Riyadh Muslim Food: Crispy Fluffy Prata made with Passion

With ieatjr

Five Prata Stack 70cent each

Ah Prata, one of my all time favourite breakfast food. I don't know why, but it might have something to do with how my Pa used to bring me to the coffeeshop in Toa Payoh Lor 8 to eat prata. If I remember correctly, $1 used to buy 10 pratas and you could bring an egg to the prata man so that he can add it to the prata for you. As with most kids, I started off eating prata dipped in sugar. Then gradually, I learnt that dipping it in the curry can be quite shiok, albeit a little spicy. But I still liked the sugar so I ended up dipping in the curry, then the sugar. I sometimes still eat it that way nowadays.

Speaking of eating Prata as a father and son (or daughter) thing, I too brought my son to eat prata with me on this occasion. He still does not want to dip in the curry, hopefully one day he will realise what he has been missing. It's amazing that my fondest memories with my Pa are just these simple things we used to do together while my brothers were still to young to tag along. So I guess it is important to remember to spend one-on-one time with your own kids regularly so that they have some fond memories to accompany them for life.


Mr Abdul Aziz explaining how to make a perfect prata

Unfortunately, with the proliferation of 24 hour prata joints, the standard of Prata in Singapore has been waning and in some places it is just plain bad. The reason is very simple. It all has to do with ownership and passion. In the past, men from India used to come to Singapore to etch a living for themselves. So they would open a prata shop and through sheer hard work and long hours, make a name for themselves. Nowadays, the guys flapping the prata are all hired men from India and Malaysia, and unless the boss correctly incentivise them, it is difficult to ensure quality.

I have been hunting around for stalls where the owners still take pride in making their own dough and flapping their own prata. A place where they are still passionate about a simple dish which has been taken for granted and neglected.

Mr Abdul Aziz of Riyadh Muslim Food is just one such person. His father was the one who started the famous Thesevi's which made Jalan Kayu prata a household name. When he parted ways with his brother, he started up his little stall here in an industrial park in Defu Lane. That was 20 years ago and he is still doing much the same as his father had done.



It is heartening to see a bucket of handmade dough instead of what most stalls do nowadays which is to buy them ready made. So whenever I eat at a Prata stall, I always lookout for the dough in a bucket rather than in a cardboard box. Amazingly, his dough is still handkneaded and not made with a machine. Mr Abdul tells me that handknead is still best and he doesn't have space to put a mixer in his small shop. He still adds QBB pure Ghee in his dough to give that savoury buttery taste as well as Carnation evaporated milk. The other ingredients are Prima's Ikan Terbang brand Flour, salt and sugar. The was tight lipped about the proportions. Doh! Or should I say, Dough!


Special order Double Dough prata $1.40

Aside from the dough, the secret to a really good prata is simply passion and technique. Although Mr Aziz does not personally flap each prata nowadays, at 70, he is still there at the stall every minute of its opening to make sure that each prata comes out the way he wants. That is the work ethic of the first generation migrants of Singapore and amazingly, Mr Aziz still holds an Indian passport even though he has been here since the 50's.



The pratas here are hard to beat. As with the Jalan Kayu pratas, they are small but crispy and flaky and very flavourful. As far as prata goes, this is probably one of the best ones around and the best thing is that they insist on making the prata when you order, so you are assured of fresh pratas all the time. They still do some ready made ones for those people who are in a hurry, so make sure you let Uncle know that you are in no hurry for a great prata. 4.6/5

Conclusion

This Prata is really special. It might not be as convenient as a 24 hour prata stall, but the limited timing just means that each prata is still made under the strict supervision of the Prata master. If you really love prata, this is one place you have to visit.

Riyadh Muslim Food
Blk 32, Defu Lane 10
Stall 12, Soon Soon Lai Eating House
6.30am to 7pm daily
Closed last Wed of each month

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Penang Food Trail 4: Breakfast Time in Penang!

