Rtn Laang brought back Kampar's Curry Bread @ Regular Meeting- 2 April 2008

Roti ayam, however, is a whole 'nother story. It's quite an ingenious creation, really: chicken curry baked in a bag of grease-proof paper that's been tucked inside a huge loaf of bread. This isn't a one-pot meal, it's a one-loaf meal.

But beyond the novelty factor, what does Kampar's roti ayam have going for it? For starters, the curry - red, with plenty of fragrant fresh curry leaves, sour and zesty with chili and a hint of lime - is kick-a**. Big chucks of long-stewed, tender chicken slide right off the bone. And the bread, slightly sweet and eggy (think challah) with a crispy, burnished crust and a tender crumb, is divine on its own, and just this side of heaven dipped in the curry.
I've been pondering the origin of this strange and wonderful treat. Kampar, a mostly Chinese town, also has a fairly large Indian population. Indian curry in a Chinese-style sweet baked dough - here we have the Malaysian ethnic mix on a plate. (I've considered, and discounted, the possibility that roti ayam is distantly related to that most frightening of American mall 'pub' food, chowder in a bread bowl.)
Is Kampar's chicken bread worth a stop on the way to Ipoh or back down to KL? Yes, most definately. I'm fairly certain it's also available to go, to be re-heated, if not baked, in one's home oven. The place to find it is here: Yau Kee Restaurant, 55 Jalan Idris, Kampar. Tel. 05-465-1738. Open 7am-6pm.