' (lit. "grilled bread") refers to toast, usually prepared with grilled white bread, in both the Indonesian and Malay languages. The dish is a popular breakfast food as well as tea time snack in countries like

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

, and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

. Historically, was grilled or toasted by using

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ...

as a heat source in many communities throughout the region, though this practice has dwindled with the advent of modern technology. Common spreads for include

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was or ...

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condim ...

peanut butter Peanut butter is a food paste or spread made from ground, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, sweeteners, or emulsifiers. Peanut butter is consumed in many countri ...

, and kaya.

Variants

Indonesia

In Indonesia, is usually prepared as a sandwich of grilled white bread with a filling, consumed both as a light breakfast and a common street food. was developed during the era of Dutch colonial rule as a practical way to consume day-old bread; it was typically served with

condensed milk Condensed milk is cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of ''sweetened condensed milk'' (SCM), to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condense ...

, or

Dutch cheese This is a list of cheeses from, or connected with, the Netherlands. Dutch cheeses * Beemster – a hard cow's milk cheese, traditionally from cows grazed on sea-clay soil in polders. * Boerenkaas – "farmhouse cheese", prepared using raw unpa ...

s. After

Indonesian independence The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence ( id, Proklamasi Kemerdekaan Indonesia, or simply ''Proklamasi'') was read at 10:00 on Friday, 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of th ...

, became ubiquitous throughout Indonesia, as consumption of toast became a matter of taste for its people as opposed to the practicality of avoiding the wastage of stale bread. Roti bakar

Many flavor variants have been developed for modern tastes, such as , crushed

Oreo Oreo () (stylized as OREO) is a brand of sandwich cookie consisting of two biscuits or cookie pieces with a sweet creme filling. It was introduced by Nabisco on March 6, 1912, and through a series of corporate acquisitions, mergers and splits ...

biscuits, or chocolate syrup.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, kaya and cold butter are a popular combination to spread on . When prepared in this same manner, it is considered to be identical to the Singaporean

kaya toast Kaya toast is a dish consisting of two slices of toast with butter and kaya (coconut jam), commonly served alongside coffee and soft-boiled eggs. In Singapore, the dish is commonly consumed for breakfast. It became integrated into kopi tiam (c ...

. The city of

Ipoh , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Ipoh in Perak , pushpin_map = #Malaysia#Asia#Earth , pushpin_mapsize = 275px , pushpin_map_caption = Ipoh in Malaysia , coordinates ...

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand' ...

is known for its

kopitiam A ''kopitiam'' or ''kopi tiam'' () is a type of coffee shop mostly found in parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Southern Thailand patronised for meals and beverages, and traditionally operated by the Chinese community of t ...

establishments, where accompanied with local tea or coffee beverages and a serving of half boiled eggs is a staple order during morning or afternoon tea. A variation on is , a thick warm toast with kaya spread onto all four corners and topped with a half-boiled egg.

References

{{Street food Bruneian cuisine Indonesian breads Indonesian fusion cuisine Malaysian breads Malaysian cuisine Street food in Indonesia

Variants

Indonesia

Malaysia

See also

References