Roti Canai

Ah Breakfast. Of the three main meals of the day, this is the most special one for me because I seldom have the time to sit down for a nice slow meal. So when I am on holiday, I especially enjoy the luxury of sitting down to a breakfast of bacon, sausages, eggs and toast which is usually part of the hotel package. But since we were in Malaysia, I was willing to forgo the bacon and eggs (which I can make at home) for my all time favourite breakfast food, Roti Prata (Roti Canai in Malaysia).


Roti Canai along Transfer Road

This famous Roti Canai stall which is basically set up along the side of an old abandoned warehouse is just the thing that makes your heart pump a little faster -- the thought of eating an authentic no-nonsense Roti Canai that is designed to fill your tummy and tillilate your tastebuds. These guys just don't really care about how the Prata looks or whether the amount of oil they use is going to clog up your arteries. They are just there to make the Prata quick, get it on your plate, get it down your stomach and get you out of there.


Highly irregular but strangely attractive Roti Canai (Prata)

Everybody says that when it comes to Roti Prata, the Malaysians beat Singaporeans hands down. I could never understand why. Afterall, they are all made by foreign workers from Southern India nowadays. So why can't Singapore Roti Prata be better than Malaysian Canai? Or is it the environment where you eat the Prata that really adds to the flavour and enjoyment of the meal?


Roti Canai the way most Penangites eat them

We all found the Prata to be very tasty but a little chewy. I guess in Singapore we are used to Prata being more crispy. The curry was nice but I found the dahl to be a little burnt (was it meant to be that way?). Overall, I enjoyed the meal but it wasn't the holy grail I was looking for. 4/5 Perhaps the problem was that we did not eat the Prata the way it was meant to. Most of the people there ate theirs drowned with Dhal and chicken curry.



Taste aside, I would still come back here for breakfast just simply to soak in the atomosphere and enjoy the slow pace of life in Penang. There is no address for this place, so I wonder how they would be able to receive their mail, but you can easily spot it if you travel along Transfer Road.



If Kopi and Kaya Toast is more your kind of breakfast, then, I am told, that the place you have to visit is the Toh Soon Cafe which is located along Campbell street, off Penang Road. This little coffeeshop, which really is more like a coffee-alley, really, even has its own bakery where they bake their own bread.


Napalese man toasting bread over charcoal used to boil the water

With the resurgence in the popularity of Kopi and Kaya Toast in Singapore over the last decade or so, we Singaporeans are really spoilt for choice when it comes to getting our Kaya Toast. With competition, the different stalls are always thinking of ways of being more efficient and churning out the Kaya Toast quickly.

Not so in Penang. Here, things still get done the traditional way. Well, I say traditional, but perhaps it is just one of those things that never get fixed because it works. You know how sometimes you just put some scotchtape over a piece of your household furniture and tell yourself it is just a temporary fix and that you would do a proper job later? Well, the way they toast their bread here reminds me of that scotchtape phenomenon.

Here is a bustling coffeeshop, having to churn out hundreds of toastbread each morning and they do it by employing a foreign worker to squat at the base of the boiling water to use that charcoal to toast the bread! I guess maybe they feel that the extra proximity to the earth would impart an earthy flavour to the bread which makes theirs special. OK, I haven't visited any other Kaya Toast places in Penang so I can't tell you if this is the norm in Penang.


Bread with butter and sugar

As I mentioned earlier, I think we are spoilt for choice in Singapore and the standards of our Kopi and Kaya Toast is better as a lot of stalls use quality butter and homemade kaya to make their toast. However, if you want to have a simple cup of kopi, boiled eggs and eat bread with butter and sugar while relieving the good old days, this is the place to be. The bread here is very old school. It's very dry but airy with little taste on its own. It's a good vehicle for absorbing all that melted butter. 4/5

It's a good thing that our hotel stay does not come with the complimentary breakfast. I hate to be tempted to eat a typical hotel breakfast when there are great breakfast places around Penang where you can have your meal and enjoy the cool morning hours just watching time moving at a really slow pace.


Toh Soon Cafe, along Campbell Street off Penang Road

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Mr Prata: Pizza or Prata? How about both?

Pizza Prata $6

It was bound to happen sooner or later. We already have cheese prata, so it doesn't really take much more effort to add tomato paste and a few capsicums to turn that into a Pizza Prata.



