I had a post on this man from Penang who runs a stall in the Bandong area here selling very nice murtabak at RM2.00 per piece – with beef or chicken filling…
*recycled pic*
…but lately, I have been stopping by for his roti canai instead…
I guess everybody knows what roti canai is. It is actually some kind of dough that is kneaded and stretched thin…and even thrown into the air like what they do with pizza dough, and then folded into squares and fried on a hot plate. I’ve always thought that it is thus called as canai in Malay is “to knead” but I read somewhere that it is called roti pratha in Singapore and the name canai is derived from Chennai, a city in India (formerly Madras) or channa, a dish made with boiled chickpeas in a spicy gravy from Northern India which this type of bread was traditionally served. Whatever it is, I was never a fan and to me, it was something that I would eat if it was there but I would not go out of my way to look for it.
For one thing, I did not like the dhall dip that is provided…and would prefer it more if they gave curry instead – like at one stall at a coffee shop in Sungai Merah here. However, the complimentary dip provided at this Bandong stall for the roti canai is really very nice, so nice that I wouldn’t mind just eating it like that…
The roti canai itself too is extra fragrant…like there is some kind of butter in it which I would think is not likely. Perhaps it is the margarine that the man uses…but I actually like it a lot.
The best part, of course, is that fact that it only costs RM1.00 a piece. I am sure you cannot get it at that price anywhere else in town…and definitely, not anything that is as nice as this one. Unfortunately, I don’t think he is open for business on weekends, Satudays and Sundays, so if anybody would like to give it a try, you will have to catch him early in the morning between Monday and Friday. Usually by 8.00 a.m. or so, everything would be sold out and he would pack up and go home. Good luck!!!
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
How come the roti canai so expensive? Over here in KL it’s just 80cents. And it’s very nice too…next time I’ll blog about it… and it’s served with 3 kind of curries seperately too… the sambal, the dhal, and a choice of chicken or fish curry.
For 80 sen? That’s cheap… I guess over here, with so very few Malays around and even fewer Chinese who would go for stuff like this, the turnover is small, and considering that it is really very very nice, I would think the 20 sen extra is reasonable. We get it served like that too at the shop where I would go for the thosai…but of course, it’s a lot more expensive. Wait till I go to this place that sells “the biggest roti canai in town” – also served like that but I’m sure it costs a bomb… Will post on it when I get the chance to drop by…
Yups… extra 20cent is worth it if it’s nice. But here, you sell Rm0.80… ppl are just going to head over to another mamak stall… lol… cuz here, too many mamak stall oredi lerr… they have to be competitive.
Ya…over there, every nook and cranny, you’ll see people selling roti canai – not here. Like the commercial centre in my residential area (the place with all those coffee shops and bakeries), not a single place selling roti canai…or Malay (aka halal) food, for that matter. That’s why I say Sibu is completely different from towns in the peninsula…
ya it’s around 80-90 sen
So slightly more expensive here…but as long as it’s good, I don’t mind paying. 🙂
i am fear of roti canai already.
last time when study that time, no money, everyday also eat roti canai….
Ya…I used to eat roti pratha a lot in the early 70s in Singapore, not that I really liked it…but it was cheap. Student days…had to scrimp and save for more important things. 😦
Go find murtabak to eat den… murtabak very sedap lehhhhh…
How much is murtabak over there? This guy sells at RM2.00 a piece – nice also but I prefer his plain canai with the dhall… Yummmm!!!
Here? Here it’s RM2.00 too. Unless you go for the ‘Murtabak Special’ or ‘Murtabak Singapore’. Those costs a bomb. Usually Rm5.00-Rm10 per piece. =.= But then again, they’re loaded with meaty fillings… and they’re huge. I guess it’s forgivable…
Same eh… I guess it can’t be much less if the canai is RM1…and there’a an egg in it and the meat and the other stuff. Quite reasonable, I would say….but with the egg, the texture becomes a bit like omelette. Considering this and the price, I would have that once in a while for a change – not too often.
“a coffee shop in Sungai Merah ” Would that be my favorite coffee shop — Choon Seng? Yes, their roti is good. I usually order the roti telur. I don’t know murtabak. The only murtabak I’ve had was on MAS and it was pretty awful, threw the whole thing away.
