Bored with plain 'roti canai'? Try the snazzy 'roti sarang burung' from KL's Rumah Kuning

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — What we eat for our first meal of the day makes a world of difference to the whole day, whether it's good or bad.

Along Jalan Raja Abdullah, at the edge of Kampung Baru, you can start your day with nasi lemak at RA Nasi Lemak or roti sarang burung from Rumah Kuning.

Both eateries are located side by side and have a rich history.

Apparently Rumah Kuning has been flipping roti canai for their customers for breakfast since 1969.

I frequent RA Nasi Lemak but it never occured to me to try their neighbour until my social media was flooded with their roti sarang burung recently.

Rumah Kuning has a rich legacy harking back to 1969 when they first started flipping 'roti'

It's best to come early to grab an empty table. A little after 8am, there's a small queue of people waiting for a table, especially those with larger groups.

The centrepiece is the hot griddle, where you'll see a woman stretching dough to make roti canai.

Due to the popularity of the roti sarang burung, one side of the griddle is dedicated to preparing just that.

The hot griddle in the restaurant is where the action happens as dough is stretched to make various flatbreads

Start making the side of the 'nest' with a circle of dough, which will be filled with two eggs and later sardine curry

Literally translated to mean "bird's nest bread", the dough is twisted to form a circle, resembling a nest of sorts. This is cooked first and two eggs are cracked in the middle.

Once the egg whites are cooked to form the base, sardine curry is spooned over the eggs with their wobbly egg yolks. Chopped onions and chillies are sprinkled on top.

A final flourish includes blow-torching the side of the roti to make sure it's crispy before it's served.

Dig in to the 'roti sarang burung' with its sardine curry topping for a satisfying breakfast

It's not my first time trying roti sarang burung. Usually the topping is a meat curry so this is unusual, since they use canned sardines.

The sardine curry on its own is quite mild. What gives it a spicy kick are those chopped green and red chillies, leaving your tongue tingling a little.

The contrast of the cooked egg whites, runny egg yolks, sardine curry and that crunchy edge makes it a great start for the day.

Almost every table has at least one order of roti sarang burung.

The plain 'roti canai' is quite tender and crispy with flaky bits

We tried the plain roti canai to gauge their dough on its own. It's pretty nice eaten plain too, with a soft texture and you get crispy flaky bits too.

What lets it down though is the dhal and sambal though. There wasn't much flavour to it.

I reckon, you're better off grabbing one of the dishes from their spread of curries, dishes, ayam goreng for nasi lemak, if you order the plain roti.

Help yourself to 'nasi lemak' and the spread of dishes for breakfast

Pick from various curries, 'ayam goreng' and so forth for your 'nasi lemak' or even the plain 'roti canai'

They serve all kinds of flatbreads, including roti tsunami too, where roti canai is flooded with curry and served with soft boiled eggs.

For the roti sarang burung, it was RM5 while the roti canai was RM1.50.

Rumah Kuning, 17, Jalan Raja Abdullah, Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur. Open: 6am to 3pm. Off days not fixed. Roti is only available from 6am to 11am. Lunch is served after 11am onwards.

* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.

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