Fairy's Strange Tribute to Junk Food!
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When the Roti Man Comes A-Honkin'!
by Farah 'Fairy' Mahdzan (13-Oct-2003) | Readers Say

Typically, I would spend my afternoons after school lazily reading books, watching television or playing Lego with my brother. Come almost three o'clock in the afternoon I would no longer be concentrating on my playtime but I would instead watchfully eye the big clock near the stairway as it neared the 'special hour.'

The closing sounds of repetitive honking and the rumbling of a motorcycle in the distance would pierce the quietness of the afternoon thus confirming his arrival. With flailing arms and a handful of money in my pocket I'd dash outside to open the gates so that I could wait for him to drop by the house: the Roti Man has arrived!

The roti man, more often Indian than not, would travel around the neighborhood making bread deliveries on his specially designed motorcycle which allowed him to store and dangle all manner of sweet bread and junk food as far as the eye could see. Needless to say the roti man was also every mother and child's favorite merchant as it meant no one had to leave the house or cross dangerously busy roads to buy their favorite junk food for snacking or cream-filled buns for tea.

Now nearing the age of a quarter of a century and seemingly more appreciative of my childhood memories, I had wanted to pay tribute to the roti man ever since I put up a section on junk food on my website. My only problem was trying to catch the man in action during the afternoons, during which I am usually at work. I wanted original snapshots of the man to accompany my story, but how was I to obtain them?

One evening however, I met with a blessing in disguise when I got lost trying to locate a friend's house after work just before sunset. There he was, a roti man making his rounds in the neighborhood of SS3, Petaling Jaya. Without further ado, I made a violent U-turn (the streets were empty, thankfully), vroomed up as close as I could to his parked motorcycle, slammed my brakes to a screeching halt and immediately went out to check out his goods.

The roti man was making a stop at a nearby house to deliver Gardenia bread. Also present, a neighboring father and his child were paying for some snacks that the girl had just picked out. I'm sure it was a daunting task for the kid to figure out what she wanted. Heck, even I at this age couldn't possibly make up my mind about what I wanted from the enormity of choices presented by the roti man.

When the man and girl finally left, it was my turn to be attended to. I didn't get the roti man's name but I called him what every Malaysian would call an elderly man: Uncle. No, he's not my uncle but it's one of those polite references we instinctively give strangers to create a friendlier atmosphere.

Now "Uncle's" bike was true prototype of all roti man motorcycles. It's simply a motor kapcai (ordinary motorcycle) with a large metal container affixed to the back portion. While he stores loaves of bread inside the giant cube tin can, other goodies such as shrimp crackers, caramel-glazed popcorn, sweet coconut shavings-filled buns, chocolate, sardine and raisin breads will be suspended in big clear plastic bags from the sides. There is just about everything on there that could easily drive a kid to the brinks of junk food insanity.

Just to sidetrack for a minute: recently this year, I had read somewhere that some roti men were involved in the proliferation of illegal and pirated video CDs. Apparently you could purchase bootleg VCDs from your local roti man if you asked for them. The VCDs are supposedly stored inside that big metal container. How true this is, I will never know for I didn't bother asking "Uncle" if he had bootleg copies of The Italian Job starring Mark Wahlberg. It just seemed so silly.

I was a bit dumbstruck however when "Uncle" asked me what I wanted to buy and I just couldn't form the words. It was a dilemma to be both buying and photographing at the same time, so I decided to just tell Uncle what I wanted while I merrily clicked my shutters away. He didn't seem to mind.

While "Uncle" was searching among those dozens of plastics bags for my chocolate cream-filled buns (the ones that I usually took to school for a snack), I couldn't help but feel like a child as I saw all the junk food dangling from his motorcycle.

It takes skill and courage to maneuver a two-wheel vehicle heavily adorned with Mamee, Twisties and roti krim, don't you think?

Some of the things I remember purchasing from my childhood days include coconut-filled buns, cornets, raisin buns, cream buns, and various salty munchies such as Twisties, UFO, Mamee and Roro Potato Chips.

Now I haven't seen these dry breadsticks for a while, so it brought a rush of memories for me. These crunchy things are a teatime delight if you have a mug of hot chocolaty Milo in which you'd dunk your breadstick allowing it to soften slightly before chewing on it. Utter bliss!

