Transfer Rd Roti Canai - Penang, Malaysia

The Revered Roti Canai in this Town
I really wanted to try out Roti Canai in Penang and asked around for a good one. Every taxi driver, hotel worker and random person told me to go to Transfer Street. We went by in the evening once but it was closed and I began to worry that it wouldn't reopen until after Ramadan. I'd all but given up. Luckily, as we were flagging a cabbie this morning we happened to be standing half a block from it and it was open. As she pointed down the block, Puffin asked the cabbie "is this Transfer Street? Roti Canai?" He smiled widely. "Yes, yes, yes, the best. Take your time, I'll wait for you."

Indian Muslim Food - Singapore

A New Favorite Emerges
As I've explained in previous posts, Roti Prata are one of my favorite breakfast meals anywhere in the world. A refresher: it's fried Indian flatbread that you dip in curry sauce (and in my case, sugar.) I usually go to Srisun in Serangoon because it's close to Puffin's but now I have a favorite - one that's better than the "famous" prata makers I've tried.

Tangra Masala - Queens

Chinese Indian Mashup
Unlike the mash-ups that I do myself (see here) this one came pre-mashed. During the meal, my Indian colleagues and their wives debated the origin of Tangra food - Chinese re-mixed for the Indian palate. A little post-meal research proved one of them right - it originated from a specific neighborhood in Kolkata (Calcutta) where many Hakka Chinese settled. Tangra is traditional Hakka food with Bengali influence. I don't know Hakka from Bengali but I can tell you this - if you like it deep-fried and spicy, this place is a godsend. Just take a look at this shrimp pakora!

Casuarina Curry - Singapore

Another "Famous Stall"
Everyone in Pingle's family knows I love Roti Prata. First thing I get when I arrive in Singapore is a Roti Prata breakfast. I don't necessarily have a favorite - I usually just go to a local spot in Serangoon. Of course, this being Singapore, everyone wanted to bring me to a "real" Roti Prata place so I could get a good one and learn the difference. This may just be a case of personal taste but most of the Roti Prata at Casuarina Curry just didn't do much for me.

Srisun Parata Paradise - Singapore

My Favorite Breakfast This Side of the World
Ok, so the story is kinda confusing. I was in Paris for only 4 days, then jumped on a flight to Singapore to hang with the Puffin on her home turf. So, no Paris posts, straight to the Singapore posts. Well, not exactly straight to them - first I spent a day battling jetlag and losing.... Today, however, I awoke excited to get some Roti Prata for breakfast (also spelled Roti Parata) which is an Indian bread served with curry sauce and sugar to dip. We kept it local, as in we walked about 5 minutes from home to one of the 3 trillion "coffee shops" nearby. The term "coffee shop" is misleading - it refers to a food court, usually outdoors, with a variety of foods to pick from. We tried a place recommended by Puffin's aunt. They make the pratas when you order them - check out the technique, it's pretty amazing.

Chinese Mirch - Manhattan

Satisfying, but Not Sock-Knocking
This sunny Murray Hill spot bills itself as Indian-Chinese, not the other way around. I was unable to engage the Indian and Chinese waiters in a debate on the subject, but they did confirm that the word mirch means spicy in Hindi. They have plenty of spicy dishes to bring you to a boil, a good idea on a cool, windy day like today. I warmed up with Manchou soup - vegetables, green chilis and crispy noodles. The slight sourness of the first spoonful was gracefully overtaken by chili-heat.