Nothing new about this type of rice. I think you were looking at the Basmati rice, which is used in making Nasi Bryani. The Basmati rice is considered among the best rice and most fragrant rice around. It is rated even better and more expensive than the Thai rice. Though commonly used in making Nasi Bryani, due to the price, not many hawker centre stalls will use it and they usually substitute it with normal rice.