[Penang] Lunch at A Ghaffoor Martabak Original

[klyeoh (Peter)]

We finally found the most traditional-tasting 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘬 in Penang, made using a recipe which sticks faithfully to its Yemeni origins, at 𝗔 𝗚𝗵𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗸 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 on Dato’ Keramat Road.

Run by Nizal Ashriff Abu Mubarak, a 4th-generation Penang-Hadhrami-Arab whose great-grandfather, A Ghaffoor Adan, emigrated to Penang from Hadhramaut, Yemen, and plied his trade from a pushcart on Bertam Lane in 1945, right after the end of World War II. A Ghaffoor had learnt the 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘬 recipe from his own uncle - a closely-guarded family secret involving a blend of 21 spices.

Ghaffoor’s family operated there for about 6 decades, first taken over by his son, Tahir Abdul Ghaffoor, then Tahir’s son, Abdul Mubarak Tahir. Today, Abdul Mubarak’s son, Nizal, 39, runs the eatery at its current Dato’ Keramat location since Mar 2019.

The term “𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘬” came from the Arabic term “𝘮𝘶ṭ𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘢𝘲” (Arabic: مطبق) meaning “folded”. And here at 𝗔 𝗚𝗵𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗸 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹, one can literally see how the chef folds the oblong-shaped, cooked 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘬 before serving it.

Preparing the murtabak at A Ghaffoor

It’s really wonderful that a family has been able to preserve the original tastes of their family’s specialty dish for 80 years now.

Besides their 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘬, 𝗔 𝗚𝗵𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗿 also offers a wonderfully-scented tomato rice (cooked using basmati grains), with a plethora of Jawi-Peranakan dishes to choose from, like 𝘈𝘺𝘢𝘮 𝘗𝘦𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘩, 𝘒𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘩 𝘒𝘰𝘣𝘪𝘴 (cabbage with chicken livers), 𝘗𝘦𝘫𝘢𝘳𝘪 𝘕𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘴 (sweet-sour pineapple), a very good 𝘋𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘩𝘢 with big chunks of potato, carrot and brinjal, and much more.

Iced Bandung - milk with rose syrup.

By far, the best murtabak in Penang at the moment.

Address
A Ghaffoor Martabak Original
504, Dato Keramat Road, George Town, 10460 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +6012-496 8937
Opening hours: 11am to 5pm Mon to Fri, 10am to 5pm Sat. Closed on Sundays.

[tigerjohn]

Looks great. I’ll add it to the Penang list. How do you feel Penang murtabak compares to Singapore stalwarts?

[klyeoh (Peter)]

@tigerjohn

How do you feel Penang murtabak compares to Singapore stalwarts?

Practically the same - the cosmetic variances are due to the separate vendors in each city having their own styles, rather than any regional variance.

The same holds for Malaysian roti canai vis-a-vis Singaporean roti prata. Some local Malaysian food writers assert that roti canai is lighter and flakier than roti prata, which is basically untrue. One can get roti canai at some places in Malaysia that is heavier and stodgier than a standard roti prata. Conversely, I’d had roti prata in many places in Singapore which are lighter, flakier and crispier than the roti canai at my favorite places here in Penang or Kuala Lumpur.

[Saregama]

I read somewhere that murtabak went to Yemen from South India with traders, then from Yemen everywhere else including Indonesia / SE Asia. One origin of the name is folded from Arabic, but the other is from Malayali (language of Kerala) – muta (egg) + bar (from barata / parotta).

In Mumbai you get something very similar (also of Mughlai origins) called Baida Roti (Egg Bread), and in Kolkata it’s called Mughlai Paratha. They can be just egg, or have mutton mince (kheema) or chicken added. Not far from Roti Telur.

[klyeoh (Peter)]

Like Chowhound founder, Jim Leff, once said, "Everything influencing and counter-influencing until it’s all so braided one can’t extricate the strands. "