Feast your eyes on this picture. Looks like the real thing, doesn't it? It could have easily been taken from a cafe anywhere in Malaysia. I have never met any Malaysian born person who claim to dislike the Roti Canai. In fact, I would go as far as saying that this should be known as Malaysia's national dish, instead of the more popularly acclaimed nasi lemak. After all, it is uniquely Malaysian, despite it being seen as "Indian". You will not be able to get this dish in India, I am sure .. not this version anyway which, although is a variation of the "paratha" it has evolved quite significantly from its Indian roots.
However, the twist here is that I did not cook this dish! Not properly anyway. It was bought frozen from a large supermarket - and not a specialist Asian one - and simply lightly fried in a skillet, like a pancake. It will slowly rise and fluff up, just like the real thing.
It is available all over the UK and has been for a number of years. I have yet to see anything that resembles nasi lemak in our supermarkets here. As this is the most popular uniquely Malaysian dish widely available in the UK, I must conclude that to most non-Malaysians, this is the national dish.
The brand below is one of about 3 or 4 available. Only cost around £1 for a pack of 5.
Just to add.. a fresh handmade dish like this would be almost impossible to sell in the UK .. each piece is rather laborious to produce. I would estimate that it would cost about £3 per piece to make it cost effective. At this price, I doubt it would sell. Hence I cannot ever see it taking off in restaurants over here.
1 comment:
Hey, I am a Malaysian living abroad too and I can tell you I don't like roti canai. Never has and never will. Nasi lemak on the other hand is a different game all together. BTW, we have frozen roti canai here in US and they are selling for US$1.50 for a pack of 5. Great deal, no?
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