At the very southern end of Little India's Serangoon Road you will find a modern building behind a bus stop that looks like it is hiding a multi storey carpark. It does not fit in with the old colonial style house shops of the rest of the road.

To most tourists it does not look interesting at all. They quickly walk past the entrance in anticipation of exploring the small shops and bazaars of Little India. This is a mistake.

This building is the Pusat Tekka centre. It is a huge indoor market on three floors with its own hawker food court. One section of the centre is dedicated to fish mongers. They sell fish from around the world and especially those caught fresh from the seas around Singapore. You will find many strange species of fish, squid and shellfish on sale. The aroma is particularly strong. Walking the aisles between the stalls is fascinating.

Not far from the fish markets is the vegetable market. Here you will find the common vegetables that you can buy at your local supermarket. But you will also discover tropical vegetables for sale and unusual looking fruit. Some of the fruit and vegetable stalls allow you to try before buying.

I have discovered the joys of some of these fruits that are not available outside tropical climate zones. The giant green fruit is called a jackfruit. Inside there are white juicy segments that have a hint of banana flavour. The little red balls with green hairy legs are Rambutan. They are very much like the lychee. They have a large brown stone inside the case covered in a juicy thirst quenching white flesh.

The other unusual fruit I look out for is the purple mangosteen. They look similar in shape to the tomato ketchup bottes you used to find in cafes. Once you rip open the inedible skin you will find succulent white plump segments on side that are pleasant to snack on during a hot tropical mornings sightseeing. The other tropical fruit to look out for is the Durian. It is a bit like a good French cheese that when ripe has an unpleasant odour but tastes amazing. You do not eat the outer skin. It is the flesh around the seeds that is good to eat.

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