In theory that should work quite well. But I think the problem is that perhaps the people making the prata have never actually eaten pizzas themselves. So their idea of a pizza is anything which has tomato paste, cheese and capsicum. And for the meat, they use their spiced mutton which is the same one used for the murtabak.



So the end product is still more like a Prata rather than a Pizza even though they even cut into wedges to resemble a pizza. Tastewise I found it a bit dry and uneventful. It is supposed to be eaten with curry though, in which case the classic Murtabak still has more kick. 3.75/5 What I would really like to try is one with pepperoni in it. I think that would give it a bit more flavour and moisture.

Conclusion

Something to try perhaps. I think it is a good idea, but the recipe can do with a little more tweaking.

Mr Prata
26, Evans Road
S(259367)
Tel: 62356993
Open 24 hours

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Noor Jannah's Kitchen: Bone Steak Hor Fun Anyone?

With fashionfoodie, bashful hunter, carnineviand, khim and friends


The good people from Noor Jannah's who were responsible for the Prata Bomb, have just moved to their new location at Jalan Masjid. As you would recall in the previous post, the neighbours were complaining about the smoke from the BBQ pit and as a result they couldn't grill their satay outside anymore. So they actually moved to another location and starting doing this Bone Steak Hor Fun which became a big hit after it was featured in the Suria Channel. When the owners of the coffeeshop saw how successful they were, they decided to take back the coffeeshop and run it themselves. As a result, this nice Malay couple found themselves having to move again. So now they have settled in Jalan Masjid, a place where they can panggang their Satay in the open and lead a Kampung like existence, hopefully for a long time.

I really enjoy eating at Noor Jannah's because they are not afraid of experimenting with new things. The raisin bomb, cheese bomb came into existence because of our zany experimentations and the bone steak hor fun became a reality because of the Satay Man's (Sha) secret fantasies.

This is my very first review of a Malay Cze Char. In fact, it is the first time I am eating Malay Cze Char. With all due respect to our Muslim readers, I have never really thought of eating Halal Cze Char because I had always assumed that there was no way Halal Cze Char can be that good since they don't use any pork to cook. However, I was proved wrong as the Hor Fun turned out to be quite tasty and I dare say better than a lot of Chinese Cze Char Hor Fun. Our group felt that the Hor Fun deserved a 4/5 even though it still lacked that elusive wok hei flavour. We were however not quite sure about the combination of Bone Steak and Hor Fun. The taste was just too jarring for our liking. However, it might appeal to people who love the strong taste of mutton. Guess it's something you will have to try for yourself!



If you like Malay Style Mee Goreng, then we would recommend you this particular one. Before this, I only know of Indian and Chinese Mee Goreng. Fashionfoodie told me that this version is the Malay version, which was more like the Chinese version but is more savoury than sweet. He gave the Mee Goreng a 4.25/5.



We confirm that you can now find the raisin and cheese bomb here and the good olde prata man from Malaysia is also resident. So this is going to be my regular prata spot since it is close to home. They have also introduce coin pratas which are mini pratas the size of a drink coaster. At six pieces for $2, it's great for the kids but a heck of a lot of work for $2 if you ask me. 4.25/5



Finally, my favourite (Malay) satay has found a home in the East. Not just I say, but the rest of my makankakis who are tasting the satays for the very first time also agree that the satays here are really good. Sha uses only thigh meat and they are big enough to remain juicy after grilling. We all agreed that it deserved a 4.5/5 You can also get beef tripe satay here, though it was a little too soft that evening and only scored a 3/5. However, Sha has informed me that he has already rectified the problem, so it should be much better now.

Like most Muslim 24 hour joints, the coffeeshop also serves a lot of other stuff. Frizz grill is also here for those looking for western food in the middle of the night. They also have a stalls selling Naan Bread and Ayam Penyat. Located in close proximity to two other 24 hour Muslim eateries, this stretch along Upper Changi Road is fast becoming a hub for those looking to satisfy their hunger 24/7.

