People Are Confused After M’sia’s Roti Canai is Ranked 1st But S’pore’s Roti Prata is Ranked 12th

For years, Singapore and Malaysia have been at loggerheads over the most particular of aspects:

Food.

Indeed, each side has refused to budge regarding local delicacies, and the argument seemed set to drag on for eternity…

Until now.

With TasteAtlas’ latest ranking, it appears that Malaysia has edged out Singapore in one particular delicacy. Though the question begets;

Why?

People Are Confused After M’sia’s Roti Canai is Ranked 1st But S’pore’s Roti Prata is Ranked 12th

Lest you’re unaware, TasteAtlas is a Croatia-based food encyclopedia that frequently does food rankings around the world.

And just recently, it unveiled a bread-themed list titled “100 Best Rated Breads in the World”.

As you can see, Malaysia took the top spot on the list with its Roti Canai delicacy. On the other hand, Singapore ranked 12th with the classic Roti prata.

Here’s the thing, though: Netizens are asking why the delicacies are ranked so far apart even though they’re technically the same dish.

After all, they share many similar characteristics, to the point of being near-indistinguishable.

For reference, this is Roti Canai:

And this is Roti prata:

As my boss was saying: “Aren’t they the same? It’s like differentiating cai png and cai fan.”

And so, it’s perhaps to nobody’s surprise that Netizens have been rather “vocal” about this particular issue. The folks over at Reddit, for instance, have been busy deciphering this mystery.

Meanwhile, Malaysians were revelling in their “victory”.

And so, some Netizens could not resist fighting it out.

Though, of course, Singaporeans weren’t the only peeved ones.

Loads of “representatives” from differing nations had something to say about the list as well.

A citizen’s pride.

Clarification

It seems that Singaporeans raised quite a ruckus while they were at it, because TasteAtlas would later address the concerns in a follow-up article.

Tellingly titled “No, they’re not the same: Roti prata vs. Roti canai”, the article reminded the public that the two delicacies, though similar, are certainly different.

For instance, they differ in preparation. In Roti canai, the dough is kneaded with ghee (clarified butter), while roti prata dough is usually made from a mix of flour, water, sugar and condensed milk.

And while roti canai is crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside, roti prata is chewier with thin layers.

TasteAtlas did concede, however, that both dishes originate from the classic Indian paratha, which ironically ranked 29th on the list.

It should be noted that TasteAtlas has also since apologised for missing out on certain breads, such as the Brazilian Pao de queijo.

A quick check on the list also revealed that Malaysia’s Roti canai has fallen to second.

Instead, Colombia’s Pan de Bono is currently taking the top spot.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s Roti prata and India’s Paratha have both risen by a place, to 11th and 28th, respectively.

Only time will tell whether Singapore’s version can edge out Malaysia’s in the next edition.