A hearty serving of masala comprising potatoes, onions and green chillies stuffed inside a hot, crispy thosai that you can dip in a flavourful coconut chutney and fragrant sambar.
Is there really a better way to start your day?
A masala thosai lover, I am spoilt for choice whenever I’m in Little India, where several popular eateries serve South India’s most cherished comfort food in various styles.
But thosai, much like everything else in life, isn’t immune to inflation.
For instance, A2B Veg Restaurant charges $6.50 for a simple serving of the dish. Komala’s charges $6.60, while MTR in Serangoon Road, which serves one of the best masala thosais in town, charges $7.
It can be a rather expensive affair.
So I embarked on a quest to the heartlands, hoping to find coffee shop stalls that serve decent yet affordable thosai.
What makes a decent thosai, you ask? A good thosai – made from fermented batter of rice and urad dal – should be spongy and crisp on the outside and white and soft inside. Of course, the potato masala and accompanying chutney and sambar condiments matter too.
For the purpose of my search, value and the coffee shop’s ambience are taken into account as well.
Located in a well-renovated Kopitiam Corner at Vista Point shopping mall is a stall (Al Fazilah) that serves one of the cheapest masala thosais in town.
I learnt that the low pricing was a result of a “Budget Meal” scheme implemented by the Housing Development Board (HDB) in heartlands across Singapore. The initiative, which started in May 2023, provides affordable meal options ($3.50 or less for food, $1.20 or less for drinks) to low-income families and the elderly.
In line with the scheme, HDB launched a BudgetMealGoWhere website – in collaboration with GovTech – for customers to locate the stalls with ease. Patrons can also add budget meal locations to the list online, pending a few verifications steps.
A plethora of thosai options can be found on the BudgetMealGoWhere website among 291 coffee shop stalls. Out of these, 125 are halal-certified.
Away from the heartlands, there are actually a few stalls at Tekka Centre in Little India that sell masala thosai for a mere $2.50 – Naga Indian Food Stall, Sri Aachi Aapakadai and Sri Tiffin Stall – to name a few.
As these outlets aren’t considered “HDB coffee shops”, they are not listed on the BudgetMealGoWhere website.
If you come across any affordable masala thosai options around Singapore, do add the entry to the list – so we can all savour thosai while saving money.
Al Fazilah (548 Woodlands Drive 44)
Thosai: 3.5 (out of 5) Chutney/Sambar: 3.5 Ambience: 4.5 (clean and the food court is air-conditioned) Value: 5
Quite possibly one of the cheapest masala thosais in town, the meal was well worth the price, both in terms of portion and taste.
For just $2.50, you get a masala thosai with three condiments – spicy sambal, coconut chutney and chicken curry.
AK Amir Indian Muslim Food (610 Tampines North Drive 1)
Thosai: 3 Chutney/Sambar: 4.5 Ambience: 3.5 Value: 4.5
Thosai lovers can attest to how important a good chutney is. Made in a variety of forms, such as a tomato relish or yogurt, with cucumber, coconut, onion or mint, the dipping sauce can turn an average thosai into a good one.
AK Amir Indian Muslim Food in Tampines is an example of this dynamic. It serves the best chutney on this list, even though the masala thosai ($2.80) was rather mediocre.
Al Falah (118 Rivervale Drive)
Thosai: 2 Chutney/Sambar: NA (fish curry) Ambience: 4.5 Value: 3
Located on the second storey of Rivervale Plaza, Al Falah restaurant is clean, comfortable and air-conditioned, giving it the best ambience on this list.
The masala thosai ($3.30) however, comprised cabbage and corn – a shocking faux pas. Furthermore, the dish was served with fish curry instead of chutney – which would’ve been fine if I was having prata.
RSAK Indian Muslim Food (429A Choa Chu Kang Avenue 4)
Thosai: 4.5 Chutney/Sambar: 3.5 Ambience: 3.5 Value: 4
RSAK Indian Muslim Food in Choa Chu Kang had the tastiest masala thosai on this list, as well as the most generous amount of masala. The thosai had the right amount of crispiness and thickness to it, and the masala had the right amount of spice.
The chutney and sambar were not the best, but at just $3, you can’t have it all.
Mr K Prata (303 Anchorvale Link)
Thosai: 3 Chutney/Sambar: 3 Ambience: 3 Value: 4
Mr K Prata in Anchorvale Link had the biggest thosai and a relatively generous serving of masala for $3, but sadly, sambar was the only accompaniment. Thosai simply isn’t complete without chutney.
Despite the large portion, it was the most underwhelming thosai on this list, with its thin and flimsy texture.