Conclusion

To my surprise, Malay Cze Char actually turned out to be quite good. You'll just have to try the bone steak Hor Fun out for yourself to determine if you like it. The place has got a laid back kampong charm to it and coupled with a very good Prata and Satay, I can see myself having supper here quite often.

Noor Jannah's Kitchen
2 Jalan Masjid
90373623
Opened till very late for now
Open 24hrs soon
Disclosure: This was an invited review

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Noor Jannah's Kitchen: Get ready for a Prata BOMB!

There are updates at the end of the Blog

Raisin Boom: $2 Raisin Boom plus Kopi or Teh set: $2.50

OK, get ready for the next revolution in Roti Prata, or should I say Roti Canai?

Ever wondered if there is any difference between Roti Prata and Roti Canai? Most people would say that Prata is just the Singapore name for what the Malaysians call Roti Canai. Or is it?

It has been a while since I have been to Malaysia, but I remember that most of the Roti Canai I had there was the soft and fluffy type whereas in Singapore, the Schizophrenic Prata seems to come in many guises. The Roti Canai is actually supposed to be different from the Roti Prata in that the cooking process is slower and more laborious. In Singapore, where everyone is always in a hurry, the prata is cooked quickly by using lots of oil. In Malaysia, where people know how to be a bit more laid back and enjoy life, they make their Canai thick and fluffy and toast it over a slow fire with very little oil, then serve it with sambal and curry. The result is a pastry with a lighter and more chewy texture.

Since we are celebrating National Day this week, I really should not be saying this; but when it comes to Roti Canai, Malaysia really Boleh. So how? Does that mean that we can never enjoy a good Roti Canai in Singapore? Of couse not. If Malaysia Boleh, then Singapore lagi Boleh. We boleh hire the Malaysians to come make Roti Canai for us here in Singapore.


Cheese Double Bomb: $3.50

This stall did precisely that. They hired a guy who had just returned from making Roti Canai in Brunei and he brought with him the idea of the Prata Bomb which is currently the craze in Malaysia and Brunei. I was told that the Malay version of the dough is different from the Indian version. The dough is made with extra ingredients such as sugar, condensed milk and eggs so that it is more shiok.


Clockwise: The making of Prata Bomb

The Prata Bomb is essentially a dessert Prata which is something like a Snail Pastry. It's got margarine and sugar in between layers of prata dough and made to be thick and fluffy. The original Bomb sold in Brunei where this Prata man honed his skills had only margarine and sugar. We wanted to experiment with a few variations on this, so we tried raisins, cheese and cinnamon sugar. (Have to be better than Malaysia hor?)



We all loved the Raisin Bomb and the Cheese Bomb. The Cinnamon Bomb still needed a bit of tweaking. The wonderful thing about the Bomb is that it is really nice and crispy on the outside and buttery and fluffy within. It might be the same ingredients as the paper thin Tissue Prata, but you will be amazed at how the different way of preparing the dough really transformed the taste of it. You might find this wierd, but it goes really well with curry and I personally found it very shiok with a cup of Teh Tarik. 4.5/5

By the way, if you really want to eat a Roti Canai, you can ask specifically for "Roti Canai". The curry here is very shiok and they also serve the Roti with a delicious Sambal Tumis. The roti is nice, fluffy and not oily, but you will have to wait a bit longer for it. 4.5/5



This new stall in Bedok has several other items that are quite unique. One is the Soup Kambing Lontong which is quite popular in JB but difficult to find in Singapore. The soup is not thickened with cornflour so it is quite light but the flavour of the soup is still robust and uncompromised. You can have it with pressed rice, noodles or bee hoon. One of the best Kambing Soup I have had for a while and it does not make you feel jerlak afterwards. 4.5/5



The satay is the reason that I discovered this eatery in the first place. I have been pushing my friend Sha, who is the supplier of Power Chicken Satay to open a stall in the East and he eventually managed set it up here. The Power Chicken Satay has already been reviewed in a previous blog so I don't need to talk about it much except to let you know that you don't have to travel all the way to the West to try this now.

Conclusion

If this is so popular in Malaysia, it should soon take Singapore by storm just as Roti Boy did. It's been said before that the Prata is our answer to the Croissant. I didn't think it was that similar until now. With the Prata Bomb, we really have something that is comparable to a Croissant! Really Must Try don't you think?

