Of Pratas, Plasters and Dinosaurs

Craving for the local flavours of Singapore, i came across this fascinating video of prata at Bukit Timah. Here you get a dizzying view of local favourites - Milo Dinosaur, Teh Tarik and of course the humble Prata! Catch the sideline sights of the Indian man pushing a heavy garbage bin across the room and the pretty Singapore lasses feeding on this feast.

This common breakfast fare which comes from South India has propogated an uncommon variety of mutations and accompanying drinks when sleepless Singaporeans began frequenting 24hr prata shops across the island.

PRATAS, MURTABAKS AND SUCH

The receipe for a prata seems simple enough but making one is an art. Watch the marvelous prata show online to see how these eastern pizzas are truly made. This is only outdone by the craftmanship that went into this bomb prata (a prata made of honey and butter, slurp!). UrbanWire, last month, wrote about Mr Prata, an outlet at Clementi. The article gives details of unique creations such as Tissue Prata, Italian Prata and Tuna and Mayonnaise Murtabak.

And what's a plaster?? Check Jim's Journal.

But should Roti Prata (Singaporean version) be merged with Roti Canai (Malaysian version)? Or do we truly have a distinct flavour?

DINOSAURS, T-REX & GODZILLA

It seems the Milo Dinosaur is now THE drink to accompany a good prata where once the simple teh-tarik or its later innovation, teh cino and kopi cino would have been prefered. AsiaOne's Wine and Dine's January 15, 2006 entry gives the history of teh tarik and claims that teh cino was invented by A&A Restaurant off Sembawang Road whilst Milo Godzilla was the fruit of Al-Azhar off Upper Bukit Timah. The Milo Dinosaur itself is a Malaysian invention. Basically a glass of iced Milo with a layer of Milo powder topping it, it sells for a hefty S$2. Options for a Horlicks variant, milk version (Milo Eruption)or more healthy fruity versions have been made available in other outlets. Check AsiaOne's Wine and Dine's July 3, 2006 entry for these new inventions.Summer Punch (May 31, 2006) describes the Milo Dinosaur and its gargantuan sister drinks, Milo Godzilla and Milo King Kong at Al-Ameen (T-Rex is common too but not profiled here). They progress in power and calories with each added scoop of whipped-cream and ice-cream.

Yes, Al-Ameen seems to be the oft cited site in blogs for these delicacies. Check out Recent Rune's entry on the outlet's infamous history and its other 24hr offerings.