SINGAPORE: Kaya toast—the country’s quintessential breakfast—was recently listed among the top 50 most delicious sandwiches worldwide, to the delight of many but the disappointment of some of the nation’s neighbors across the Causeway.
Food website Taste Atlas published its list on Monday (Mar 11), topped by Vietnam’s beloved Bánh Mì with a rating of 4.6. Kaya toast rated 4.2 along with 20 other sandwiches from around the world.
Read also: Singapore’s kaya toast listed among top 50 most delicious sandwiches worldwide
And while its description begins with “Kaya toast is a popular Malaysian and Singaporean breakfast,” it’s listed as being Singaporean, with the Singaporean flag.
The rest of the description says, “It is believed that the dish originated with Hainanese people who worked on British ships as cooks. Eventually, they settled in Singapore and started to sell their food to the locals, who then replaced the British jams with local coconut spreads. Today, there is a variety of kaya toasts such as cracker kaya toast, steamed kaya toast, and French kaya toast.”
The exclusion of Malaysia’s flag did not go unnoticed. On the social media website Weird Kaya, the article “S’pore’s Kaya Toast Makes It Into World’s Top 50 Tastiest Sandwiches But M’sia Is Nowhere To Be Seen” was posted on Mar 12.
“The site’s commentary highlights Kaya Toast as a popular breakfast choice in both Malaysia and Singapore, yet only the Singaporean version made it to the list,” the piece noted.
Memes were also shared on the MGAG Facebook page, which appears to suggest that Kaya toast was “stolen” by Singapore from Malaysia. Its caption reads, “from our hainan chicken rice to our kaya toast now.”
The meme has been widely shared and commented on, as many Malaysians appear to agree. One even wrote that Kaya toast from Ipoh is the best.
Another commenter quipped, “This is getting out of hand. We must restore our honor!”
Over on Reddit, one commenter wrote, “Another meaningless ranking by TasteAtlas.” Another questioned its inclusion on the list, writing, “Just because two piece of bread comes together, it is a sandwich?”
There is, of course, a decades-long rivalry between Singapore and Malaysia, in large part due to the common roots the two countries share, which gives rise to the questions concerning what really belongs to whom.
Incidentally, versions of coconut jam on bread can be found in many parts of Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Indonesia, and Laos. /TISG
Read also: ‘This whole idea that Singapore is better than Malaysia needs to stop’ says Singaporean