LOL!!! What do you expect from airline food? The next “best” thing to hospital food… 😀 Ya…Choon Seng’s the one…but I will not have roti canai with egg – tastes like omelette. I love the curry dip there…
Yes, roti canai is still very cheap over here.. less than a ringgit at some places.. but i dont take it often cos it is super oily! 🙂
What I do is – I refry on a non-stick pan…and with the oily ones, all the oil will ooze out onto the pan. This one’s good…no oil oozing out, just a bit to stain the face of the pan only. I also don’t like the oily ones…
Have you ever heard of Roti Cobra? In Sandakan, they would put meat in the roti but not like murtabak. Then in KK, roti cobra is topped with an egg but not like roti telur where the egg is mixed in with the roti. I prefer my roti to be light and a little crispy…but most important, the curry must be very very good. I hate it when the curry is watery. Sometimes I’d like some dhal as well. Indian/mamak shops are everywhere in KK but I’ve yet to find one where I can safely call my favourite. The prices varies a lot anything from RM1.00 to RM1.25. The more expensive one is not necessarily the better one. But yup, I like rotis.
Kpenyu smsed me…and asked me to tell you to try the roti and the nan at the Taliban, Inanam – he says they’re good. Hmmmm…I wonder what’s good at Menggatal? LOL!!! 😉
So is the meat in Roti Cobra ular meat?
STP, one of my colleagues supply the best fresh ready-to-cook roti canai, in my opinion. I like to toast them in the oven and eat them with susu cap junjung. Very nice! Oh, and I love dhal, provided it’s cooked properly – full of dhal and pekat, not watery like what most canai stalls provide.
Yup – so far, this is the only place where I really like the dhall – thick and has the rich dhall taste…and not too strong on those Indian spices. I will re-fry on a non-stick pan to get it crispy and golden – much nicer… Sigh!!! The man not there this morning – sold out, I guess. My mum loves his canai too…
The roti canai looks gud! me seldom eat this as parents seldom go mamak stall eat. lol! n i dint noe bout the history, n quite interesting it seem after read it here. 🙂
Kesian…so many things you cannot eat. Never mind. That’s why you’re so slim… 😉
The one in your picture with egg right? Here we are seeling RM1.20 for roti canai/ pratha with egg, you must try roti sardine, that’s my favourite!
Have a great weekend!
Nope…no egg…only the murtabak in the 1st pic. I took home and warmed it on a non-stick pan to make it turn nicely golden and crispy. I like it that way – some canais in the shops like rubber…and the dhall given doesn’t taste nice at all. 😦
Errrrrr…………… wait a second………….. did I come to the wrong site/blog, is this STP’s “Still Crazy after All These Years”?!!!!
LOL! Way to go! I love your new template, very refreshing! wah~! (mesmerized)
Thank you, thank you… Since everybody seems to like it, I’ll stick to this one then unless I come across something much nicer. 🙂
Typo error… *selling
Ok…no problem at all. Hehehehe!!! 😉
Murtabak going at RM2.00 per piece? Give me more more more..In KL its RM5.00 leh. Love crispy roti canai. Usual for students to opt out roti canai even till now when biz bad everyday eat roti canai kakaka..
RM5.00!!!! *pengsan …For that kind of money, I would rather eat something else.
o.O What kind of murtabak u had la, friend? So expensive… I’m in KL, and the murtabak I had is usually Rm2.00… the most is Rm2.50.
Maybe he has murtabak at 5-star hotel, ada kelas kot!!! LOL!!! 😉
I am thinking of a food in the Philippines that is similar to what you have here. Unfortunately, I don’t have any…but I think it is tasty.
I think this may be of Indian origin, brought in by the early Indians long long ago, I’m not sure. It is quite nice…but as Claire said it can be oily, so best not to eat too often. Some people seem to live on it… 😦
Different people, different kinds of food to like. ^_^
Yup…that’s what makes the world interesting. To each his own! 😉
Yea…roti canai is the best choice during schooling time. Save a lot and can be quite filling. Today i still love crispy roti canai…but recently i found out tosai is nice also
My daughter loves thosai…and these days, she eats it in style – with her hands, folded and dipped in this and that before putting it in her mouth. She probably learnt that in Sg Petani. LOL!!!
look so nice. Which shop at Bandung selling this? Wish sibu got roti nan. I like roti nan cheese garlic. Nyumm… nyum…
It’s a roadside stall in front of the Bandong shops (across the road from the primary school). I don’t think we have naan here unfortunately – only the frozen ones in some of the supermarkets. WeCare Bakery (Sibu bus terminal) makes but sells as sandwiches – they do not sell the bread:
https://suituapui.wordpress.com/2010/05/16/since-youve-been-gone/ 😦
roti canai and murtabak!!! I am so hungry!!!
