Chettinadu New

I was walking around the hood and stumbled on this place by accident. I didn’t really know what to expect, no one spoke English, and all I saw were my fellow blue collar friends from different mothers… awesome.
With my hand gestures and pointing, the waiter brought a banana leaf, and start dumping food on it… yogurt, curry, yellow rice, list goes on. Funniest part was the rice, the waiter brought this helmet looking metal bowl full of rice.
As everyone else, I used my hands to dine. I did smell like Indian food all day but so what?!
It was too much food and I had to fold the leaf as a sign that I had enough. There was no desert, but I got a cup of coffee. Paid about $ 9, which I think was great deal.
This is not a typical touristy joint, and surely not for everyone, but there is nothing wrong with taking a chance on the back alley of Singapore…

The food here is solid.
My colleague who knows his Indian food swears by this place and says his friends also call it a favorite. That’s good enough for me.
Upon being seated, a big banana leaf is placed in front of you and a gentleman walks by with 3 containers full of food to slop off on the leaf. You choose your main dish whether it’s a fish curry, mutton this and that, chicken curry, masala, etc. I chose the Masala Chicken. They bring your choice on a small plate and another guy comes by with a big bowl of rice. The rice guy is Chinese and I was so tempted to make some kind of inappropriate joke, but I held back. «Why the rice guy gotta be Chinese?» Didn’t think it would fly w/​my coworkers. Anyhoo they give you as much rice as you wish and always come by to give you more if you wish. Also another guy comes by with your choice of curry sauce (fish or chicken) and drowns the rice in it.
I ate with my hand to go for the full experience. Afterwards, they have a couple of nice sinks with good handsoap to wash off the turmeric stains from your fingers.
After your meal they bring you a small cup of warm tapioca pudding. It was quite tasty with cashews and some other stringy ingredient (wasn’t sure what it was).
Coworker also urged me to try the butter milk. First time trying it and that was definitely not the taste I was expecting. It’s like drinking pureed cheese.
Not sure what the bill came out to as colleague generously paid for us 4.
I’d return for a nice Indian meal.