GEORGE TOWN, April 24 — Crunchy on the outside, oozing savoury meaty goodness inside, the Hainanese roti babi is a snack worth biting into for breakfast or simply as a snack.

The origins of roti babi are hard to trace but it is believed to be a Hainanese dish with Peranakan influences in the seasonings. Some consider it a Peranakan dish but on the other hand, it is also known as a Hainanese one so perhaps it is the result of a marriage of different cultures, typical of most Penang food.

Roti babi is essentially French toast with minced pork but prepared in such a way that every mouthful is a burst of flavours and textures.

The savoury pork filling is what makes the roti babi different and though there are different recipes for the filling, the constant is the minced pork that is mixed with diced carrots, jicama and onions.

Depending on the stall, the filling will vary due to different styles of cooking, ingredients and seasonings. Some even add shiitake mushrooms or crab meat but these are hard to find due to the high cost of these items.

The minced pork mixture is usually seasoned with soy sauce and a variety of spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise or the Chinese five spice powder.

It is first stir fried until it’s cooked before it is stuffed into thick slices of bread where slits have been made in the bread.

Now, comes the best part. The bread is dipped into an egg mixture and then deep fried so its crust is a golden brown before it is removed and drained.

This results in crunchy bread on the outside and when you bite into it, be prepared for the juicy meaty goodness of its filling to spill out.

That’s not all; no roti babi is complete without its special sauce. It must be served with a special concoction of Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, sugar and sometimes a tinge of vinegar.

This sauce gives the roti babi a nice layer of sweet and tangy flavours while chopped cili padi added to the sauce gives it the extra oomph for a spicy finish.

Despite this being an old recipe, there are still quite a few stalls offering roti babi with the hawker’s individual interpretation so roti babi from each stall tastes different.

Here are some places that we’ve tried and liked:

Taman Sireh open air hawker area Lengkok Burmah, Pulau Tikus GPS: 5.427782, 100.314718 Time: 11am-3pm

This stall is operated by the sisters of Senior Citizens Association’s cafe fame. Now they are selling at this stall in the daytime and operating at another stall in the Pulau Tikus market at night. Their special sauce has to be the most unique so don’t forget to dip the bread in it. Also, they use minced chicken in their filling instead of pork for those who are health conscious and worried about their cholesterol levels.

New Ninety Nine Cafe Jalan Lembah Permai, Tanjung Bungah GPS: 5.458567, 100.282377 Time: 8am-3pm

It is rather surprising to find roti babi in a coffee shop tucked in a residential area and very near TAR College. Open for breakfast through lunch, their roti babi is thick but with less filling so if you don’t like your meal to be too porky, this is your best bet.

Goodall Tanjong Tokong Food Court Jalan Tanjong Tokong GPS: 5.452284, 100.306060 Time: 7pm-11pm

This food court only opens at night so you can have roti babi for dinner or as a pre-dinner snack too. The stall here offers thick slices of bread that are fried to a nice crunchiness and stuffed with a generous amount of filling so be prepared to be messy as the filling tends to spill out at every bite.

May’s Toast Bread New Cathay Coffeeshop, Jalan Burmah, Pulau Tikus GPS: 5.432503, 100.309517 Time: 7am-1pm

This stall offers the standard breakfast sets and it’s also known for their roti babi. The roti babi tastes and looks different compared to that found in other places. This is because the bread is coated with breadcrumbs before it is fried to give it extra crunchiness.