The Song of India

The Song of India is one of the few notable North Indian fine-dining establishments. Housed in a colonial monochromatic bungalow along Scotts Road, just steps away from Peranakan favourite Indocafe, the illustrious restaurant has been lauded for serving up refined Indian fare. Just like its contemporary interpretation of Indian cuisine, the restaurant is modern but lush, swathed in red velvet, sophisticated blacks and dripping in crystal chandeliers.

We seldom eat Indian food, so even if we live within walking distance to the restaurant, this is the first time we've been here. We were surprised to find the restaurant bustling with activity on a Thursday night. Evidently, it's favoured by those of the expense account class; we saw many a business executive dining here that night.

Service was faultless in terms of attitude but faltered on the execution front. I'd alerted them to my aversion to all things coriander/parsley/cilantro when placing our orders, but the curries arrived laden and laced (liberally) with the green herb. We had to send the dishes back, which meant that we were left waiting another 10 minutes between the appetizer and main courses.

Must-trys from the tandoor are the succulent Chicken Paprika Tikka ($33), enhanced with a spiced yoghurt marinade, and lipsmackingly moist Chargrilled Tasmanian Salmon Kebab ($33) encrusted with lime, mustard and herbs. The kitchen had thoughtfully split up the platters as they'd noted that we were sharing. 

The Chicken Tikka Masala ($34) juicy and boasting of a smoky fragrance from the tandoor, was bathed in a sumptuous onion, tomato and masala sauce.

The tumeric-coloured Cauliflower & Potato Masala ($24) was tempered with brown onions, dried chilli, fresh tomatoes and cumin.

The Plain Naan ($8), beautifully charred, were instrumental in mopping up the delicious curries.

Complimentary Papadam Rolls were sided by a trio of dips; a fruity chutney, minty yoghurt and spiced eggplant. We immediately took to the strawberry-flavoured jam, it was a lovely counter to the subtle spice of the papadam.

Also complimentary, the amuse bouche of a well-balanced potato cutlet and a mint yoghurt.

The outdoor dining on the porch was very pretty, but mosquito-ridden. Even so, we noticed a bunch of Caucasians dining here. Maybe they're more resistant to our local mozzies, hmm?

Another outdoor dining option at the courtyard.


The Song of India
No. 33 Scotts Road
Tel: 6836 0055
Open daily from 12noon to 3pm; 6pm to 11pm for dinner
Website: www.thesongofindia.com

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