Roti Canai 101: How to Order Roti in Malaysia

Your first time at a Malaysian mamak restaurant, the menu board is a wall of roti: canai, telur, bom, tisu, planta, bawang, sarang burung, murtabak. They all sound good, nobody explains the difference, and the line behind you is waiting.

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In this guide 7 sections

Cream and I had the same problem when we were living in Kuala Lumpur (KL) as digital nomads. Roti canai became our default breakfast, ordered on Grab with a teh tarik most mornings, but we kept ordering the same one or two because we didn't know what the rest were.

So one morning we ordered almost the whole roti section at once and tried them side by side on camera: the classic roti canai, roti telur, roti sarang burung, roti bom, and a murtabak daging. This is the roti guide we wish we'd had on day one.

What Roti Should You Order in Malaysia? Our Quick Answer

Start with a plain roti canai and a bowl of dhal: it's the classic, and it's the dough every other roti is built on. Then order a roti sarang burung (bird's nest roti), a crispy ring of roti around a runny egg, which was our favorite. A roti telur (roti with egg) was the surprise of the morning, and get a roti cheese if you like cheese. If you're hungry, a murtabak is a full meal, and if you want something sweet with your teh tarik, get a roti bom.

What Is Roti Canai?

Roti canai is a pan-fried flatbread made from a soft, oily dough that's stretched paper-thin, folded over itself and cooked on a flat griddle until the outside is crisp and the inside stays soft and layered. Roti means bread. The canai part is debated: the most likely origin is the Malay word for rolling dough thin, though some say it's a nod to Chennai, in South India.⁴

It arrived with Indian Muslim (Tamil) immigrants during the colonial era and grew up in the mamak restaurants, the Indian Muslim eateries that are now on almost every corner in Malaysia.³ Today it's the country's go-to breakfast, and in 2023 the food site TasteAtlas ranked it the best bread in the world, based on its readers' ratings.² Singapore sells essentially the same bread as roti prata.⁴

You eat it with your hands: tear off a piece, dunk it in the dhal (lentil curry) or another curry, and repeat.

The 6 Rotis We Tried in Kuala Lumpur

Our spread came by delivery from a nasi kandar restaurant in KL. The murtabak came with its own curry and pickled onions, and the rest of the rotis shared a big container of dhal.

1. Roti Canai // The Classic Everyone Starts With

Roti canai is crispy and flaky on the outside, with soft layers inside. Cream's method is to rip it into pieces first, then roll each piece up so it's easier to grip and dunk.

What we like most is the texture. After a dip in the dhal, each bite goes a little chewy, and as Cream put it, "as I'm chewing on it and just enjoying those flavors, it's a really good experience." It's simple, which is exactly why it's the one to order first.

2. Roti Sarang Burung // Our Favorite: Bird's Nest Roti

Sarang burung means bird's nest, and you can see why: the roti dough is shaped into a ring around an egg that's cooked in the middle. Ours was cooked over easy, so the yolk was still runny.

This was our favorite. The outside is super crispy and layered, crispier than a roti canai, and the dough is a little thicker, so those pieces have a nice chew. The best part is the egg in the middle: tear off a piece, drag it through the yolk, then dip it in the dhal. Cream called it "just a really good bite" and "a pretty good breakfast to start the day."

3. Roti Telur // The One That Surprised Us Most

Telur means egg, and in a roti telur the egg is cooked right into the dough, so it runs evenly through the whole bread, almost like a fried egg folded into the layers.

This was the most surprising one for us. The egg almost completely changes the texture. It isn't as crispy or layered as a roti canai, but it has a really good chew, and you get egg in every bite. Fold it in half before you dunk it.

4. Roti Bom // The Sweet One

Roti bom is like a roti canai with sugar, so the outside caramelizes. It's smaller and thicker, very flaky and crispy, and a little buttery.

It's sweet, but not overly sweet. Cream's verdict: "It's a treat." We didn't know whether you're supposed to dunk it, so we tried it plain first, then dunked it in the dhal anyway, and the sweet and savory together worked so well that Cream went back for a second dip. Plain, it pairs best with a teh tarik.