After randomly picking up God-knows-what from "Uncle's" motorbike, I asked the man to calculate my items as it was getting late and we had both better get going. I still needed to stick to my original agenda: find my friend's house before dark! Although, the sidetrack incident of meeting the roti man was worth my delay.

"Dua ringgit, 'Dik," concluded "Uncle," after mentally summing up the figures in his head.

"Hah, dua ringgit je?? (Only two ringgit?)" I exclaimed. "Betul ke Uncle! (Are you sure!)" I cried in disbelief.

The old man let out a hearty guffaw and said "Betul lah, tarak tipu punya. (It's true, I'm not lying.)"

Honestly it has been literally years since I bought anything from the roti man. I clearly had thought I picked up more than two ringgit worth of junk food but hey, it's nice to know that in some cases, prices of things haven't changed much over the years. After all I wouldn't want to be paying more money than I should for edibles that were going to make my hair fall out faster than daily consumptions of Maggi Mee could.

Two ringgit for this bag of surprises. Boy oh boy.

No one deserves the award of Best Local Superhero more than the friendly roti man who faithfully and courageously comes honking around your neighborhood on his motorcycle carrying enough junk food to attract mobfuls of hungry and Mamee craving children! Lord only knows how many times he's narrowly escaped those.

Can there ever be a nobler hero?

 

RELATED STORIES:
WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT When the Roti Man Comes A-Honkin'!:
#60. Only RM 2?? Last time I bought that many it was around RM 4. Ceh. Ahh ... I love them my heroes!
Posted by Ebil on 16-Feb-2008, 22:26 MYT

#59. Oh man this made my lunch hour so worthwhile!! I'm here eating mexican food from Baja Fresh and decided to see what was on your site (ran out things to read on MSN and CNN). I'm trying not to laugh out loud in cubicle-city here where I work My chips and salsa aren't going to cut it now after reading about Mamee, Twisties and those UFO-ish snacks. *drool*
Posted by Vonnie on 29-Sep-2006, 03:46 MYT

#58. Hey great article! Good that someone has taken the time to tribute to these guys, I think everyone who is a real Malaysian would know and have experienced the roti man experience. I always bought the long bread buns with chocolate inside, 20sen I think, great stuff! Sometimes those 'O'-shaped crisps too, the really orangey ones which were full of artificial flavouring (GOOD artificial flavouring)
Hah, this brought back memories, again, nice article, good job man!
Posted by Adam - Website   on 12-Dec-2005, 17:39 MYT

#57. HUAA...ADA SUPER RING...DR DULU SAMPAI SKRG SUPER RING WILL ALWAYS BE MY FAV JUNK FOOD..HAHAHAHHAA. kalau beli mesti buat mcm cincin..penuh semua jari n then mkn sambil jilat2 jari..akakaka...n dr dulu sampai skrg babu roti will be my best friends pagi2..biasa la kan..everyday need to buy my apollo and coklat panjang2..forgot the name already..hihihi....
Posted by TAJEYDA on 25-Jun-2005, 20:23 MYT

#56. wah....this article truly arise my past childhood. Do you have sugus candy in malaysia, fairy? It looks like starburst candy but sugus come up with many mix fruit flavours. Yummy deh.... I could chew down 5 or more different flavours when I was at primary school (I can still do it I suppose ) hehe... )
Posted by ceni on 16-Sep-2004, 17:27 MYT

#55. Hi Fairy! SS3/41 is quite near lah! ONe day when I have too much time in my hands, I might actually go and take a look. hehehe... Thanks for the info!

AMP? as in astro? He's still there ler! I knew him since high-school! through another bunch of people... Hex is so damn lucky to know interesting people like you!
Posted by FireAngel - Website   on 23-Jul-2004, 09:14 MYT

#54. Hey fireangel, you live in SS3 ya? I stay in SS2, so not too far off. I actually bumped into the roti man while I was trying to look for a friend's house after working hours, around 6pm or so. Specifically the roti man was on Jalan SS3/41 so if you wanna run into the fella you gotta be around that area around 6-7pm. Try your luck lah. Hehe. Let me know how it turns out.