Noor Jannah's Kitchen
Jalan Masjid







Update: 9 August 2007
Just found out that the Malaysian man who specializes in the Prata Bomb had to rush back to Malaysia because his wife became very sick. They have others doing the Bomb at the moment but I can only vouch for the Bombs produced by this guy. If you have been there recently, please let us know if the Bomb was alright.

Update: 9 Sep 2007
The stall has relocated to Bedok South Blk 18 after fighting a losing battle against the authorities who refused to allow them to BBQ the satay outside. The new address and opening times are updated on the blog. Now that they are able to pangang the satay properly, I hope that they can maintain the standards of the satay.

Update: 2 Mar 2008
The stall has relocated to Jalan Masjid in Kembangan and their new premises start operation this month. I haven't gone down to check them out yet. Will update later.

Update: 15 Jul 2008
Unfortunately they no longer do the Prata Bomb!

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The Prata Place: Prata in AirCon Comfort

One of the good things about Reservist training is the fact that I find myself in a part of Singapore that I seldom go to. That means that I get to eat and blog some of the stuff from a different part of Singapore.

I am one of the Reservist Doctors at the Combat Support Hospital which is based in Nee Soon Camp, which means that my Reservist Kakis and I have been eating at some of the places near the Upper Thomson area like Shanghai Renjia and Cafe Ole. In case you are wondering, the Combat Support Hospital is a Mobile Field Hospital with surgical facilities to take care of soldiers injured during conflict. It's something like M*A*S*H for those who can still remember the TV series.

Another good thing about Reservist Training is being able to meet up with old friends and speaking Army Lingo again. Yes, the SAF has got its very own brand of English that is an even worse aberration of English than Singlish. Here in the SAF you don't "Authenticate", you "Authonticate". You are not an SAF "Officer", you are an SAF "Occifer". Most of the time when you meet a fellow Occifer, the greeting is not "Good Morning" but "How Shag is that?" But the one that really gets me is the word "Bah Long Long" which means someone who is simply doing nothing. Where in the world did they get this word from?

One of my regular haunts whenever I am on Reservist is this Prata Shop which is just outside Nee Soon Camp. The Prata here is excellent and they have a wide range of curries to go along. This is also one of the most comfortable places to get a nice prata with a cup of Teh Tarik. Although they brand themselves "Crispy Prata", they are in no way like Prata House. Instead, it is crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Just the way I like it. 4.25/5

Conclusion

Something to look forward to for breakfast just before booking into Camp for training!

The Prata Place
1 Thong Soon Ave
Springleaf estate
www.ThePrataPlace.com.sg
Open from 7.30am to 12mn

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R K House: Tasty, Buttery Prata!

With Tag Tag, iwatch_ueat and carnineviand


So this is the famous RK House Prata which does not sell any pork since they are a Halal restaurant. Those who don't know what it is all about can click here.

But anyway, I did not want to cause any problems so I ordered my usual "Double Dough Prata stretched thin and made thick and fluffy" Of course, that is the paraphrased version, I had to describe my request with my best Indian accent together with head rocking and animated hand motions!



When the prata arrived, it was not thick and fluffy as I would like it to be BUT boy it was tasty. The dough is crisp on the outside, soft and stretchy on the inside and it leaves a nice buttery, sweet taste at the back of your throat. Mmmmm lovely. People who take their prata with egg may miss the subtle flavour of the prata dough that can only be fully appreciated if you order the prata kosong (plain). 4.25/5

Conclusion

There is a lot of potential for this place to produce the ultimate Roti Prata. The dough has got a the right taste and texture. It remains for the prata man to really stretch it thin and really make it thick and fluffy. For those who love curry, you might be better off ordering the special curries rather then settling for the standard curry accompanying the prata. I am certainly planning to go back again to have another go at the ultimate prata soon.

Update: 3 Jan 2009

I was back at RK yesterday and I am sorry to report that they have now started to outsource the dough and the Prata has lost that buttery taste! It now taste like just another ordinary prata shop. 3.5/5

R K Eating House
1 Kensington Park Road
24 Hours

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Casuarina Prata: Is this still the same Prata?

