 The origin of "john" within the name of the dish has not been definitively proven, but may derive from British use of the first name John to address any male person, especially when that person's first name is unknown, difficult to remember or difficult to pronounce, thus a name that may have been used by British armed forces members to address native vendors in Malaysia or vice versa.Oral sources have claimed that the dish and name originated in Singapore in the early 1970s.The sandwich is made with a baguette-type loaf with a fried filling of egg, minced meat (chicken or mutton), and onion, served with tomato-chilli sauce.