And oh, how do you know Mr. Hyperhex? Friend from school? I used to work with him in AMP.
Posted by Fairy on 15-Jun-2004, 18:04 MYT

#53. hey... i read ur blogs once in a while ( i know hyperhex.com personally).. and I love the way u write and the stuff u write about...

Anyways i cudnt help but noticing that u mentioned the rotiman wandering around SS3. I LIVE in SS3!!! and I've never HEARD HIM B4!!! SS3 MANA?!?!?!

it's just been a LONG time since I've seen a real rotiman on his bike..... so i was just wondering..do let me know ya?
Posted by fireangel - Website   on 15-Jun-2004, 17:53 MYT

#52. OMG! I love old school junk food. Your article has made my day, its nice to know that I'm not the only one who's always kepingin makan keropok2 from the good old childhood days . . you know, I'm in Singapore, and I'm still able to get Roro potato chips (which I have declared the best potato chips ever, way way better than Lays) but that Ali Baba one is like whoah .. the packaging is so unique. perhaps i wasn't born, but I vaguely remember eating that snack at all . . Do you remember this chicken snack called Kaka? It comes in red packaging with roosters on them . . I can't stop smiling . . but we dun get mama rotis on bikes in singapore . . the only bai rotis who still exist (they're truly endangered species here) only sells pink, yellow and rainbowed buns with butter and kaya
Posted by aidah on 7-Dec-2003, 22:49 MYT

#51. aku sekarang pengen makan siomay & roti bakat cokelat!!
huaaa..... kangenn
Posted by im on 15-Nov-2003, 22:58 MYT

#50. Putra, saya tidak tahu kalau album Agnes Monica beredar di Malaysia. Saya belum pernah ketemu di toko musik.
Posted by Fairy on 15-Nov-2003, 10:23 MYT

#49. halo, salam kenal! saya ingin bertanya, apakah album terbaru Agnes Monica juga beredar di malaysia? saat ini lagu-lagu di album itu merajai radio-radio dan televisi di indonesia, keren abis! terutama yang berjudul Cinta Mati (featuring Dhani-Dewa)
Posted by putra on 13-Nov-2003, 17:40 MYT

#48. Terima kasih Roedi. Asik juga di tempat kamu banyak tukang lewat. Saya sangat menghargai jasa2 tukang lewat Indonesia yang selalu ada di saat2 kita lapar. Kalau mau ngirim artikel sila kirim email ke saya dulu.
Posted by Fairy on 12-Nov-2003, 06:18 MYT

#47. Waaahhh...web-nya asyik juga nih!...

Salam kenal Fai !… gue suka banget dengan artikel2 yang Fai tulis. Gue jadi tau banyak tentang kehidupan dan budaya di Malaysia nih, walaupun nggak jauh beda dengan Indonesia.

Fai...tahu nggak, di tempat tinggal gue, tukang lewat (pedagang keliling) kalau gue hitung dari pagi sampai malam tu, ada sekitar 15-20 tukang lewat !!!. dari tukang kue, roti, bubur ayam, ketoprak, lontong sayur, bakso (4 pedagang), susu (fresh milk), es (ice cream), es lilin, bakwan malang, pangsit, sate padang, kerang hijau rebus, sate ayam, Siomay, buah salak (pakai mobil, man!), Asinan dan lain-lain. Jadi kalo Fai ke tempat tinggal gue nggak bakal kelaparan deh…he..he..Ap alagi, beberapa dari rumah gue ada perusahaan/pabrik roti…wah Fai, kalau mereka sedang memanggang roti, baunya sampai kerumah gue…hhmmm wanginya…tapi kalau lagi bulan puasa (ramadhan) kayak gini, mereka biasanya mengurangi aktifitasnya atau merubah jam kerjanya, yang biasa siang jadi sore atau malam hari.

Oke...buat semua pengunjung website-nya Fairy, salam kenal…

Btw… Fai, boleh nggak gue kirim2 artikel..tapi pakai bahasa Indonesia aja yah, soalnya grammar bahasa inggris gue masih banyak salahnya..he..he..

