Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
170
be warned, you can spend the whole day there—and night, too, because Mustafa's is open
24 hours every day. This maze of a depar tment store fills 2 city blocks full of impor ted
items from India. Granted, much of it is everyday stuff, but the real finds are rows of saris
and silk fabrics; two floors of jaw-dr opping gold je welry in I ndian designs; an entir e
supermarket packed with spices and packets of instant curries; r eady-made Indian-style
tie-dye and embr oidered casual w ear; incense and per fume oils; cotton tapestries and
textiles for the home—the list goes on. And prices can 't be beat, seriously.
Little India offers all sor ts of small finds, especially thr oughout
Little India Arcade
(48 Serangoon Rd.) and just acr oss the street on Campbell Lane at
Kuna's,
3 Campbell
Lane (
&
65/6294-2700
). Here you can buy inexpensiv e Indian costume je welry like
bangles, earrings, and necklaces in ex otic designs and a wide assor tment of decorativ e
dots (called
pottu
in Tamil) to grace your forehead. Indian handicrafts include brass work,
woodcarvings, dyed tapestries, wo ven cotton household linens, small curio items, v ery
inexpensive incense, colorful pictures of Hindu gods, and other cer emonial items. Look
here also for Indian cooking pots and household items.
Across the str eet fr om Little I ndia Ar cade,
Tekka Centr e
is being r enovated. This
popular market carried stall after stall of inexpensive
salwar kameez,
or Punjabi suits, the
three-piece outfits—long tunic o ver pants, with matching shawl—worn b y nor thern
Indian ladies, plus lots of cheap Indian-made prêt-a-port. They've all put up in a tempo-
rary location along Race Course R oad, not far from Tekka Centre.
Punjab Bazaar,
#01-07 Little India Arcade, 48 Serangoon Rd. (
&
65/6296-0067
),
carries a more upmarket choice of
salwar kameez,
in many styles and fabrics. I f nothing
strikes your fancy at P unjab Bazaar, try
Roopalee Fashions,
a little far ther down at 88
Serangoon Rd. (
&
65/6298-0558
). Both shops carry sandals, bags, and other accessories
to complement your new outfit.
8
4
BEST BUYS A TO Z
ANTIQUES
A 5-minute walk north of Orchard Road is the mellow
Tanglin Shopping
Centre
(Tanglin Rd.), whose quiet halls ar e just packed with little antiques boutiques.
Tanglin is a quiet place, which adds to the museum feel as ou stroll past window displays
of paintings, tapestries, and curios made of jade or brass—all kinds of quality collectibles
and gifts. A couple of good shops to visit ar e
Antiques of the O rient,
#02-40 Tanglin
Shopping Centre (
&
65/6734-9351
), selling old prints and maps, and
Aspara,
#02-30
Tanglin Shopping Centre (
&
65/6735-5018
), with an interesting collection of Chinese
and Burmese antiques. There are many more—this is a place to r eally explore.
If you continue along Tanglin Road, you'll find
Tudor Court,
with a few more inter-
esting shops inside, including
Antiquity Hands of the H ills
(
&
65/6735-5332
), with
textiles, jewelry, and curio items from Tibet.
To get an ey eful of some local furnishings in antique I ndonesian, Chinese, and P er-
anakan styles, take a taxi out to
Dempsey Road
and stroll amid the many war ehouses.
Inside each ar e dealers like the
Shang Antique,
full of
Chinese antiques and B urmese
teak, at Blk. 16, #01-04/05 Dempsey Rd. (
&
65/6388-8838
); and the
Renaissance Art
Gallery,
with displays of Chinese figurines, Southeast Asian Buddha images, and chests,
at B lk. 15, #01-06 D empsey Rd. (
&
65/6474-0338
). There ar e mor e than a doz en
places here, each specializing in differ ent wares. Some have large furnitur e pieces, fr om
carved teak I ndonesian-style reproduction furniture to authentic pieces fr om mainland
