Egg Onion Chili Prata For those who are pretty unaware, Chindamani Indian Restaurant is probably one of the slightly lesser known mamak-style establishments around that is has a presence that is more than what one would expect out of a mom-and-pop sort of mamak establishment — with outlets situated at Bishan, Yishun, Tampines and Hougang, the original stall being located at Blk 151A Serangoon North Avenue 2 and established since 2008, and is known for their crispy Roti Prata. That being said, the Blk 108 Hougang Avenue 1 outlet might be one of their more prominent outlets yet — taking up quite a large shop unit within the ground level of the low-rise HDB flats that it is located in, the Chindamani location here is pretty brightly lit and decorated with furnishings that are more function over form, yet eye-catching considering the vast use of bright green chairs for both indoor and outdoor dining areas here. Apart from all the floral decorations and the wallpapers on the wall that speaks of pretty heavy Indian influences here, the establishment is also notably tidy — very clean tables and a relatively clean floor save for how it is a tad oily. While establishments like Springleaf Prata Place and Casuarina Curry do serve up some pretty innovative variations of Roti Prata being a Roti Prata-centric establishment, Chindamani’s Roti Prata offerings are less varied — they do, however, serve up extensive list of items that one would usually be able to find at other mamak establishments; think Murtabak, Thosai, Uthappam, Roti John, Briyani, Fried Noodles / Rice and Nasi Padang / Lemak dishes. The list of beverages would be the usual suspects — different variations of Teh, Coffee, Nescafe, Milo, Horlicks, Halia and syrup drinks; just to name a few.
As with most other mamak-style establishments that we visit for the very first time, we found ourselves going for the the Roti Prata (Plain) as well as the Egg Onion Chili Roti Prata — one thing we did like about Chindamani is how they do allow patrons to have the flexibility to order a single piece of the Roti Prata (Plain) at $1.70 each; some places dk have a minimum order of at least two pieces for the Roti Prata (Plain). It is true enough that Chindamani’s Roti Prata (Plain) is as crispy as it gets — delivers on what is being promised on the paper. Their rendition is one that we found to be really paper-thin; all light and crispy but some might find the lack of a doughy tension to pull the Roti Prata apart and that slight lack of fragrance of flour in this rendition to be something that may not gel well with them. While we usually dislike how the Egg Prata typically tends to mess up the texture of Roti Prata, our Roti Prata of choice here would be the Egg Onion Prata — perhaps it may be due to the lightness of the Roti Prata here, but the egg here seems to have held all the elements inside the Egg Onion Chili Prata together; we also liked how the egg wasn’t overdone here, thus adding on as a contrasting texture with the Roti Prata instead. Coming with slices of green chili and chopped onions within, there is some element of crunch that adds on to that fluffy egg layering the crisp and light Roti Prata; the green chilli providing a hint of its distinctive flavour and a slight punch of heat to tickle the tastebuds. The curry served in the side here may be lacking of small chunks of meat as compared to what some other mamak establishments may serve up, but we did enjoy how our fish curry didn’t feel watered down and was actually rather flavourful — a detail which they had managed to sort out well.
For those looking out for mamak establishments that are well worth the visit, Chindamani Indian Restaurant would be a spot that we are likely to recommend to folks looking out for locations serving up light and crisp Roti Prata — despite being paper-thin, we liked how their rendition of the Roti Prata (Plain) isn’t overly greasy and doesn’t feel like it is being soaked up in grease even if left aside for a short while. Those looking for Roti Prata (Plain) that are crisp yet carries some form of tension to pull apart may want to look elsewhere however — we would still prefer that of Springleaf Prata Place in that regard; that being said, Chindamani’s filled Roti Prata does answer to those preferences well if one is open to try items like the Egg Onion Chili Prata; filled Roti Prata done well are actually a pretty difficult find. There are some Roti Prata-centric establishments that are worthy to make a special visit for — it would be a little bit silly to say the same on Chindamani considering how one’s impression of Chindamani’s Roti Prata is pretty much skewed towards the style of Roti Prata that they prefer. Still, we would say that we would consider dining at Chindamani if we are near one craving for some good Roti Prata, though we would be ordering one of their filled Roti Prata if that happens.
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