Rio Ferdinand 'nasi goreng' tweet sparks debate over origin of dish

SINGAPORE - Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand sparked a war of words on Twitter when he posted a photo of himself eating nasi goreng in his hotel room.

The 37-year-old, who is in town for the Singapore Grand Prix, tweeted on Saturday (Sept 17): "Nasi goreng lunch.. Keeping it local in #Singapore."

Robe game is nice!! Nasi goreng lunch.. Keeping it local in #Singapore pic.twitter.com/qSs5tH3FMK

— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) September 17, 2016

That did not go down too well with Indonesians on the social media platform, who said the dish originated from their country.

One user claimed there was no "nasi" and "goreng" in Singapore, while another wrote: "Hey Rio, nasi goreng is Indonesian food, and nasi goreng is Indonesian language!"

Some Singaporeans, meanwhile, were surprised that the tweet has caused such an uproar.

Here are some of their best responses on Twitter:

This article was first published on September 18, 2016.
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