I just had roti canai on Monday night, stay tune for my banana leaf and roti canai post. 🙂
RM1 for one piece roti canai kosong? Quite expensive wor, over here 80 cents per piece, before they increase the price, we can get like 60 cents or 70 cents.
Murtabak here quite expensive, about RM2.50 or some are RM3 and i had one RM4 before!!
Here, not much competition mah! And most of those half-past-six ones like rubber! Not nice… These are really nice – never a fan of roti canai until now. Well, at least the murtabak is cheaper…and it is nice too. 🙂
I love that piece of murtabak…looks so good and at RM2 is cheap . over here it costs more RM3 something. Last time they have lots of minced mutton in it but now you see only onions and chilli 😦 and costs so much for a piece.
Thanks Arthur for the birthday wishes and I had a wonderful day with Claire giving me lunch :p and the dear wild boar cooked dinner for me 🙂 Will post up the food he cooked later.
You can cook ! Love that curry sotong in your last post and that lady fingers was blanched nicely…well done 🙂
Oooo…lucky you – your best friend treated you to lunch and your darling cooked dinner for you. What more could you ask for? Gosh! RM3.00 for a piece of murtabak!!! I’d rather have kampua or Foochow fried noodles here and still have change. Ya…I can cook simple stuff…but I’m basically lazy – only know how to eat. Men! Your wild boar like that or not? Hehehehehe!!!! 😉
Suddenly you make me wanna have roti canai too. 😀
Go…go, Malacca a lot of roti canai, I’m sure! 😉
The roti canai very expensive! Over here only selling at RM0.80 for roti kosong, RM1 for roti bawang and RM1.5 for roti telur.
I love both dhal and curry. But MIL prefer to eat with sambal. (Those nasi lemak sambal). Mum have even weird taste. She loves to eat with condensed milk / kaya while my son loves to eat it with SUGAR.
Ok lah…20 sen more, so not so bad. There are a lot of other things at the supermarkets that are a lot cheaper over at your side. Like the McVities Scottish shortbread, I bought RM5.80 in Sg Petani…over here, it’s RM6.20. Ya…a lot of people will eat with condensed milk or sugar…but not me. Dhall or curry, not with nasi lemak sambal either…
Ehhhh???? You change template ah? Terkejuttt… I tot I went into a wrong blog!
Hahahahaha!!!! I thought I’d try a different theme. Still not too sure whether I like this one or not. May change again when I have time to browse through the others.
Nice new layout!
KL can still get RM1 Roti canai at the wet market! LOL!
Nice eh? You like?…..I’ll stick to this one then. There! All those people saying how cheap roti canai is over there… Must be at the roadside mamak stalls or the wet market. Here, at the coffee shops, more expensive too…
Roti Canai is made with Ghee which is clarified butter (i think), we call it minyak sapi and its responsible for the bloody delicious smell!!!
p/s
Believe me my email is not fake!
And i’m no doctor :P, stil waiting for opportunity to go mam mam with u la sir haha…
You, I would believe… What a name to use for your email add! LOL!!! Well, I’m available anytime…as long as you are treating. Hehehehehehe!!! 😀
Ah yes! Ghee!!!! Why didn’t I think of that? No wonder there’s this very nice fragrance… But I do not seem to detect that in the roti canai at the other places leh? Maybe they do not use…or they use less. Like butter these days, I guess ghee is expensive too…
Strange… i never really tired murtabak before though my saliva drops everytime I passed by a mamak shop who’s cooking a murtabak. Usually, I will order roti prata (canai).
It’s nice too…something different for a change – with the meat, the onions and veg inside but with the egg, it tastes a bit like an omelette.
One more thing I find that we have in common. I also don’t like the dhal they provide with roti canai. I also prefer curry 😀 Oh, and I’ve discovered that roti canai cheese + bawang is really nice 😛 They normally don’t have that combination on the menu. So if they can make roti canai cheese and roti canai bawang they can combine both.
Never tried with cheese – not really into fusion…
I love murtabak, esp murtabak daging (minced beef) But I find a lot of places here put corned beef instead of minced beef. Yuck! Nice at first few bites but muak liao after a while.
Try this stall – minced beef. Next time you come for a meeting, drive past there and buy on the way to Sg Antu – should be open and selling around that time…
yum, makes me hungry and I’m ready to make a crabmeat omelet now!
Ooo…that sounds yummy!!! We get canned crab meat (from Thailand mostly) here…but they’re not really nice – not as sweet as fresh crab meat…