5. Murtabak Daging // The Full Meal

A murtabak is a thick roti stuffed with egg, onion, spices, and minced meat, folded into a square parcel, and cut into pieces. Daging means beef. It was the one Cream had never tried before, so he ate the first piece on its own: "Wow, that's savory... There's a lot of spices going on in here."

Then he added the pickled onions and dunked it in the curry it came with, and that was even better. The curry and spices are rich, and the sharp little pickled onions balance them out. Of everything we tried that morning, it was the one Cream said he'd "definitely" be ordering again. Treat it as a meal, not a side.

6. Roti Cheese // The One That Isn't in the Video

Roti cheese didn't make it into our taste test, but we ordered it in KL and it was so good that it had to be on this list. It's roti canai dough with cheese folded inside before it hits the griddle, so the cheese melts between the flaky layers. If roti telur is the upgrade for egg lovers, this is the one for cheese lovers.

The Dhal: What You Dunk Your Roti In

Most rotis come with dhal, a lentil curry. Ours was thick, more like a stew than a sauce, with big chunks of potato and carrot in it. It was a little spicy, but smooth, so even if you don't like much heat it's an easy place to start.

We poured ours into a bowl so we could dunk every roti in the same one. You can also ask for chicken or fish curry instead, or a mix of curries. Ask for it banjir if you want your roti flooded in it.

The Other Rotis on the Menu (We Haven't Tried These Yet)

We didn't order these, but you'll see most of them on mamak menus, so here's what they are:

• Roti kosong: kosong means plain or empty, and it's what many locals call a plain roti canai.
• Roti tisu (roti tissue): stretched as thin as tissue paper and baked into a tall, crispy cone, usually with sugar or condensed milk. It's more of a dessert.
• Roti planta: roti with margarine (Planta is a margarine brand) and sugar folded in, so it's richer and sweeter.
• Roti bawang: roti with chopped onion folded into the dough, which caramelizes a little on the griddle.
• Roti sardin: roti stuffed with canned sardines, sometimes with egg, onion, or chili.
• Roti pisang: roti with banana, a sweet one.
• Roti jantan: a roti telur with two eggs instead of one.

Roti jala is a different thing altogether: a lacy, net-like crepe made from batter, not the roti canai dough, and usually eaten with chicken curry.

How to Order Roti in Kuala Lumpur

Where: any mamak restaurant (most nasi kandar restaurants are mamak too). Many stay open late, and some never close, so roti works as a late-night meal as well as breakfast.

Delivery: we ordered our roti on the Grab app most mornings. Grab Food in KL is not fast: our deliveries often took an hour or more, and longer on weekends and holidays, so order before you're hungry. Most shops near us didn't open until around 7 or 8 a.m.

Price: roti is one of the cheapest meals in Malaysia. A plain roti canai cost RM1.54 (about 35 cents) on average nationwide in 2024, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia.¹ Expect to pay more in central KL, more again for egg or fillings, and the most for a murtabak. Our teh tarik breakfasts, sometimes with roti, came to about $6 with delivery.

What to drink: teh tarik, the sweet, frothy pulled milk tea. Say kurang manis if you want it less sweet. We have more on teh tarik in our guide to McDonald's in Malaysia, which serves it at breakfast.

How many to order: order several to share. Trying them side by side is the quickest way to find your favorite.

Our Verdict on Malaysian Roti

Roti canai was our go-to breakfast in Kuala Lumpur, and it's on our list of must-eat foods in Kuala Lumpur for a reason. Start with the classic, then order the bird's nest roti and dip it in that runny yolk. And if you're still deciding whether to go, here's our honest take on whether Kuala Lumpur is worth visiting.

Next Steps for Your Kuala Lumpur Trip

• The 10 must-eat foods in Kuala Lumpur, with nasi lemak, nasi kandar, and more
• The 13 best restaurants in Kuala Lumpur, ranked by our scores
• McDonald's in Malaysia, including its teh tarik and nasi lemak
• Is Kuala Lumpur worth visiting? Our honest verdict after three months
• Is KL good for digital nomads? What living there was really like
• Places to stay in Bukit Bintang, the area we lived in for three months