Or how I found the Javier Bardem of Roti Canai … read on 🙂
One sunny morning, hubs and I wanted to eat somewhere new, so we ended up at a food court near the Sg Tiram Shell station.
“I ordered roti canai with mutton curry,” hubby announced.
I nodded disinterestedly. To be honest I haven’t had many great roti canai recently. Many famous spots have dropped standard, and my favourite style of roti canai – those with an audible CRUNCH when you bite into it – is virtually impossible to find.
Hubby’s roti was delivered. He took a bite, and then his eyes widened. “Alex, you have got to try this.”
Curious despite myself, I pierced a forkful and popped it into my mouth.
Holy smokes!
One bite and you could tell the roti has been properly kneaded, tossed and slapped around enough to achieve that flaky, crusty-outside yet airy-inside paper-thin layers that crumbled in my mouth. There were little specks of charred dough which contribute to the smokiness of the flavour. And oh my goodness, the piping hot mutton curry served with it. Intense but without being gamey – we drank every drop.
Who was the genius behind what was now my favourite roti canai of all time??
I walked over to the stall, wedged in the corner of the food court just behind the bus stop, and directly opposite Joo Leong Cafe across the road, and experienced a geekgasmic moment.
Javier Bardem!?
From his facial structure to his large expressive eyes, the roti maker was the spitting image of the actor.
I duly reported this to hubs. “Hey doesn’t he look like the dude who played Stilgar in Dune?”
Hubs rolled his eyes. “If you say so.”
The following Friday, we went back again but alas he was closed. The neighbouring vendor told us he took the day off to bring his son for a hospital checkup.
More than a month passed before we could enjoy his roti canai again as he did not operate during Ramadan.
Today, we finally made it there again. This time, I decided to find out more.
While paying, I asked for his name.
He looked surprised by the question but answered, “Mahadi.”
“And what’s the name of your stall? You know, in case I want to tell my friends?”
“LC.”
LC? I couldn’t explain it, but something in the name didn’t make sense. My instincts told me to probe.
In response, Encik Mahadi pulled out a card with a Foodpanda QR code. “If you scan this, you’ll see LC Nasi Kandar.”
I was confused. “But do you sell nasi kandar?”
He smiled. “My atok (grandpa) was the founder of Line Clear. Hence,LC.”
Line Clear, the nearly 100 year-old OG of Penang nasi kandar? Oh wow, that’d explain the power curry served with the roti.
Somebody said once, “As a journalist, you must know it’s sometimes not what people tell you, but what they don’t tell you, that points to a bigger and richer story.”
How true.
If I hadn’t asked about a seemingly insignificant detail, I would have never found out that this unassuming little roti canai had such a rich historical legacy.
LC Nasi Kandar
Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah
IG Reel with directions