First Look: Rendang-Filled Subs and Coffee Buns Land at Roti John’s in Cremorne

Cremorne has seen a wave of new openings this year, including the Hot-Listed Japanese convenience store-inspired Suupaa , Korean restaurant Sogumm and Baker Bleu ’s biggest store yet. Now, Roti John’s brings Malaysian sandwiches to the neighbourhood, which has become a hub for creative agencies and global companies such as Disney and 7-Eleven.

Owner Mahinor Masud isn’t new to the sanga world, having worked at Subway through university. She now co-owns a Hecho En Mexico franchise in Ringwood, and identified the Roti John’s space, formerly a Bakes & Bagels , in March. Masud initially planned to open a Noodle Box. But when the previous occupants floated the idea of a sandwich shop, something clicked.

“I wanted to introduce something that felt familiar to Malaysians and exciting to everyone else,” Masud tells Broadsheet. “I realised Melbourne didn’t really have anything like [a roti john].”

Roti johns are a popular halal street food across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The sandwiches typically start with a bread loaf that’s similar to a baguette, that’s pressed onto an omelette as it cooks on the grill. Growing up in Kuala Lumpur, Masud and her family used to break Ramadan fasts with roti johns from night markets, filled with curried beef or mutton patties and topped with mayonnaise and sweet chilli sauce.

At her shop, you’ll find five roti johns. The OG beef is served alongside a bestselling sandwich filled with slow-cooked beef rendang, and a play on a fried chicken burger, layered with sweet pickles and slaw. There’s also a potato curry and tomato chutney roti john, inspired by Malaysian curry puffs, and a vegan version that uses chickpea bread and a soy mince.

A few “cafe-style” tweaks have been made to the sandwich, Masud says. The shop uses Turkish bread in place of baguettes, and a signature spicy sauce – an aioli mixed with Malaysian curry paste – is drizzled over the sandwiches.

The shop opened in June and is located right outside East Richmond station. But the first few weeks were quiet despite the high foot traffic. “Initially, we weren’t getting that much attention, because not many people know what roti john is. The customers that came would always ask if the roti is a flatbread,” Masud says. It wasn’t until food influencer Kimmy Liew put up an Instagram reel explaining the difference between a roti john and the better-known roti canai (a flaky Malaysian flatbread typically eaten with curries) that things took off.

The kitchen also turns out coffee buns, made popular in Malaysia by bakery chain Rotiboy. Soft butter-filled buns are topped with a layer of vanilla-bean-flecked coffee cookie batter made from Atypical Coffee beans. When baked, the batter forms a delightfully crunchy shell over the bread. Masud insists she’s “not a baker”, but the aroma of freshly baked coffee buns wafting through the shop suggests otherwise.

Roti John’s
3 Railway Place, Cremorne
0405808872

Hours:
Mon to Fri 8am–2pm
Sat 10am–2pm

@roti__johns