Posted by Roedi Habibie - Website   on 12-Nov-2003, 02:58 MYT

#46. I love the smell of the bread and the plastic in which it comes wrapped.
Posted by Fairy on 8-Nov-2003, 13:36 MYT

#45. Oh.. yes the good old days. In my kampung, dah beberapa generations of 'Bai' dah. They come and go.. mostly dah balik India.

Dulu naik basikal, now dah upgrade naik motor kapcai.

Now, my kids pulak yang every petang mananti kedatangan 'Ali Baba'. Hmm.. its going to be their childhood memories pulak.. kan?
Posted by Suria on 7-Nov-2003, 13:22 MYT

#44. Thanks for ur instant reply. It's me, the one who 'cry'

We also got a Roti Man travelling around our neigborhood in penang, around my grandma's house. I thought I would never find one at KL. Maklum lah.. KuPer. hehe. Uncle roti, my little cousins would call 'mamak roti' slalu nyer drops by around 1PM.. fuih panas banget tuh!
My fav is always roti kaya. enak
Posted by dona - Website   on 6-Nov-2003, 01:25 MYT

#43. hahahaha comeynya your story about rotiman really lighten up my boring monday evening...
Posted by nonie on 3-Nov-2003, 17:06 MYT

#42. fairy... rindu la dgn "Bai" roti.. kat my place.. dia naik basikal.. now dah takde sbb dah tua sangat.. I love to have roti putar bergula.. and like u.. mamee, rota.. oohh.. childhood.. lots of memories..

btw, masa saya ke Jakarta, mmg ramai kalih tukang lewatnya.. "mee dokdok, sate, jamu, segala ada.. " kangen aahh ama suasana di sana.. kapan ya bisa ke jakarta lagi nih..
Posted by ifah - Website   on 3-Nov-2003, 16:23 MYT

#41. uiks shamam.. JKL jugak yek dulu. kat area mana tuh?
Posted by im on 31-Oct-2003, 00:13 MYT

#40. ShinShin, thank you very much for your cooperation.

lutfi, putu mayam man? Dulu around my house area ada jugak, but now dah tak pernah dengar lagi.

Adi, salam kenal juga ya.
Posted by Fairy on 30-Oct-2003, 22:28 MYT

#39. bingung liat isi sitenya.. rame kaliiii.. tp lucuuuu ekekekeke especialy ROTIMAN ahahahahahah salam kenal ya..
Posted by adi - Website   on 30-Oct-2003, 18:15 MYT

#38. Fairy, slamat berpuasa!

tringat bun yg inti coklat, strawberry. I don't recall the name. "Sweetie" I guess. tak ingat sgt.

How about a story about Putu Mayam guy?
Posted by lutfi on 30-Oct-2003, 08:48 MYT

#37. My fave item from the roti-man is 'roti kaya'. U just can't get it anywer else! yummy!
Posted by Susanna - Website   on 29-Oct-2003, 14:03 MYT

#36. hey mister Posan, gimana kabarnya. Indocampus sudah baik kah?

hiddenhate, terima kasih di atas informasi trivia itu ttg adat orang betawi. lucu juga, roti berbentuk buaya. kenapa buaya ya?
Posted by Fairy on 29-Oct-2003, 09:40 MYT

#35. waaah .. rotiii

tahukah kamu ? kalo adat masyarakat betawi (penduduk asli jakarta) dalam melamar untuk menikah, pihak pengantin pria datang ke rumah pihak pengantin wanita datang dengan membawa makanan, buah2 dan ROTI BUAYA ..



yap ! roti berbentuk buaya !!

soalnya anaknya uwak saya dilamar sama orang betawi ..

udah gitu, ada acara pencak silat pula sebelum masuk ke rumah calon pengantin wanita

Posted by hiddenhate on 29-Oct-2003, 09:06 MYT

#34. huhuhu mbak im.. jalankelang lama? macam serupa aje alamat lama hehehhe tp x pasan la plak bai roti tu.. kecik sgt time tu
Posted by shamam on 28-Oct-2003, 12:57 MYT

#33. hey fairy, damn those pix of bakwan malang are makin me hungry im getting one for dinner tonight... selamat berpuasa 2 u, and good luck!
Posted by master p - Website   on 27-Oct-2003, 19:46 MYT

#32. kak fairy,

sorry betol ya. i hav noticed the unauthorised usage of the pic upon receiving that mail . now i hav instructed my webbie and graphic guy who did it to alter it. shin mintak maaf.......

shin condemns plagiarism to no end !

sekian, salam berposa.

regards,

ShinShin
Link
Posted by ShinShin - Website   on 27-Oct-2003, 01:53 MYT

#31. ShinShin,

My website is not a blog. It is an infotainment website.

