Shukor Stall - Roti John
Shukor Stall
Serangoon Garden Market, Stall 30
Ratings: 6.0/10
Roti John - S$2.50
Roti John, a local Malay dish, is toasted French Toast spread with pan-grilled eggs and minced meat with a chilli-ketchup sauce.
A search I did online came up with different versions on how this dish actually originates in Singapore. The first story that I read said that Roti John had been inspired by a homesick tourist named John who was in search of a sandwich. Failing in his search, a helpful hawker sliced up a loaf of French bread, clapped in a mixture of minced mutton and onion and dipped the whole in beaten egg which he fried until crisp. As locals took to Roti John, it soon becomes a staple at Muslim food stalls.
Another explanation about the origination of Roti John said that this food is actually named after the British who were stationed in Singapore during the colonial era. Roti means bread in Malay and the British were known as "John" to the Malays and that is how the name of this dish originated.
However, according to the Makansutra Hawker Legend 2005, if we were to trace the origin of Roti John, it will inevitably lead back to the Shukor stall, which is the stall that I’ll be writing on in this entry. Apparently, the history of Roti John goes way back to 1976. The Shukor Stall used to be located at the Taman Serasi Food Centre near the Botanic Gardens, before the food centre was demolished some years back. Now, this legendary stall has moved to the Serangoon Gardens Market, which also happens to be just a stone throw away from another famous local hawker centre, Chomp Chomp.
Irregardless of which is the actual version on how the Roti John originates, the most important point here is still to talk about the legendary Roti John that’s being served at the Shukor Stall.
My first taste of the Shukor’s Roti John was two months back when my parents bought it back home for me to try. Despite being wrapped up for some time, the crust of the French toast was still crispy, which I attribute it to the patient grilling of the stall owners. The eggs that was spread above the French Toast was tasty. The entire combination of this "fusion food" was delicious, and I regretted not taking photos of the Roti John and blogged about it.
However, when I went back to try the Roti John last weekend, I was disappointed. Though the combination of eggs, onions and minced meat still tasted delicious like before, the crust of the French Toast wasn’t as crispy as I had remembered it. I guess the reason was because it was the busy weekend peak hour period when I was at the Serangoon Garden Market, thus the French Toasts were not as patiently grilled as the ones that I had before.
My conclusion about this famous Roti John stall: This lack of consistency in the Roti John irks me because I had purposely gone to the Serangoon Garden Market hoping to try some great Roti John. As for being one of Singapore’s legendary hawkers, I feel that there are definitely better hawker legends around that are not among these top 15. However, on the whole, the Roti John sold by the Shukor stall is definitely delicious. It’s a can-try local food in Singapore.
