Riding my Brompton bicycle to get breakfast, Roti Canai, and to have a look at the fire damage from the day before, when a building was ablaze in my neighbourhood, close enough for me to film the flames and the explosions, bright flashes of electric power lines short circuiting.

It is the 11th day of the coronavirus curfew (28 March 2020), or to be exact, the Malaysian government’s COVID-19 Movement Control Order, which allows people to go out for essential errands like getting food, which is the mission of this short bicycle errand.

Today’s breakfast will be a Malaysian classic, namely Roti Canai, part of the Malaysian Indian cuisine. Interestingly, Roti Canai is not eaten in India itself, but only in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand. The closest relative to roti canai in India is called Malabar parotta.

My breakfast destination is Restoran Laypark (café & restaurant) on the corner of Jalan Nagasari and Jalan Angsoka, where I film the whole process of cooking the roti canai:

Step 1: Flatten a piece of dough. Usually done by stretching / swirling it in the air. Final stretching of dough done on table top.
Step 2: Add in ingredient, in this case pieces of cheese for my cheese roti canai
Step 3: Fold the dough and place on hot plate pan

Roti canai means bread (roti means bread in Sanskrit) from Chennai (a big city in India). Alternatively, canai can also just refer to the Malay word "canai", which means "to roll dough thinly". In neighbouring Singapore, the dish is called roti prata, where the Indian word "paratha" means "flat"

The ingredients of the roti canai dough is fat (usually ghee), flour and water - and sometimes sweetened condensed milk. It is important to repeatedly knead, flatten, oil, and fold the dough to achieve the layering.

Roti canai is usually served with dal (lentil) curry, but I prefer to eat it with one of the other curries:
- Kari ikan, fish curry (my favourite)
- Kari ayam, chicken curry
- Kari daging, beef curry
- Kari kambing, mutton curry
- Kari campur, mixed curry
- Kari kacang kuda, a chickpea curry

Twenty different varieties of roti canai are served in Malaysia; see most on list below:
• Murtabak, a very thick roti filled with a mixture of egg, meat, onions and spices.
• Roti telur, with an egg (telur).
• Roti bawang, with onions (bawang).
• Roti boom (or bom) (bomb bread), a smaller but thicker roti. Served sweet, with sugar, and with margarine, or served with curry.
• Roti planta, stuffed with margarine and sugar.
• Roti sardin, stuffed with canned sardine.
• Roti pisang, stuffed with sliced bananas.
• Roti sayur. stuffed with shredded or sliced vegetables.
• Roti salad, raw shredded vegetables rolled up with a piece of roti.
• Roti tissue / roti tisu, a tissue paper-thin and flaky roti.
• Roti kaya, with kaya spread.
• Roti tampal, the egg is cooked on the outside of the roti and the yolk still runny.
• Roti maggi, stuffed with prepared instant noodles
• Roti cheese, stuffed with cheese.
• Roti milo, with Milo powder
• Roti cobra, a roti served with curry chicken and piece of fried egg on top.
• Roti banjir ("flooded roti"), with lots of curry poured over the top.
• Roti tsunami ("tidal wave roti"), topped with curry sauce, sambal, and soft boiled eggs.

The plain roti canai is called roti kosong ("empty bread") in Malay.

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Video highlights include:
0:04 Unfolding the Brompton bicycle
0:49 Starting the bicycle ride
1:06 The building on fire and explosions filmed from my balcony
1:51 Riding down the back alley with somebody peeing in the drain
2:33 Arriving at the restaurant (Restoran Laypark)
3:45 Ordering three roti canai (two cheese and one plain)
5:07 The “Brompton flick”, from parked to riding
5:31 Telling about how I explored becoming a bicycle food delivery rider in the weekends. A good way to get out of the house during these coronavirus curfew times. But not possible. Must own a motorbike; bicycle or eBike does not qualify. And must also be a Malaysian citizen, to qualify as Grab Food delivery driver.
6:13 Roti Canai preparation filmed (entire process)
12:55 Payment RM10.50 (USD2.40) for three roti canai
13:42 The “twin” guards – LOL 😉
14:36 Packing food in Brompton bicycle basket
15:27 Fire damage. Having a look at the building that burnt. It was called “Pasar Mini SUPER STORE”, lot 634, no. 37, Jalan Berangan, Bukit Bintang, 50200 Kuala Lumpur.
17:14 Also having a look at the back of the burnt building, from where I saw the biggest flames. Several pressurized gas (LPG) cannisters are charred but luckily did not explode in the fire.
18:20 Cycling through back-lane home, and immediately seeing another guy peeing!
18:54 Air-con units locked up to prevent theft
19:44 Temperature check by the guard to detect any potential coronavirus victims
20:10 Other measures undertaken by the building management to reduce the transmission risk of the coronavirus.

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Acknowledgement: Wikipedia for much of the information about roti canai :-)