I confess I have a soft spot for Indonesian food. Kinda strange since my two previous trips to Jakarta and Medan weren't exactly memorable in terms of food. The Medan trip I was too young to remember much about the food except the abundance of the sourish salak fruit all over the streets. Jakarta was a total nightmare - we had gone there for training and despite staying in a 4 star hotel, almost half of the group came down with food poisoning. It got so bad that we were all craving for McDonalds (!). I did have one memorable meal when my Jakarta officemates took us to eat deep fried catfish known as pecel lele. That was one meal we ate with gusto and without fear of getting a tummy upset.
I recently found a place which opened in Sunway which serves the chicken version - ayam penyet. Part of a franchise from Jawa Timur, they're all over Indonesia and even Singapore. In fact, when one googles their name, quite a few blog reviews by the Singaporeans keep popping up. From what I have read, these items are based on a Surabaya receipe.
I've yet to try the pecel lele but I did sample their signature dish - the ayam penyet. The chicken is actually smashed with a hammer hence it's easier to eat. The fried chicken was extremely tasty with crispy batter. I also loved the crunchy bits they top the fried chicken which was addictive. When you order a portion, it comes in a platter with spicy sambal, deep fried tempe, deep fried tofu, vegetables and a seperate plate of white rice. Pricewise, I remember it to be about RM10. Besides the ayam penyet, they also have empal penyet (with beef), pecel lele, gado gado and assam vegetables.
Recently a blog reader, Izaida mentioned Ayam Bakar Wong Solo in Ampang to me. I googled it and it's also an Indonesian franchise. Looks like similar food but I'm not too sure since the references to it from Indonesia says it is grilled chicken. Anyway, will check it out one day as I have directions to it. Thanks for the tip, Izaida.
Restoran Ayam Penyet Ria
No. 6 Jalan PJS 8/2 (Ground Floor)
Sunway Mentari Business Park
Petaling Jaya
Tel No: 017 – 260 9568
(Halal. Open from 10.00 am to 10.00 pm. The restaurant is at the shophouses facing the main road of Sunway opposite Sunway Pyramid.)
*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.
Tagged with: Indonesian Food + Ayam Penyet
Other reviews:
TOday I read and saw pics on a dirty restaurant in chinatown melbourne. (www.theage.com.au) Puts me off lunching there. Nevertheless it is refreshing to read you blogs regularly with all the fantastic and varied food.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... looks great as I have a crave for fried chicken. Finger Licking Good, Mate!!!
ReplyDeletedear me..you dont sleep do you? 3.30 am after all that good food and wine didnt make you sleepy at all?? or was it because i didnt jump into the pool..promise the next time i bring my gear and done my appropriate "exercises" i let you snap ok?
ReplyDeletemy pleasure... :D
ReplyDeletewushu_kid - urgh! I hate dirty restaurants. Hope they clean up their act.
ReplyDeletebig boys oven - yup, fried chicken is definitely comfort food esp the crispy bits.
Joe - I actually slept after eating so much. Who wouldn't but I was waken up a four legged creature who wanted to eat a snack last nite. Better keep yr promises - vest and thin cotton shirt for yr wet look debut, ok?
izaida - no problems, will try and look for the one in Ampang.Looks very similar to this place.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I adore KFC, the drop in standards leave me no option but look elsewhere to satisfy my cravings. This looks like a great alternative!
ReplyDeletehaha, i just had this in Spore last saturday :). they serve ayam penyet, daging penyet and ikan (catfish) penyet there. But this branch in Sunway, they dont serve kicap pekat manis with the ayam penyet? the kicap was very addictive when i had it. shall blog about it soon too
ReplyDeletePenyet. That's a word I've not heard since I was still in dark blue pinafolds (is that what those uniforms called?). Used to exchange 'nanti penyek u baru tau!', 'muka penyek', 'jangan jatuh, kang semua penyek' etc.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry dat we fong fei kei cus csb was called for meeting the last minute...
ReplyDeleteHope to meet up wiv u all again for lunch next time :)
OMG! I used to patron this restaurant. Anyway, this restaurant well-known to be dirty..got once my friend found a rubberband in his noodle.
ReplyDeleteHi!!! I'm searching for delicious dim sum in KL. Any recommendation from you?
ReplyDeletepaprika - yeah KFC is shrinking and the quality dropping.
ReplyDeleteSC - no kicap manis like the ayam pop. Hmmm, good idea as that will be simply addictive. I ate the ayam pop with the kicap manis at Maju Garuda and it was addictive.
tummythoz - Yeah, I was fascinated with the word too since it meant "smashed"!
xiu long bao - no problems. Another time and hope you got a good lunch near yr place. You poor thing waiting in the sun for char siu bao.
precious pea - er? You mean this ayam penyet place or the Melbourne place? Can't be this place rite as they just recently opened and they don't serve noodles.
jaina - heard very good things abt this place in Kepong called Tuck Kee. Do a search, I think Babe has a review.
Poor you. I actually had a blast in Jakarta, but I guess I was fortunate because my friends were Indonesians who were into food as much as me =D
ReplyDeleted - guess it was bad luck on our part since it was for work but at least we did get a decent meal.
ReplyDeleteNice recommendation. By craving for some quality Indonesian food. Had any good nasi padang lately?
ReplyDeletep/s : Me thinks "penyet" actually translates into "flattened", not "smashed".
Drove past there this morning 10ish, it wasn't opened. Next time I'll call before I go. :) Can't wait to try, maybe this Sat.
ReplyDeletefatman seoul - hiya. Not been searching around for Nasi Padang lately but I did stumble on stupendous Nasi Minang which is the local version of Nasi Padang. Will blog abt their fingerlicking food one day. Thanks for the penyet explaination.
ReplyDeletefulltime mom - I went there abt lunch time so I guess they don't follow the 10am rule. Hope you like it since it's quite near yr place. If not, go to Jaring round the corner for yummy Nasi Dagang. Only available in the morning and sold out very quickly.
Bro.... How to go there by bus if start from Stesyen Kelana Jaya???
ReplyDeleteThanks for ur help!