Street Food - Roti John

Street Food - Roti John

Also Known As:
Roti John, Loti John, John’s Bread


Average Price Per Serving:
SGD $2.50 - $5


Description:
Roti John is a Malay fusion dish, basically a pan fried omelette submarine sandwich. Tradition has it that a Malay hawker created the dish for a caucasian customer who wanted a hamburger!

The bread used to make Roti John is often a halved baguette / French loaf bread. The difference is that the Roti John bread is often shorter in length, with rounded ends, and has a softer texture than a baguette / French loaf bread.

The topping for Roti John consists of an omelette, made with eggs, onions, and minced mutton / minced chicken / minced beef.

Some hawkers also include spring onions, garlic, chili, pepper or cheese. Others may substitute the minced meat for sardines, tuna, or mushrooms instead.

To finish the Roti John, the omelette is placed on top of the bread, dipped into egg, and pan fried.

A good Roti John will have the crisp texture of fresh bread, and a fragrant aroma from the eggs and onions. It should not be too oily or dry. It should be crisp on the outside, while the meat and eggs remains soft, and the onions should have a satisfying crunch.

Roti John is typically served with a chili sauce, tomato ketchup, mayonnaise sauce and chopped green chili.

According to local legend, sometime in the 1960s, an Englishman asked a Malay hawker in Sembawang for a hamburger. Because hamburgers were not available, as a substitute, the ingenious hawker spread minced mutton and onions between slices of French loaf and fried the concoction in egg. The name for the dish is also attributed to this anonymous hawker, who was overheard saying to the customer, “Silakan makan roti, John”, which literally translates as “Please eat this bread, John”, but can also be understood as “Please eat this dish, John’s Bread”. - Extracted from Singapore Infopedia


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Roti John is considered a breakfast food item in Singapore and Malaysia.

These are the top 3 stalls which I feel serve the best Roti John in Singapore.


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Shukor Stall
@ 49A Serangoon Garden Way #01-30
Opening Hours: 9.30am - 9.30pm Closed Thu

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Rosy & Nora
@ 14 Haig Road #01-15
Opening Hours: 1.30pm - 10pm Daily



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Subhaini Family Restaurant
@ 353 Clementi Avenue 2 #01-107
Opening Hours: 11am - 11.30pm Daily



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