NAGERCOIL ARYA BHAVAN

"Where God goes to get his Dosa"

People get cravings for the most random meals, but for me Masala Dosa is high up the summit of Food Mountain. Brought up in the hills of Tamil Nadu, my weekly treat was to head to Kurinji's and get a dosa, breaking apart the wonderfully crispy batter and dipping it into a tangy, rich sambar.

Having researched quite heavily before coming to Singapore, Arya Bhavan ranked high on lists by people who seemed to know what they were talking about. In the words of Morcheeba: WHO CAN YOU TRUST?, but sometimes you have to gamble.

The service was a mix of polite and scatterbrained as so many South Indian restaurants are. However within ten minutes of sitting down and trying to block out the constant screaming children behind me (satanic wail of purgatory), my dosa arrived and momentarily brought relief. I dug in with the ferocity of someone who hasn't had a decent dosa in months, plunging my fingers into the sambar with a chunk of dosa and almost too nervous to taste it. 

Bliss washed over in calm waves of nostalgia and famishment. My whole spirit turned and lights began to appear in my visual field. I inhaled the meal in less than 5 minutes, perfectly crisp dosa, amazing chutneys, tart and tangy sambar and a great, well seasoned potato masala hidden inside.

This is what a dosa should taste like. Yes, it's cooked in ghee and has a naughty element to it, but goddamn the diet when there are feasts like this waiting to steal your breath.

These recommendations are just personal opinions based on my palate, things change, chefs get fired or replaced, places open-close, relocate, so take it all with a pinch of MSG  and discover your own gems too. But please do try a few of these, they have been researched exhaustively.