Deepavali 2020: 7 Best Places to Buy Indian Sweets in Singapore

If your knowledge of Indian food stops at prata, then you’re missing out on the amazing world of Indian sweets. 

Some of the most famous Indian sweets include gulab jamun (round deep fried milk balls) and jalebi (orange pretzel-like deep fried snack glistening with sugar syrup).

Here are 7 places to buy fresh or packaged Indian sweets for this year’s Deepavali celebrations.

 

Celebrate Deepavali 2020 with Indian sweets

Deepavali falls on Saturday 14 November this year, and this year it’s safe to say that we are all in need of some sweetness in our lives. Also known as the Festival of Lights, the dazzling and colourful decorations symbolise light conquering the darkness.

On Deepavali, Hindu and Sikh families decorate their homes, cook up a storm, and invite family and friends to their homes. Trays of Indian sweets are passed around as everyone makes merry. 

Celebrations are going to be muted this year due to the caps on the number of people per social gathering. On the bright side, that means more sweets per person.

Here’s where to get your fix of Indian sweets.

 

Kailash Parbat

• 3 Belilios Road #01-03 Hilton Garden Inn Singapore 219924
• 93 Syed Alwi Road Singapore 207669
• 1 Changi Business Park Crescent #01-10/12/13 Plaza 8 Singapore 486025

Kailash Parbat is part of a global chain founded in the 1950s with North Indian vegetarian restaurants in seven countries, including a great many in India. They have 3 branches in Singapore and operate as a caterer here too.

For Deepavali, they’ve rolled out a menu of sweets that can be ordered and delivered online. They supply sweets by the kilo and prices range from $35 to $50 per kg. Notable sweets include kaji katli (cashew fudge), mitochur ladoo (deep fried balls of floor in sugar syrup) and a house special sugar-free dry fruit sweet. 

 

Bismillah Biryani

• 50 Dunlop Street Singapore 209379
• Nexus @ One-North 1 Fusionopolis Link #01-03 Singapore 138542
• 79 Shenton Way #01-04/05 Singapore 079119
• (Outlet for pickup) 10E Sixth Avenue (JW Brothers Coffeeshop)

Bismillah Biryani restaurant makes the lofty claim that they serve the best biryani anywhere. Since they’ve won the Michelin Bib Gourmand Award four times, we’re not going to argue.

You can order their food and sweets online and pick them up at any of their restaurants or their outlet at Sixth Avenue. Sweets on offer include kulfi (frozen dairy dessert a bit like ice cream) and mishti doi (yoghurt dessert). They also have a $15 kulfi take-home pack that serves 7 people.

 

Bikanervala

• 65 Airport Boulevard, Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3, Level 4 (Viewing Mall) Singapore 819663
• 253 Tanjong Katong Road Singapore 437041

Vegetarian restaurant and sweet shop Bikanervala is part of a chain that started in India over 100 years ago ad now has branches in several countries, including Nepal, New Zealand and the US.

Their massive variety of freshly-made sweets includes milk cake and coconut burfi (also a type of milk cake) which you can buy in stores. You can also have their food and sweets delivered; check their Facebook page for more details.

If you don’t mind Indian sweets of the pre-made, boxed variety, you can also order Bikanervala sweets on Shopee. The selection includes gulab jamun ($18 for 1kg) and saffron-flavoured kesari rasbari ($15 for 1kg).

 

Moghul Sweet Shop

• 48 Serangoon Road #01-16 Singapore 217959

This sweet shop at Little India Arcade looks unassuming, but they’re a hugely popular pit stop for customers craving a bit of sugar.

They’ve been operating for ages and have a generous selection of North Indian sweets, including gulab jamun, jalebi (round deep fried milk balls) and rasgulla (dumplings in sugar syrup). They use fresh cow’s milk to give the desserts an extra oomph.

Prices for the sweets and snacks here are some of the lowest around, from as little as $1 per piece. Great for your wallet but not for your waistline.

 

Komala Vilas

• 76-78 Serangoon Road Singapore 217981
• 12-14 Buffalo Road Singapore 219785
• Sweets and Savouries: 82 Serangoon Road Singapore 217981

Komala Vilas is one of Singapore’s most popular Indian vegetarian restaurants and has been operating since 1947. Their set meals consisting of rice and vegetarian dishes like dhal and sambar are a hit with the lunchtime crowd.

They have an outlet entirely dedicated to sweets and savoury snacks at 82 Serangoon Road. Their selection includes classics like gulab jamun (deep fried milk balls), pista burfi (pistachio flavoured cake) and almond halwa (pudding-like dessert).

 

Annalakshmi

• 20 Havelock Road Village #01-04 Central Square Singapore 059765
• 104 Amoy Street Singapore 069924

Annalakshmi restaurants exist all over the world and, as anti-capitalists would be happy to know, are not run for profit and staffed by volunteers. Their meals are charged on a pay-as-you-wish basis.

For Deepavali 2020, they’re selling sweet and savoury treats, including laddu (round flour balls), mysore pak (cake made of ghee and sugar syrup) and nei urundai (rice flour balls). Sweets are decently priced, at $9 to $15 for a box of 6. They’ve also put together gift boxes including the Sweet Delight gift box which costs $25 to $35.

You can view and order their seasonal Indian sweets via Annalaksmhi’s Facebook.

 

RedMart

Too lazy to leave the house to buy Deepavali goodies? Then retreat back into your cave, as online grocer RedMart has a decent selection of pre-made, boxed Indian sweets.

They’re selling tins of gulab jamun from various brands for $4.50 to $5.90, 1kg of rasgulla for $4.50 to $10.90, and milk halwa from $5.

These are obviously all pre-made and may not be as good as their freshly-made counterparts, but they’re also a cheaper way to feed your guests.

 

Which credit card to swipe for your sweets?

If you’re ordering big boxes of Indian sweets, the price can certainly add up to quite a fair bit. No harm checking if the restaurant accepts credit cards so you can use your favourite dining cards to earn some cashback:

Ordering your sweets online via food delivery or e-commerce platforms? Easy: Charge it to one of these credit cards that reward online spending.

 

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