With iwatch_ueat, Hjuanie and Liverpool

Double Dough Prata $1.20

It was an appointment with inevitability. Sooner or later I had to blog about Casuarina Prata. No self respecting prata lover should leave this earthly realm without having tried Casuarina Prata at least once.

It had been at least 3 years since I ate this prata, so I was taken by surprise that the whole stall had been revamped. Instead of the little coffee shop, now they have taken over the corner 2 shops and upgraded it into an air-conditioned restaurant. I get very apprehensive whenever facilities are upgraded because sometimes it means that the food gets altered as well, and it is usually for the worse.



As usual, I ordered a double dough prata because I felt that by using 2 doughs, the prata is more fluffy and substantial and it actually becomes the size of pratas that used to be sold in the good old days.

We were quite excited when the prata was served because it really did look light and flaky on the outside which is what Casuarina is famous for. I think you can sense what I am about to say next. The texture was good but that was about it. It was severely lacking in taste and we all thought it was pretty bland. It did not have that nice buttery taste which I remembered from past visits. Better than most pratas but not like it was before. 4/5

Conclusion

I am not sure if this is just a one off, or if they have really changed their dough formula when they moved to their new premises. Liverpool was understandably upset, being a Casuarina virgin, his first experience was not as great as it was hyped up to be. Perhaps our Casuarina Prata Veterans can give their review of the current Casuarina Prata?

Casuarina Curry
126 Casuarina Road
off Upper Thomson
64559093
Weekdays 7am to 11.30pm
Weekends & eve of Pub Hols
7am to 12am

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The Roti Prata House: So Crispy you can use it as a Frisbee!

There are actually many variations of the ever popular Roti Prata in Singapore. One one end of the spectrum is the soft chewy type and on the other end, the super crispy type. All the rest fall in the middle of the spectrum somewhere. This prata would probably be very very close to the super crispy end of the spectrum.

I remember a few years ago, the super crispy prata became very popular and there emerged many stalls around Singapore selling what is known as "Jalan Kayu" prata. Of course they were referring to the famous Thesevi's whose prata is quite different from the version they are selling.

This is a "no holds barred, eat at your own risk" prata which I will only recommend to the younger people with no history of coronary heart disease. Starting with the rich yellow dough which is evidence of the amount of margarine used, to the fact that they literally deep fry the prata in "Vanaspati Butter Flavour Vegetable Oil", you know this prata is really good for your palate but bad for your heart!



The prata itself is very crispy and when you bite into it, it just dissolves in your mouth. It was heavenly together with the curry they provide. 4.5/5 The butter flavoured veg oil does make it very tasty but I can't believe for the life of me that an artificially flavoured palm oil product can be good for you, even if it is vegetable oil. I don't think the manufacturers of this oil care very much about Trans Fats!

Conclusion

Very tasty but very sinful. The little devil on one shoulder is telling me to eat it while the little angel on the other side is cautioning me not to. In the end, I listened to my angel..... but not until I finished most of it.

The Roti Prata House
246M Upper Thomson Road
64595260
Open 24 Hours

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Zam Zam: Mega Murtabak Mania

I walked into Zam Zam feeling like a kid taking a Disneyland ride for the first time. If you love Murtabak like me, I am sure you would feel the same. I mean this Prata Chef at the front of this 99 year old restaurant was flipp'n the most gigantic and awesome Murtabaks I have ever seen! Ok, I admit that it has been a while since I had my last Murtabak cos of all the health concerns over this calorie busting dish. (I can hear you laughing, but I do look after my waistline)



This is probably the most well known Murtabak Stall in Singapore. It is certainly one of the oldest restaurants I know that is still in the same spot since inception. It will be 100 next year and that's quite an achievement for any eatery. In order to be around for so long, you have to serve great food, which it does.

They way they make their Murtabak is a bit different from other places. In addition to an extra layer of prefried prata kosong which they put at the base of the Murtabak, they also add an extra egg on top of the folded murtabak and sprinkle Minced Mutton on top before frying. The result is a Massive Murtabak with a crispy fried Mince on top! Oohhhh, like I said, this is not for those who are Cholesterol Compromised.



