RECENTLY, I ORDERED murtabak at an Indian Muslim restaurant in Pulau Tikus, one not known for its murtabak. I just wanted to try it out. Unfortunately, it was a disappointment. This experience prompted me to start my research after going through a mental post-mortem of this murtabak.
I have fond memories of our family enjoying our meals at the Hameediyah restaurant in my school days, eating nasi kandar and murtabak, and occasionally their mee goreng and pasembor. Hameediyah (operating since 1907) and Merah (now closed) were two well-known nasi kandar restaurants along Campbell Street. Our family often ordered murtabaks to take away to be consumed at home or to gift our uncles and cousins in KL and Singapore. In the old days, murtabaks were wrapped with banana leaves and the pickled onions were packed in a traditional paper bag.
I have also been observing its preparation during my travels around Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and even in London. The recipe for the murtabak in my first book[1] came from my jee kor (second aunt), who first prepared it when I was a student in London in the 1970s. I do not know where she learnt to do it, and I did not master the art of flipping the dough to stretch the pastry. Later, my nephew, Roger, explained to me how the flipping was done. He used to practice holding and flipping the “pastry” using “good morning towels”.[2]
