This meal contains Calcium and Vitamin D important for healthy bones which only few foods contain Vitamin D.

              

Roti john is a popular Malay dish. How did the name come about? It is believed that during colonial times an Englishman ordered a sandwich. Something was lost in translation and the Malay chef cooked this dish and named it Roti John (Bread for John the Englishman!!) I praise the chef for his creativity and that we can still enjoy this lovely dish today.

​

Missing Letter - Lost and found too late; One day out of blue my second sister came home with a Malay doctor. His name was Ismail. She told us that she had accepted his marriage proposal and it was compulsory for her to convert to Islam. Dr Ismail was very good looking. He had fair skin, chiselled features and was tall. My sister had the title of beauty queen of nurses. They were such a glamorous couple and our family was thrilled with the good news.Dr Ismail treated me like his kid sister because he had no sisters in his family only brothers. He pampered me a lot. I did not see him often as he and my sister worked in hospital in Johore.

 

Shortly after meeting he my father put me on a cruise liner on an adventure to Hong Kong. I went alone and I was only 11.

I spoke to Dr Ismail on phone and told him how excited I was about going to Hong Kong to see my aunt and her family

He made a request and that I had to write a letter to him and tell him about my adventure.

​

I promised him that I would. When I returned and spoke again on phone he asked me if I had forgotten to write the letter.

I was rather confused because I posted the letter in Hong Kong. I was not sure if Dr Ismail believed me.It was common in those days that at the start of a new term we had to write an essay on “What we did over the holidays” He wanted me to have a head start. He wanted me to score a good grade.

​

A week later my sister rang us and told us the tragic news that Dr Ismail had died in an accident while on way to watch a football match with 2 friends and a driver. The car plunged into a ravine.

​

I felt an emotional punch. All I could think about was the missing letter I felt guilty because I had let Dr Ismail down.

​

3 months later the letter was returned to my Singapore address. The note written on the letter was “For want of a better address”I guess I was careless that I did not include the country after the initials JB (Johore Bahru)" If the letter had been posted In Singapore I think Dr Ismail would have received it as all Singaporeans refer to Johore Bahru as JB.

​

I still have the letter to this day but I did not open it.

​

After the funeral my sister told us a rather chilling omen the night before the accident. Dr Ismail dreamt that a headless person dressed in white with a female voice called out his name. My sister pleaded with him not to go but he said he is a doctor and should not be superstitious. He assured my sister that there is nothing to worry about.

​

Sadly his life was cut short just because he was passionate about football. . I am thankful that such  a wonderful person crossed my path although only briefly. Our grief was compounded as we lived near a mosque and the call to prayer at dawn was the most painful to bear.

​

Premonitions cannot be explained by science but I do believe in the phenomenon.I would like to invite Dr Ismail to share the roti john and most importantly read the letter together and it will be closure for me.

​

We will have plenty to talk about. He would baulk at the fees that footballers are earning nowadays.