I just sent you an email regarding the unauthorized usage of one of my photos on your website.
Posted by Fairy on 26-Oct-2003, 19:14 MYT

#30. hi dudez,

roti memang nice ya, or the kropokz ? tak yah strict diet laa. you see fairy makan so much junkz tapi tetap in hourglass shape kan.

mamak will be nice. anyone who can recommend me a good mamak or warung, i will reward him 1,000 dinarz. see the Nurul who got it yesterdae.

fairy u punya web nie... website ke blog ya ? dunno what category u shd fall into in my linkz page. drop by my blog okie.

interesting lah sangat.
Posted by ShinShin - Website   on 26-Oct-2003, 15:32 MYT

#29. The coconut bun is my all time favourite...But I'm on strict diet now. So no more junk food!!!!! Sight*
Posted by anen on 24-Oct-2003, 12:43 MYT

#28. Im tu aslinya mana? orang utara ya? banyak yang tidak saya mengerti...
Posted by Bagas on 24-Oct-2003, 00:55 MYT

#27. Im, a ah Ali Baba tu dua puluh sen. Benda murah yang paling tak best.

Adhe, sip, ditunggu2 deh berita hangatnya!
Posted by Fairy on 23-Oct-2003, 17:55 MYT

#26. Wooww janggutnya antik juga tuh.... keknya bakalan jadi a good topic huehehe.. btw I sedang memburu beritanya Fai, udah ada kameranya, pake 7650.. dolo ada digicam tapi males bawa2nya huehehe.. so jez wait wokeh *wink wink*
Posted by Adh3 - Website   on 23-Oct-2003, 01:48 MYT

#25. tu yg terkezut tuh. idop lagi ali baba tu. packaging pun still the same. hahaha.. still use newspaper wrap mende lam tuh. hampeh btol... tak upgrade pun.
dulu² suke beli pasai nak dapat mainan yg ada dlm tu. how much yekk... stil 20sen?
Posted by im on 23-Oct-2003, 00:15 MYT

#24. OMG Oya, hahaha that's hilarious! Two roti man racing each other?? Buns and bread slices flying everywhere on the highway!

Ali Baba junk food tu has been around for quite a while lah ya, Im? I baru beli first time tu and I must say it is the worst junk food I've ever tasted! The snacks are supposed to be shrimp puffs or whatever the heck they were but the taste was so bland, tawar babe, takde rasa. Lebih baik kunyah kertas je.

And the toy that came with it was pretty shoddy as well, pathethic, some sort of water squirter. Packaging dia pun hampeh, pakai newspaper lama heh. Some mom and pop junkfood co. from Kedah yang manufacture.

Here are some pictures of the God-awful Ali Baba snacks.


Posted by Fairy on 22-Oct-2003, 23:36 MYT

#23. ehh... Ali Baba tuh ada lagik. hehehe.. apa dapat dlm die mbak? tuh salah satu fav aku kecik2 dulu.
malang sungguh kat umah nih takde Bai camtu. ada lori roti uncle apek je. Ali Baba pun takde.
Posted by im on 22-Oct-2003, 21:53 MYT

