Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a "happy guest" on his maiden visit to Singapore where he had a vegetarian dinner with his counterpart Lee Hsien Loong and his wife at an Indian restaurant in Little India.

"Diwali lights & delicious Indian food. Thank you @leehsienloong," PMO India tweeted along with photos showing the two leaders having food together ahead of their bilateral talks on Tuesday.

"The hospitable host & the happy guest...PM @narendramodi at Little India. Chai Pe Charcha with @leehsienloong," said another tweet.

Modi, who has a penchant for clicking selfies with leaders on foreign tours, continued the trend on the first day of his maiden visit to Singapore by clicking a selfie with Lee and his wife Ho Ching.

Besides Modi, the selfie was also posted by Lee on his Twitter account, saying: "Ho Ching & I took PM @NarendraModi to Little India. Took a #wefie after a delicious vegetarian meal."

Earlier on Monday, Modi delivered a 20-minute '37th Singapore Lecture - India's Singapore Story' - soon after his arrival here during which Lee was also present.

The Indian prime minister flew into Singapore from Malaysia in the second and final leg of his four-day visit to southeast Asia.

Little India - a precinct of Indian-origin businesses, eateries and pubs where South Asians working in Singapore spend their day off - was the scene of the December 8, 2013 riots, the city-state's worst outbreak of violence in over 40 years.