Syed Alwi Road is a street sprawled with too many North Indian restaurants, overwhelming tourists or even locals who are less familiar to the area. Thankfully, one amongst the crowd stands out – Copper Chimney, a Chindian restaurant located across the side entrance of Mustafa Shopping Centre. When its current CEO, Vikram Natarajan took over the reins two and a half years ago, the restaurant’s dingy interior and menu were given a major revamp, along with a new chef at the helm.

Start with Chindian Specialties

As someone who admittedly hasn’t been exposed much to Indian cuisine (aside from the flipping goodness of roti pratas), take it from me when I say that Copper Chimney is a good place to start for fellow beginners. Their specialty lies in a good variety of Chindian dishes, from well-known staples like Chicken Manchurian ($11.50, above) – a combination of chicken and freshly sautéed vegetables in a sweet and sour brown sauce, to Szechwan Fried Rice ($11) that marries strong Indian and Chinese spices in as balanced a way as possible. One of my favourites that day was the Salt and Pepper Baby Corn ($9, right). Fried in a salt and pepper batter, the baby corn carries heavy notes of pepperiness that stay in your mouth until you wash it down with an ice cold beer or their recommended Mint Calamansi ($4).

Sizzling Desserts & Oil-free Roti

For mains, sinful as may be, you’ll never go wrong with a heavenly duo of Garlic Naan ($3.50) with Butter Chicken ($11.50). But on top of that, what I recommend adding to your bread basket, is an order of Rumali Roti ($3.50) – a hand-tossed thin flatbread cooked without oil, on the convex side of a hot wok. Peer through the glass windows of the kitchen and you might just see some skillful hand-tossing in action. When it comes to desserts, find refreshing comfort in the sorbet-like Lychee Kulfi ($7), where the traditional Indian ice cream is given a unique local twist. Or go fork-first in the ever rich and decadent Sizzling Brownie with Ice Cream ($7.50) on a hot plate, the chocolate sauce sizzles when poured over, wrapping the vanilla ice cream and brownie with intense and warm gooeyness. Copper Chimney, 100 Syed Alwi Road #01-100, Singapore 207676 See also: Best Indian dishes in Singapore Favourite Chinese restaurants in Singapore

Written by Peh Yi Wen