#22. huu.. kisah klasik lagi nih mbak.
awal 80an mamak roti nih dtg kat area umah jln klang lama naik beskal. awal 90an pun naik beskal lagik... tapi kalo die 'balik kg' org yg ganti musti naik motor. penah nampak Bai aku nih.. naik beskal dari OUG.. masa tuh umah kat tmn medan & penah nampak die dah nak balik dlm jam 8pm depan umah aku (kire patah balik balik umah die kot). trip umah aku sekitar jam 3pm. aku rasa sepjg jln klang lama tuh die konker. sampai la tahun 1998 aku kat situ die stil ada lagi.
hebat btol die kayuh basikal carik rejeki. yg aku pelik tuh.. pasai die tanak naik motor yek? tak reti hagaknyer..tapi die memang sihat la.. dah tua jugak tu.
tapi paling hebat tiap tahun musti 'balik kg' for a mth.rejeki jual roti .
aku paling suke roti potong brand Everyday. 1st time aku beli 50sen jer. pehtu naik 60sen pehtu naik lagi dan lagi dan lagi. kalo takde brand tuh.. aku takkan beli masa dedolu tuh. tapi brand tuh dah jarang tgk now. Roti pun hebat dah now.... siap ada iklan tv lagi.
hiks.. sapa nama Bai aku tuh yek.. tak penah ku tanye pun. Die the best Bai in d world.
Posted by im on 22-Oct-2003, 21:45 MYT

#21. "Uncle, tlg kira...masuk buku ye uncle.." he he...really missed those days..time tu borong junk food x yah pening2 pk mahal ke tak..cukup duit ke tak..ahaks! sume masuk buku..at the end of the month...abah bayar bill!! he he..bil roti kenkadang boleh exceed rm30/month!!!
Posted by nurull on 22-Oct-2003, 19:30 MYT

#20. Artikel yang sungguh menarik! Orang biasa tak melihat macam Fairy melihat, inilah kerja orang kreatif.

Teringat masa kecil dulu, petang-petang beli roti dan puttu mayam dari Roti Man.

Masa kecik dapat duaposen macam dapat satu dunia. Bila dah besar, dua ringgit macam duaposen aje nilainya.
Posted by basrie - Website   on 22-Oct-2003, 16:58 MYT

#19. i missed my childhood ..... oh boy.. how time flies. i can still recall..everytime rotiman dropped by at my house, i'd buy lots of kerepek pedas.
Posted by didre on 22-Oct-2003, 16:54 MYT

#18. siip deh! lumayan roti man jadi superhero...! Kalo di Indo lebih ramai donk Superheronya...goren gan man, ba'so man, pangsit man....etc.....he he he
Posted by Ana on 22-Oct-2003, 16:09 MYT

#17. Back in '98, I was on the PLUS highway driving back to Spore, there's this 2 mamak roti kat Melaka tengah lumba sapa laju...mak oi, mengerbang roti2 sumer kat tepi 'kotak besi' belakang bai2 nih...was really funny. Farah, kudos!!! good job 'bout roti man nih...I love my bai roti back in Muar.....now he's gone, his son carried the career not with the motorcycle, but with a van.
Posted by oya on 22-Oct-2003, 16:05 MYT

#16. Very nostalgic article, Fairy.
I remember seeing a beautiful commercial--if I'm not mistaken by Caltex on Malaysian TV--showing a roti man taking shelter from the rain at a petrol kiosk: They take care of everyone on the road, including the roti man.
Unfortunately these days, I only hear calls for "suratkhabar lama" resonating throughout my Subang Jaya area.
Posted by K. - Website   on 22-Oct-2003, 10:35 MYT

#15. Best idea Mat Jan. mamak roti menyelamatkan kanak-kanak (and those not so kanak-kanak) dari kelaparan!

fairy's right. mamak roti = terer.

p.s- fai bila hang sakit? kesiannya, u ok? goodla if feeel better now. so noble siap gagah buat article lagi. respek.
Posted by lissa on 22-Oct-2003, 09:33 MYT

#14. otty, the roti man is a superhero. Superheroes can balance anything well, even motorcycles with strings of bread & junkfood attached to their super vehicles.
Posted by Fairy on 22-Oct-2003, 08:09 MYT

#13. my bad..i meant to type otty a.k.a rina..
Posted by otty - Website   on 22-Oct-2003, 04:01 MYT

#12. I wonder how he balances the motorbike with all that food hanging in there
Posted by rina a.k.a rina - Website   on 22-Oct-2003, 04:00 MYT

#11. fairy mahdzan membuat pusingan rally style!
Posted by zack on 22-Oct-2003, 01:34 MYT

#10. haha! mamak roti. dulu2 masa aku kecik2 ada mamak roti naik basikal lagi! bayangkan basikal tua bawak tong besar dengan roti/keropok bergantung-gantung. pin-pon-pin-pon! mamak roti datang, mintak duit kat mak dan beli cikedis, kam-kam, roti sekaya, dan lain-lain. woohoo!!

