite gathering spot of Bangladeshi workers in Singapore during their off days. The square is located at the intersection of Desker Road and Lembu Road. This square used to be packed with people on weekends but it was quiet this Sunday due to Covid-19 pandemic social distancing measures.

Roberts Lane across Serangoon has a row of Bangladeshi businesses focussing on blankets and luggages. Bangladeshis call this the "Blanket Mart".

The main strip of "Little Bangladesh" is along Desker Road with extension at Roberts Lane. The whole stretch can be covered in 30 minutes walk and stroll (longer with eating stops). (Image courtesy of Google Map.)

Bangladesh is a nation of rivers with over 700 waterways including the mighty Ganges fanning like veins through the land. The rivers and their estuaries roll down from the majestic Himalayas flowing through the fertile flat plains pouring into the vast Bay of Bengal. The waters are rich with fish and seafood, and the fertile plains are blessed with grains, fruits and vegetables. The natural wealth of the land is reflected in Bangladeshi cuisine. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia.)

In Singapore's Little Bangladesh, there are market stalls catering to Bangladeshi cuisine. The fruits, vegetables, fish and sundries are imported from Malaysia, Myanmar or Bangladesh.

First time I am seeing a Kakrol (Spiny or Teasle Gourd). It is eaten sliced and pan fried with spices.

A Pointed Gourd, another vegetable which I am seeing for the first time. There are many ways to use Pointed Gourd such as in spicy stews and curries.

Bengali lime or Gondhoraj Lebu is considered the king of limes. It is sought after for its flavour and fragrance.

They say Hilsa is the national fish of Bangladesh. Hilsa is a brackish and freshwater fish found in the rivers and estuaries of Bangladesh. The Ganges River flows into the Bay of Bengal at Bangladesh's south coast. The bony fish is used in numerous Bangladesh dishes from fried fish to stews to curries. The fish tastes sweet with a bit of earthiness.

Catla or South Asian carp is also a popular fish in Bangladesh cuisine.

One of the things that distinguishes Bangladeshi cuisine is use of mustard oil. It adds a mild heat and signature mustard taste to the dishes. Mustard is one of the defining flavours of Bangladeshi cuisine.

Samosas are found across South Asia. These pyramid shaped Bangladeshi samosas known as Shigara have single layer shortcrust pastry shells filled with curried potatoes and dried chili. They taste great - potato sweetness with mild spice flavour and quite robust spiciness from dried chili.

Most Bangladesh restaurants have samosas. We got ours from Khana Basmati along Desker Road.

We had our lunch where locals of Little Bangladesh go, New Shapla Restaurant at 37, Desker Road.

Everything here for $48. We had two servings of curry lamb shank, curry Hilsa fish, curry Catla fish, a stewed purple colour spinach, lamb biryani, dhal lamb biryani, curried mash potato, and naan roti.

Five of us shared these and we were really full at the end of it. I enjoyed every dish and would be back for a detailed review.

Bangladeshi cuisine is best eaten with the right hand (it is impolite to use the left hand). Using the hand mixes the dhal with rice and roti well. It also helps ensure that tiny fish bones are removed from the food.

The spices and flavours were well balanced and gentle. I was able to taste and enjoy the natural flavours of the ingredients. Yes, I was able to taste the mustard flavour in the curried potato and I think it is wonderfully delicious.

(The biryani here are flavourful but made with a mix of jasmine and basmati rice so it is quite lumpy.)

The naan roti is freshly hand made with a charcoal fired tandoor oven. Every Bangladeshi restaurant serves some sweets. We got ours from Mohammadi Restaurant at the junction of Desker Road and Lembu Road. We had (clockwise) Mishti Doi, Faluda and Roshogulla. I like them all. Mishti Doi is creamy baked yogurt with jaggery (cane sugar). It is sweet sourish and has a subtle bready taste. Faluda is chilled milk with seeds, nuts, jelly. Roshogulla is semolina dough dumpling saturated with sugar syrup (the brown one with rose syrup). In Little Bangladesh, you will not miss the little paan stalls set up on the five foot ways. Paan are traditional sweets made with raw betel leaf, betel fruit, spices, nuts, candy, and pastes. The ingredients are spread on a couple of raw betel leaves and folded into a small cone. The paan is eaten in one mouthful. I got a 50 cents one. It was sweet like candy and the leaves gave it a grassy green, subtly bitter taste. Some of the ingredients are gritty to the bite. It is refreshing and I like it. Obviously, different combinations of ingredients will give a different taste and fragrance to the paan. My thanks to Jason and Alex for introducing me to Singapore's Little Bangladesh, a historic, new foodie haven, new dimension to me which I would like to explore more. Look out for future posts in my Little Bangladesh series as I explore the area more.

Desker Road was named after Andre Filipe Desker who ran one of the earliest and largest butcheries in Singapore in the 1860s. At that time, the intersection of Desker Road and Lembu Road was a cattle rearing and slaughterhouse area. Lembu is the Malay word for cattle.

Up to the 1980s(?), Desker Road was a designated red light district and it still has that reputation, especially among older Singaporeans. (Image of Desker Road back lane in 1954 where the real action was, courtesy of NAS.)

Date visited: 4 Oct 2020