For many Singaporeans and Malaysians, food is a talking point that has often sparked passionate debate and lighthearted banter from both sides. 

Recently, the topic of the origins of roti john, a popular bread dish that can be found in both countries, became the centre of attention. 

Malaysian DJs Anne, Ili and Prem from local radio station Hitzdotmy discussed this with Singaporean DJ Shawnrick Hu from Kiss92 via call in a teasing conversation. 

The playful debate was shared in a TikTok video published on March 11.

"Singaporean netizens are claiming that roti john originated [from Singapore] and Malaysians, we are very, very protective over our roti john," said Anne with tongue in cheek. 

"I know that Malaysians absolutely love [roti john]. So, we have to settle this debate." 

For the uninitiated, roti john is made from a French bread loaf split in half lengthwise, spread with a mix of minced meat, vegetables, chopped onions, and a beaten egg. It's cooked on a hot pan and fried till crispy. 

Shawnrick admitted that prior to this, he had "no idea" where roti john originated from and had to do some research. 

"More often or not, the articles are showing that it came from Singapore," he shared. 

In a summarised story, Shawnrick explained that roti John was created in the 1950s when an English soldier had asked a Malay uncle to make him a burger. 

As the uncle did not know what a burger was, he "made [his] own version", according to the DJ. 

Anne shared that she had heard of this same story too, but thought that it had happened in Malaysia. 

In the comments, some said that the dish originated from Malaysia. 

However, there were a number of others, including Malaysians, who said that roti john came from Singapore. 

One man, who said that he has lived in Kuala Lumpur for almost three decades, shared that while he was living in Malaysia he had never heard of roti john and only discovered it when he came to Singapore. 

Another Malaysian said that he only ate roti john in Singapore hawker centres, or when his Singaporean auntie prepared it for him. 

One netizen also said that since Singapore and Malaysia used to be part of the same country, there will definitely be similar foods. 

So where is roti John from?

The National Library Board (NLB) describes roti john as "Singapore's version of the burger" and a dish unique to the Malay Peninsula, with its origins linked to the resident English, Malay and Indian communities. 

"Literally translated, roti john means 'John's bread'; the dish takes its name from a once common form of address for Caucasians ('John') while roti is a Hindi term for 'bread', which is also used in Malay," shared an article by NLB. 

According to another article by National Archives of Singapore, there are different versions of the dish's origin story. 

One is from an oral history interview with a man called Pakirisamy Rajagopal, who shared that roti john originated from an old road-side stall at Koek Road that was owned by an Indian-Muslim man called Abdul.

Abdul referred to Caucasian soldiers as 'John' and whenever he saw English servicemen, he would ask, "Roti, John?" which was intended to ask the question "Do you want bread, John?”

In another story from the 1960s — which matches the account from Shawnrick — it was said that roti John was first served when a Malay hawker in Sembawang cooked a special omelette sandwich for an Englishman who wanted to eat a burger.

The local press later reported that the dish could be bought in areas where there was a large concentration of English servicemen such as at Changi, Alexandra, Nee Soon, Sembawang, Bedok, and Orchard Road.

A 1973 Berita Harian article also credited the creation of roti john to Zawiah Anwar of Geylang Serai Food Centre, who prepared the roti john using mutton, eggs, onions, peas and tomatoes.

melissateo@asiaone.com

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