Today we set out in search of a boat store. We had found the store listed in the directory from the marina, and had absolutely no clue where it was. We gave the taxi driver the address and he took us to the southeast part of the island, an area much farther out than we have already been. As we got further from downtown, the skyscrapers thinned out. This area has a lot of turn of the century row homes, but most of the buildings are newer townhouse style residential buildings or low rise condos. There were even a few single family residences, though the houses are set very close to one another. We passed a couple of very dilapidated fancy colonial homes. We couldn’t believe the Singapore government hasn’t confiscated the property and done something with the building since they are so fervent about keeping buildings well maintained.

The boat store was not what we were looking for. We needed boat maintenance things like ropes, a breaker, pins, shaft packing, oil pads, etc., and this place sold major components. This is the kind of place you go to when building and outfitting a boat. We were disappointed they didn’t have what we were looking for because it was a long and expensive cab ride. It was lunch time and there was a restaurant across the street, called Zurna, which caught our eye. The sign says Indian Fusion food. We are partial to Asian fusion food, so this may very well be up our kind of place.

We went inside and sat down. The décor was a little eclectic, with a few nautical pieces and several dolls. There were several portraits of Lord Durga around, including on the menu cover. She is a Hindu deity married to Lord Shiva. We have seen many images of Shiva in the Hindu temples we have visited. He seems to be an important deity, but we weren’t familiar with Lord Durga.

The manager, Shouvik (pictured above with Lord Durga), came over and explained

that they specialize in Chinese dishes that have been altered for the Indian palate. He quickly figured out we were tourists and asked us how much we knew about Indian food. Of course, we know very little. He told us to trust him and he would bring out some of the best dishes of the house for us to try. He brought out a parade of food until we were stuffed, then when we were sure we couldn’t eat any more, brought out dessert. All the food was really good.

The first dish he brought out is called American corn pepper saltus, and it is one of their Indian-Chinese creations. It is corn battered and fried with onions, green onions and seasonings. The next dish was Tandoori chicken, which is seasoned chicken with bones in cooked in a Tandoori oven, and served with a mint sauce. It was tender. Tandoori chicken is one of the dishes we already knew we liked. The next dish was called fish paturi. It is Itilsa fish topped with a mustard sauce, then wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed, also very tender. Then came the Kasha Magsho, mutton curry in a thick gravy sauce. It is simmered in a wok so the meat absorbs the sauce. We are not sure what is in the sauce, but it is good. Then came another Chinese-Indian dish, chili chicken in a soy sauce. This was probably our least favorite of the group, but it was still good. It was served with roti bread, which is similar to pita bread.

For dessert we got Pati Shapta, crepes with shredded coconut in a thick milk sauce. The texture of the sauce was almost like cottage cheese. We also got Kesar Pista Kulfi, which is sweetened milk frozen into a block and topped with a pistachio and saffron sauce. It almost had a flower like taste to it. It also had small strings of spaghetti in it, as well as small, clear strings of something that seemed to resemble pasta. We were told the clear strings are a cornstarch mixture.

While we ate, we chatted with Shouvik. The owner of the restaurant came out to greet us. We had a really great time there. They invited us to come back, but alas our schedule will probably not be able to fit them in.

Back in the cab we asked about another boat store listed in the directory. It was a long away, in the direction opposite of the marina. We didn’t want to take another expensive cab ride to this store only to find out they also didn’t have what we were looking for, so we headed back to the marina to try to get more information about the right store for us.