Thanks to TikTok, did Malaysians just find out roti john comes from Singapore?
Are Singaporeans and Malaysians arguing over a beloved dish of the two countries yet again?
It all started when a Malaysian food influencer Padu Beb uploaded a TikTok featuring roti john from a stall called Rosy & Nora at the Haig Road Market & Food Centre.
The video has more than 110,000 views since it was posted on March 6.
One commenter said: "The original roti john came from Taman Serasi, Kebun Bunga, Singapore."
Another commented: "Malaysians just found out that roti john comes from SG?"
Someone else explained: "The authentic roti john in Singapore uses French bread and is very simple. It's like a Subway sandwich. But in Malaysia, it somehow became overloaded with sauce."
So both Singapore and Malaysia have their own versions, and what was shown in the video was the Lion City's.
While the Malaysian version contains more ingredients like sauce, vegetables and meat, our roti john contains egg and mutton, and a French baguette is used for crispy texture.
But what is its origin story?
According to the an article in the National Archives, the roti john was created by a Malay cook named Abdul who lived in Singapore during the early 1970s. It was a popular dish among British soldiers, so much so that it would be their only order from Abdul's stall.
The name "roti john" was created as upon seeing a British soldier approach his stall, Abdul would ask, "Roti, John?" with the name "John" being a default name for "white guy".
