I'm not a huge fan of Indonesian food, but something about a sign on Orchard Road piqued my curiosity: "Smashed Fried Chicken." "What the heck is Smashed Fried Chicken??," I thought. Today, I gave this place a shot to find out what it was.
Ayam Penyet Ria appears to be a franchise from Indonesia, with locations in Jakarta, Medan, Batam, and Surabaya. In Singapore, they are located at Lucky Plaza #04-25 (6235-7385), and the place seemed to be packed with Indonesians today, so presumably that means this place is relatively authentic. They had quite a bit on the menu that I wanted to try, be it soto ayam, tahu tempe, or sop buntut. But I stuck to the namesake item, ayam penyet.
This pretty much turned out to be what it sounded like: fried chicken that was apparently smashed with a sledgehammer (or something like that...maybe it was a rubber mallet) before serving. I'm pretty sure that it did not have any effect on the taste, but it sure did make it a lot easier to eat, seeing that the chicken was already separated into pieces that one could easily pry apart with a fork (as opposed to the Colonel's "Finger Lickin'"). The chili sauce was blazing hot (but not surprisingly, also a bit sweet), and they even sprinkled on some little crunchy bits of batter or something for extra texture. There were a couple other fried bits (one was tofu, I think?) and some veggies and rice to go with it. I also got a glass of teh botol Sosro, which is apparently some hugely popular drink in Indonesia; it wasn't as sweet as I thought it would be, thus becoming rather nice and refreshing.
Anyway, this was alright (I definitely prefer Colonel Sanders, but this wasn't as bad as it could have been). I still won't get cravings for Indonesian food, but I have to admit that I was a bit surprised at how much I was able to bear this. My opinion of Indonesian food is improving with every meal.
Colonel Sanders? Gone are the days where Kentucky Fried Chicken was a proper restaurant and the did the chicken fresh for you. Church's in Canada was still quite good when i last tried it.
ReplyDeleteI love original kfc chicken wing tips.
ReplyDeleteindonesian food is heavenly~
ReplyDeleteshould try the one in indo.. anyways love ur blog! always makes me hungry >.< ::misspiggy::
the real-and-tasty smashed fried chicken would only be found in indonesia, i guess. but for a lot of my indonesian friends, this version is as close as it gets to the ones back home.
ReplyDeleteon a different note, service wise, recently i experienced the rather un-friendly side of ayam penyet ria at lucky plaza. their service was slow and a bit rude. i had to ask plenty of times to have my spoon/fork and sauce/sambal arrived (and no, the restaurant wasn't that full). to top it all, i was surprised that the waiter came to ask whether she could remove the dish when anyone could definitely see i was not yet done with the food. i was mid-munching. hello?
I love this "ayam penyet" @ Licky Plaza, but have you tried the "Ayam Bakar Ojo Lali" (Translation: "Never Forget" Grilled Chicken) Also at Lucky Plaza 3rd floor. It's recommended =D
ReplyDeletei love the sambal here.. deadly spicy
ReplyDelete