echo Fluffy, flaky fried dough served with dal curry on the side, paired with a satisfying cup of frothy teh tarik (pulled tea) or coffee. What a treat. To many, roti canai is a comfort food, whether it’s eaten for breakfast or in the middle of the night.
For the uninitiated, roti canai is an Indian fried layered flatbread dish sold in mamaks that is commonly eaten in Malaysia and Singapore. Popular in these countries, mamaks are unpretentious eateries furnished with stainless steel furniture that serve up Indian-Muslim fare. Think dishes such as nasi lemak, roti canai and sup kambing, a flavourful mutton soup.
Roti canai is usually enjoyed kosong (plain) or, if you’re feeling indulgent, an egg. But this mamak in Singapore brings it to a whole new level, by adding ingredients like truffle and salted egg, and even incorporating eggs benedict and alfredo into the roti canai!
Springleaf Prata Place is a popular mamak in Singapore, serving up roti canai, or as the Singaporeans call it, prata. (Aside from the different names, the dish is the same.) Here, one will find the typical menu, but look out for their Ultimate Series – it’s the real star of the show. Springleaf Prata Place expands the Series with a new deluxe creation annually – currently, it has ten flavours on the menu.
Natalie, our writer who is currently based in Singapore, paid a visit to Springleaf Prata Place with a companion and tried three intriguing dishes – the praclette, Plaster Blaster and the Prata Alfredo.
Disclaimer: The content in this article is based on the writer’s personal opinions.
This year, Springleaf Prata Place introduced the praclette (SGD9.90, RM30.40), marrying Swiss and Indian cultures by combining Swiss raclette cheese with Indian roti. The praclette consists of roti canai scented with truffle oil and topped with sautéed onion, shiitake mushroom, black olives, sriracha, turkey ham and creamy molten raclette cheese.
The melty cheese, juxtaposed with the crispy yet chewy roti canai and complemented by the juicy mushrooms made for a satisfying bite each time. The robust flavour of the truffle oil came through too, although I felt that it wasn’t consistently sprinkled throughout. Overall, the praclette was a delight, however I wished they hadn’t added the sriracha as I felt that it clashed with the truffle flavour.
The Prata Alfredo (SGD10.90, RM33.50) features roti canai stuffed with fragrant rosemary smoked chicken, white button mushrooms, mozzarella and alfredo sauce.
As unappealing as it looked, the mozzarella was gloriously stretchy and the crisp exterior of the prata provided a nice contrast to its creamy contents. However, the Prata Alfredo had a tad too many shortcomings. The alfredo sauce was suspiciously grainy and chunky, and the surprise addition of chilli sauce struck me as weird because it didn’t gel with the rest of the ingredients. The mozzarella, however, helped greatly with holding the dish together, as I doubt I would have been able to finish it if not for the cheese.
If you’re a fan of the brunch staple, eggs benedict, you’ll enjoy the Asian spin on this classic – the Plaster Blaster (SGD 5.90, RM18). Typically consisting of poached egg and ham on an English muffin drizzled with hollandaise sauce, Springleaf has switched out the English muffin for roti canai.
The roti canai was smaller than expected. But perhaps that was why the other two dishes cost nearly double what this cost? It was served with curry on the side – surprising, considering the amount of hollandaise that was slathered all over. Given how saucy the Plaster Blaster was, I didn’t dip it in the curry, but a taste test of the curry itself showed that it was full-bodied and spicy.
As a frequent consumer of eggs benedict myself, I was not surprised that I enjoyed the plaster blaster as much as I did. The roti canai held a crunch despite the sauce, and was delightfully chewy while their house-made sauce was creamy with the right amount of tanginess. As for the egg, it was perfectly done (though I doubt that it was poached, despite what their menu says), as the yolk was oozy while the whites were firm. That said, the sprinkling of spring onions could have been more generous.
Of course, our roti canai meal was accompanied by a cup of teh cino ais (SGD3.50, RM10.80), an iced layered tea with condensed milk and water at the bottom and foamy teh tarik on top.
Springleaf Prata Place’s novel roti canai is definitely worth a try, although you can probably give the Prata Alfredo a miss. Check out the other dishes from the Ultimate Series too – they’ve got a range of flavours such as salted egg prawn, German-inspired curry bratwurst and even a Murtaburger, a twist on the beloved Ramly burger.
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Written by: Natalie
Edited by: Jamie
