Mamak & Bread

How Many Calories in Murtabak?

Thick pan-fried bread stuffed with egg, onion, and minced meat, made fresh at the mamak and sold by the piece.

520kcal / 1 piece (daging/beef, mamak standard)
Murtabak daging (beef, the standard mamak version) comes in at around 520 calories per piece, which weighs roughly 220g. That's for one full piece with minced beef filling, egg, onion, and the pan-fried flour dough. The dough and oil/ghee alone account for about 340 of those calories, so you're basically eating a fried bread stuffed with a small meal inside another fried bread. Not exactly a light snack, but you already knew that when you ordered it.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 piece (daging/beef, mamak standard) (220g)AmountPer 100g
Calories520 kcal236 kcal
Protein25 g11 g
Carbs48 g22 g
Fat24 g11 g

Where the calories come from

Flour dough (roti canai-style, pan-fried)100g
230 kcal
Minced beef filling65g
100 kcal
Egg (1 whole)50g
65 kcal
Oil/ghee absorbed during frying15g
110 kcal
Onion and spices25g
15 kcal

The real talk

520 calories for one piece of murtabak daging is honest, but to be clear, this is a ballpark estimate. Hard data on mamak murtabak is thin because every stall makes it slightly differently. The dough thickness varies, the amount of ghee on the tawa varies, and some places are more generous with the filling than others. The number here is a reasonable middle estimate, not gospel. What drives the calories is almost entirely the dough and the oil. The 100g of flour dough is around 230 calories, and the oil and ghee absorbed during frying adds another 110. The 65g of minced beef and the egg together are only 165 calories. So even if you somehow removed the meat, murtabak kosong is still 380 calories because the bread part just doesn't change much.

The thing that actually moves the number is which filling you pick. Murtabak ayam at 460 calories is the lightest meat option because minced chicken is leaner than beef or mutton. Murtabak kambing hits 560 calories because mutton has more fat. The difference between ayam and kambing is 100 calories, which sounds small but across a week of regular mamak visits it adds up, lah. The other big variable is whether you soak it in kuah dalca or curry on the side. That gravy probably adds another 50 to 100 calories depending on how much you pour. If you're watching your numbers, eat it plain, pick ayam over daging, and don't order a second piece because it doesn't feel heavy until suddenly it does.

Murtabak variants, ranked by calories

VariantCaloriesNotes
Murtabak kosong (egg and onion only)380 kcalNo meat filling, lighter but still pan-fried with oil/ghee
Murtabak ayam (chicken)460 kcalMinced chicken filling, leaner than beef or mutton
Murtabak daging (beef)520 kcalStandard minced beef filling, most common mamak variant
Murtabak kambing (mutton)560 kcalMutton filling, slightly richer and more fatty than beef

How to eat it lighter

Common questions

How many calories in Murtabak?
A standard piece of murtabak daging (beef) at a mamak stall is around 520 calories for roughly 220g. Murtabak ayam is lighter at about 460 calories, while murtabak kambing comes in higher at around 560 calories. The murtabak kosong (egg and onion only, no meat) is the lightest at about 380 calories.
Is murtabak good for weight loss?
It's not a diet food, bro. At 460 to 560 calories a piece, it's a full meal on its own. That said, if you budget it into your daily calories and pair it with plain water instead of teh tarik, it fits. The beef or chicken filling gives you 25g of protein which actually keeps you full. The problem is ordering it as a snack on top of a meal, not as the meal itself.
What's the difference in calories between murtabak ayam and murtabak daging?
About 60 calories. Murtabak ayam is around 460 calories and murtabak daging is around 520. The gap comes from the fat content of the filling. Minced chicken is leaner than minced beef. If you're eating murtabak regularly and want to trim the numbers, switching to ayam is the easiest swap.

Related foods

See all Mamak & Bread calories, ranked →

Calorie and macro figures are estimates for a typical hawker or kopitiam serving. Actual numbers vary by stall, recipe and portion size. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

New to all this? Read how I went from 128kg to 86kg without cutting rice →

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