Saturday, October 20, 2012

What's with the CIA and Tekka Market Roti Prata Man? Prata Saga Sambal Berlada

I have a penchant for Indian and Malay food but not HY. So when I'm alone scouring for food to quell my hunger pangs,  Indian and Malay food will be one of the options. I was back at Tekka Market and Food Centre. The bustle that went on in the wet market and also at the Indian and Malay food stall section was like when it was 20 years back. There were so many stalls to choose from but one caught my eye. 

Prata Saga Sambal Berlada was where I ate. "CIA", "Roti Prata"? So what's scoop on CIA and Roti Prata? On the sign board of this Roti Prata stall was owner Mr Zulkifli wearing a chef hat.

I went up to order my Bawang Telor (Onion and egg) prata and a prata kosong (plain) and decided to ask the man himself what's up with the CIA. And I found out oh! ... CIA doesn't mean Central Intelligence Agency, too much spy movies for me. It's CIA as in Culinary Institute of America that we are referring to in this context. I hate abbreviations! So Mr. Zulkifli aka Tekka Prata Man has been invited many times to several countries for Singapore Food Festival to promote local food from our country. In one of the trips, he proudly mentioned as he was flipping my prata with lightning speed that he was in the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley California to demonstrate the skill of flipping the prata. Well if he's one that imparted culinary skills to CIA chefs, I'm gonna try his roti prata.

I would generally classify our roti prata as crispy, like the kind served at Casuarina Road, or chewy like my personal favorite at Crane Road in Poh Ho Coffee Shop. Mr Zulkifli's prata has a slight crisp on the outside, airy in the middle and mostly chewy. I like the chewy texture of the prata. However, I would much prefer if his curry has a thicker consistency to give the curry a better kick. I forgot to ask for his sambal chilli for a dip. That calls for another trip to visit the Tekka Prata Man.

665 Buffalo Road
#01-258 Tekka Market and Food Centre
Singapore 210665

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