Behold the Murtabak! I really liked the crispy, savoury topping of the mutton. However, I felt that the mutton was not as savoury and tasty as it can be. Texturewise, it was crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, so complaints in that area. It would have been an awesome Murtabak if the mutton had more OOmph! 4/5



Now, you have stuff that is Ho Kua Bo Ho Jia (Attractive but Not so Tasty) and then you have stuff that is Ho Jia Bo Ho Kua (Tasty but Not really Attractive) The Chicken Murtabak belongs to the latter category. Now this is what we came for. Makankaki Damien swears that the Chicken Murtabak is to die for and he is 100% spot on. I never really liked the chicken version because I always find that the Murtabak always comes out soggy. But I think I have seen the light. Wow, the chicken masala was so yummy and by the time they serve the murtabak, a lot of that tasty gravy has already been infused into the dough. Only one word to describe it: Shiokadelicious!! 4.5/5

Conclusion

Most seasoned foodies would already know about this restaurant. But if like me you are still discovering Pearls in Singapore's food heritage, then you Must Not give Zam Zam a miss!

Singapore Zam Zam Restaurant
679,699 North Bridge Road
62987011
8am to 11pm daily

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New Hawa: Ultimate Prata Challenge: Round 2 of 2

The Prata over at Syed was excellent but it just lacked the taste to make it the Ultimate Prata. By this time, the criteria for obtaining the Ultimate Prata was quite clear. Syed's one was almost there, but it lacked the taste. So the obvious next step was to find a shop which makes it's own dough!



I repeated my instructions to the young Prata Chef and he happily obliged, slapped on 2 pieces of dough and started demonstrating his Prata Flipping Skills. Round and round it goes, overhead and under his nose...... (just kidding). Then I asked them whether they used Ghee and Evaporated Milk in the dough. They told me that they use Carnation Milk and margarine. But if I wanted Ghee, they can use it in the frying. Without any hesitation, I told them use Ghee instead of oil to fry the prata. Mmmmm.....looking good!



Now, please remember to save your calories for this AND to eat in moderation if you have high cholesterol levels! Ghee is clarified butter, so it is high in saturated fats. Actually, a lot of people would say that they don't want ghee because they are being health conscious. However, one must also bear in mind that the margarine they use may also be high in Trans Fats, which is just as bad as Saturated fats. So ghee or no ghee, if you have high cholesterol levels, prata may not be a good thing for you.

But I digress....and I hope I did not spoil your appetite.

The prata is crispy and fluffy but just slightly less fluffy then Syed's. This guy has less of a bench top to work with. But the taste was just awesome! There was no smell of cheap margarine. Instead you get a buttery aroma and taste which to die for! (literally) So good you can eat it on its own, but even better when you eat it with the savoury curry mutton.

Conclusion

The winner for this round of the Ultimate Prata Challenge! The perfect prata would be the Syed Chef flipping New Hawa's Dough and frying it with Ghee! But I am not complaining......much! 4.5/5

Oh, if you happen to head down to New Hawa, the team featured is the morning team who work a 12 hour shift until about 7pm. Ask for the "Ultimate Prata" which will cost $1.80. (2 doughs = $1.20 plus $0.60 for the ghee)

Addendum:

How to get the Ultimate Prata:

I think if you approach any reasonable Prata Stall, you should be able to get quite a good Prata. The following characteristics are important:

1. They need to make their own Prata Dough
2. The Prata Chef has to be skillful and obliging
3. Make sure their working area is big enough
4. Ask for 2 doughs and specify that you want it thick and fluffy
5. Stick around when they are flipping and specify you want them to flip it as big as possible then fold into many layers
6. Make sure they allow the prata to rest for at least 2 minutes
7. Fry it in Ghee (QBB)
8. Eat it as soon as it hits your plate!

New Hawa Restaurant
Simpang Bedok (Next to the Market)
Bedok Road
Open 24 hours
Click here to link to Syed Restaurant

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