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A contestant representing Malaysia on MasterChef US has caught the attention of Malaysians after winning a challenge with her take on a beloved local favourite — roti canai
In the show's Season 16 titled MasterChef: Global Gauntlet, 20 contestants are divided to represent four different regions in the world: Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Americas.
Content creator and livestreamer Jaime Tan, known online as "iGumdrop", has become known for representing Malaysia as part of Team Asia-Pacific.
Although being born and raised in Queens, New York, Jaime has openly embraced her Malaysian roots throughout the competition, often speaking about her Malaysian father. During her audition, she secured a spot in the competition with a wagyu beef satay served with peanut sauce and coconut rice.
In a recent episode featuring a "World Cup Cookoff" challenge, contestants were given one hour to create a dish for a football watch party
Jaime chose to showcase Malaysian flavours, preparing roti canai, curry, coconut rice, and a pickled cucumber and pineapple salad.
When asked about the dish, Jaime explained that she knew it pretty well, noting that the roti was something she had grown up eating and the curry cooks relatively quickly.
"My dad used to make it for me before he would leave for work. So, I feel a lot of pressure to do a good job today," she said.
The pressure appeared to pay off: Jaime's dish was selected as the best entry from the Asia-Pacific team and advanced to the final judging round in front of Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich, and Tiffany Derry
The judges were particularly impressed by the complexity of the dish, and after tasting it, Ramsay praised every element of the plate.
"Wow. Curry, delicious. It's fragrant, it's warm, it's sour. It's everything you want. I mean, it feels like you've been making it for the last six hours. Well done," he said.
Derry was equally impressed.
"The key for me here is the pineapple. You kind of get a bite of the mint, with the pineapple and the curry. And it all goes so nicely together. Beautiful roti, spot on. Very nice," she added.
Ultimately, Jaime's Malaysian-inspired spread beat out the winning dishes from Europe, Africa, and the Americas, earning her an immunity pin, as well as immunity for the rest of her team.
A clip of her win shared on MasterChef's official Instagram page quickly drew praise from Malaysians, many celebrating the global spotlight on local cuisine
However, one detail sparked a lively debate online.
Throughout the episode, Jaime pronounced roti canai as "roti kanai", using a hard "K" sound instead of the "cha-nai" pronunciation used in Malaysia.
"Roti kanai? TIDAKKKKKKKK," one commenter joked.
"As a Malaysian, it makes me cringe to hear her say 'KANAI'. It's pronounced 'CHA-NAI', like in 'matcha'," wrote another commenter. However, they still praised the dish, adding, "Roti canai is one of the most basic things to eat in Malaysia. If this dish can win, imagine how the rest of our amazing dishes would fare!"
"Canai or kanai — she's been doing more than anyone born and raised in Malaysia to promote Malaysia. What has she done so wrong to deserve such condemnation that people cannot see beyond that little imperfection? Oh my, be kind, please be kind," one supporter commented.