TV3 patut buat rancangan MAMAK ROTI, 6 EPISOD.
Posted by MAT JAN on 21-Oct-2003, 21:24 MYT

#9. Heh, I knew some of you would have fond memories of the 'roti mamak' man. Indeed the men deserve recognition after so many years of dedicated hard work in pleasing many kids!

Just a little trivia: before I did this article, I was driving home once and had to stop for a red light. Right next to my car was a roti man and I just had this urge to just roll down my windows to tell him to meet me at a corner further up where I could buy stuff from him and generally write this article. Of course by the time I decided to execute this idea, the traffic lights turned green and we had to go our separate ways. Parting is such sweet sorrow huhu.

But yeah, finding this man in SS3 while I was getting lost made up for everything. I even forgave Jida for giving me such vague directions to her house!

And you know what, I think he already knows he's a superhero, Bagas. He's just too humble to say anything.

Noreen, satu2 lah, I can't be doing a scoop on every single mobile merchant that peddles our neighborhood hehe. When will I sleep and eat? I was so dying to include a MP3 of the honk that the mamak roti man makes whenever he does his rounds but alas, I had limited recording resources. Maybe it's time to invest in a video digicam eh?

Fana, I'm doing better thanks. Buktinya, I was strong enough today to do this article.

And yes lissa, I'm psychic. Only where junk food and Indonesia are concerned.
Posted by Fairy on 21-Oct-2003, 19:41 MYT

#8. huekekeke...kocak abiss, esp. the last pic. gimana ya reaksi tukang rotinya kalo tahu doi jadi superhero?
Posted by bagas on 21-Oct-2003, 19:18 MYT

#7. Farah, how could you??? You did the roti man and did not make reference to the Ice cream man and the Old Newspaper man??? hahahah! just kidding. Hey, if you ever do a feature on the Ice Cream man, can you attach a mpeg file of the song they play? I remember as a child, the hair on the back of my neck would rise when I hear the song from the Ice Cream man.

The Roti Man is definitely a great childhood memory. All those bags of goodies! Macam nak pengsan tgk all the good stuff. My favorite (till today) which I can't find anywhere in any bakery, is the raisin bread. It's soft, rich in flavor and generous in raisins. It's soooo good... comes with a little bit of sweet goo on the tops of the bun. Yummy.......

Anyways, great article again, girl!
Posted by Noreen on 21-Oct-2003, 19:09 MYT

#6. Wuaaa..kayaknya yummy tuh Fai....
btw udah sembuh blom?
Posted by Fun on 21-Oct-2003, 18:05 MYT

#5.
oh and love the first photo. cool sial pakcik tu posing.
Posted by lissa on 21-Oct-2003, 17:41 MYT

#4. dear fairy,

u have truly outdone urself this time. My eyes were brimming with tears at the memory of the heroic and noble 'mamak roti'. Best damn provider of junk food news, without a doubt.

i swear girl, u got ur finger in all the "best-childhood memories" pies. Just yesterday i screamed with delight when my friend's car passed by one mamak roti. U psychic ka? (cue voice full of awe).

my personal favorite? roti benggali cicah air milo my grandma used to make. especially when its raining outside. thanks girl, u made me remember the best precious times.
Posted by lissa on 21-Oct-2003, 17:38 MYT

#3. kita pulak kekecik dulu panggil "bai roti"
Posted by aishah on 21-Oct-2003, 17:38 MYT

#2. teringat masa dolu2.. panggil roti cream tu.. "roti bun" ehehehe.. ape ler.. but yeah! ksrang roti man dah naik lori..
Posted by eLLieZ de`HearT on 21-Oct-2003, 17:01 MYT

#1. hey! i love the UFO thingies! and the green packet keropok thingies! and old mamee!
man i was a junkie! back then! teehee
Posted by nerrie on 21-Oct-2003, 16:57 MYT

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