An-nur (Marsiling Lane)

The search for unique Roti Prata has never quite stopped for us here; after all, it does seem that we are lacking a few of the more unique interpretations of Roti Prata in Singapore when comparing against the varieties of Roti Canai in Malaysia. One variant that we had been searching pretty much high and low for apart from the Prata Tsunami is the Roti Canai Sarang Burung — a rendition that is also dubbed the “Bird Nest” Roti Canai which seemed to have become viral in Malaysia a while ago; and aptly named so as well, considering how the Roti Canai is shaped much like bird nest and holds two sunny side-ups in between. While finding this dish around Singapore has proven to be rather difficult, we finally chanced upon An-Nur Shenton Way Famous that actually serves up the Roti Sarang Burung Mutton Keema whilst walking past the Broadway coffeeshop at Blk 19 Marsiling Lane — placed at the acrylic shield surrounding the prata-making areas was a poster indicating the availability of Roti Sarang Burung Mutton Keema and Prata Tsunami. Turns out, An-Nur Shenton Way Famous isn’t particularly an indie establishment; the brand is more of a chain that operates out of coffee shops with three locations in operation — the other two outlets being located at Blk 198 Punggol Field and 36 Chai Chee Avenue.

Some information worth noting about the Roti Sarang Burung Mutton Keema from An-Nur Shenton Way Famous is that it is not available within a specific timeframe within the day; for the outlets at Marsiling and Punggol, the Roti Sarang Burung Mutton Keema is unavailable between 12 noon to 4pm, while the item is unavailable at the Chai Chee outlet from 1pm to 4pm. It is priced at $6.50 per piece, and that the preparation time required for the item sits around thereabouts of 5mins if there is space for them to prepare it on the grill (this is especially given that the Roti Sarang Burung Mutton Keema is sized larger than the usual-sized Roti Prata. Noticing how the Roti Sarang Burung Mutton Keema is being prepared, the Prata is first shaped into a ring-like form with a hole in the middle; somewhere in between, the folks will crack the eggs that would eventually become the sunny side-up at the centre. Once done, the Mutton Keema will be plated on one side of the Roti Sarang Burung Mutton Keema with green chillies that adds a tinge of spiciness and a visual contrast. The Roti Sarang Burung Mutton Keema also comes with a mutton curry that comes with a consistency almost similar to Dhal as well.

Digging into the Roti Sarang Burung Mutton Keema, we really liked how they seemed to have aced the doneness of the sunny side-up just about right here; the egg yolks being all molten and flowy as one pokes them with a fork. The consistency of the Roti Prata is pretty similar to that of plain Roti Prata, though the Roti Sarang Burung Mutton Keema comes with Roti Prata that is heftier than the usual plain ones out there; there is definitely some tension as one pulls the Roti Prata with the fork and spoon — all that with a slightly crisp texture especially around the edges and comes with a fragrance of the dough used. We had initially thought the Mutton Keema to be the most intimidating component here; we were impressed with how they have diced them into small cubes that are almost equally-sized providing a good, consistent bite which was surprisingly not too gamey. In fact, it was the mutton curry that was served on the side which upped the gaminess of the dish for us — perhaps something which was included for those whom would like a stronger note of mutton than what the Roti Sarang Burung Mutton Keema originally comes with. Considering its price at $6.50, we reckon that it might have been more economical to travel into JB for it; this is especially considering that we had given their outlet at Marsiling Lane a go which is almost as near as to the checkpoint that one can get. That being said, if going overseas just isn’t quite your thing or if one resides around Bedok and Punggol and develops huge cravings for the Bird Nest Roti Canai, the Roti Sarang Burung Mutton Keema from An-Nur Shenton Way Famous is as close as it gets to the viral Roti Canai Sarang Burung here!