Ayam Penyat Ria: Smashed Chicken in Town

Ayam Penyat, which means "Smashed Fried Chicken", is a famous Indonesian dish consisting Fried Chicken (Smashed to make it softer), cucumber,  Sambal Chili and tempeh. I first got introduced to this dish when I was in NUS, where there was a pretty famous stall in the Engineering Faculty Canteen and the top level of The Deck. Now that I have graduated, I hardly have a chance to eat Ayam Penyat outside. So when Dawn mentioned she missed the Ayam Penyat there, I thought a trip into Lucky Plaza would prove to be more convenient and equally good.

Within Lucky Plaza, there are more than 3 different restaurants specializing in Ayam Penyat, so making a decision could be tricky. Dawn did some research (through blog and review sites) and we decided on Ayam Penyat Ria. When we reached the restaurant, the queue outside hinted that we may have made the right choice. A little advice: Don't be put off by the queue outside, the turnover rate for this place is really quick, so just be a little patient and it will be your turn real quick.

The Food

Obviously, we ordered the Ayam Penyat. There are two elements to this dish (actually three if you count the rice) - the Smashed Chicken and the Chili. The chicken (as mentioned) is usually smashed to make it softer. In this case, the chicken is indeed soft, juicy and easy to eat - easily my favorite feature of this dish.  The Chili looks really innocent, but packs a punch when you mix it with your rice/chicken. If you got a decent tolerance for spicy-ness, this goes great with the chicken and rice. The only complain I have for this dish is the size of the chicken. For some reason, our chicken was pretty small (compared to surrounding tables). Maybe we just drew the wrong end of the stick.

Our shared dish was the Tahu Telor - fried "Tahu" with omelette. As I'm not a fan (actually to the point of dislike) of Tahu, I won't put in my review of this dish. According to Dawn, the Tahu Telor here is only average at best. The fried egg was not very fragrant as well. The best part of the dish was the sauce, but they didn't give enough of it.

The Keropok here deserves special mention. Sometimes, the crackers you get have been out for long and have lost their crisp. Not for here. Despite being into the last 1/2 hour of service, their crackers are still crispy and tasted fresh. I wouldn't mind another plate if it didn't cost $1.60 for a mere few piecees.

We ordered the Iced Chendol and "Happy Soda" (which actually is Fizzy Bandung) to quench our thirst. I actually like the fizzy bandung but once again, the portions could have been much bigger.

The Price

The food here is definitely a considerable cheaper "restaurant" option as compared to the restaurants in town. However, due to its location (there is always a "town premium" when eating in Orchard), it is actually pretty pricey. Here's the breakdown - Ayam Penyat ($7.40), Tahu Telor ($6.10), Chendol Ice ($3.60), Fizzy Bandung ($2.30) and Keropok ($1.60). We paid around $15 pax for the meal.

Overall, the food here is pretty decent and given the crowd, seems like a popular choice. My complains include the less-than-satisfying portions and the fast-food style ordering (it was a hassle if you want to add on small orders after ordering). The food came really quickly so you can expect a fast turnover rate for the consumers. Given the number of choices within Lucky Plaza, I can't help but feel that there are better options out there. So I probably have to try the others (here and all over Singapore) before putting down any judgement. For now, I think it's a "worth-a-try" standard.

Ayam Penyat Ria
Lucky Plaza #01-45/46/47, Orchard Road
Tel: 6235  6390
11 am - 9 pm
Every Day Open

Shaw Towers: Ah Loy Thai

Ah Loy Thai has always been one of those places that I always walk by and tell myself "I've gotta come here sometime". Most of these "places" usually end up folding before the "sometime" arrives and I have to live with the regret of procrastination (or the believing of the illusion of permanence). Fortunately, I managed to eat at Ah Loy Thai before anything happened to it.

The place itself is easy to find (just opposite Tom's Palette Ice Cream), simple and spacious. It is usually known to be very crowded during weekends but during week days (I was there on a Monday evening), it is actually pretty easy to get a seat.

The Food

For every first visit to any Thai restaurants, there are 3 standard dishes that I would definitely order - Chai Yen (aka Thai Ice Tea), Salad (Mango, Papaya or Glass Noodles) and Tom Yum Soup. My "alternative" dishes (ie Main dishes) will be Phad Thai or Green Curry.

So here's the lowdown on the "compulsory" dishes.

Usually (in Thailand especially), the Thai Iced Tea has to be stirred, allowing the ice to slightly melt, before drinking. This is due to the fact that the Thai Iced Tea is usually very concentrated and will be too sweet for immediate consumption (unless you have a very sweet tooth). This would explain the generous portions of ice in the drink.

The Thai Iced Tea here is already "adjusted" to the post-stirring taste and is fit for immediate consumption. So at first gulp, the drink will be refreshing and well balanced. However, after the ice melted, it will pretty much dilute the drink into (given the amount of ice) almost a bland tasting iced water. My advice - order it in the middle of the meal.

We ordered the Glass Noodles Salad. The dish was pretty disappointing. On the bright side, there was a pretty generous portion of noodles and prawns, making a decent meal for people on a diet (or with really small appetite). However, it lacked the "kick" usually provided by the sour-y taste of the salad or the spicy-ness found inside.

My take on their Tom Yum Soup is pretty much the same as the salad. It was neither too spicy nor too sour (lacking the kick), yet it gave us a pretty generous portion of prawns and mushrooms. If you like something on a moderate taste scale, the salad and tom yum soup here will be good for you.

Now, for the rest of the dishes

The Phad Thai here is actually pretty good. Although it leaned towards the blend side (to some it might taste "healthier"), add a little bit of Nam Pla (Fish Sauce) and chill powder and you are good to go. What I love most about this dish is the little fried omelette pieces. It's a pity they don't have an entire omelette dish in their menu.

We decided to order the Fried Kai Lan (Spicy) and Fried Basil Leaves with Pork. Definitely not their forte. The vegetables were a little too hard for my liking. However the sauce is quite good and goes well with the pork.

This dish might look unimpressive at first, but it's better than it looks. The rice is actually quite flavorful and coupled with the omelette pieces, raisins and prawns, it makes a wonderful dish. The portions is pretty big, so you might want to share if you are a small eater.

Price

For a Thai restaurant, the price is pretty reasonable (slightly cheaper than Golden Mile). Our Tom Yam soup (that fed 2) was $8.50, Phad Thai and Pineapple Rice was $7 and the Vegetables were $5.50 and $6.80. Thai Iced Tea was $2.20 per cup. The total bill came up to around $23 pax. On top of that, the portions were pretty good (for the rice and noodles), so sharing is definitely an option.

Overall, the Thai food here is what I called "adjusted" Thai food. The tastes (especially the spicy-ness) have been toned down by quite a bit to fit the tourists' and local tastebuds. It certainly lacked the kick that Thai food in Golden Mile have to offer, but it is still  tasty and flavorful and does not fail in its authenticity. Good Thai food!

100 Beach Road

#01-39/40 Shaw Towers

Tel: 9165 1543

First Blog of 2013: New Lucky Claypot Rice

My apologies for the long leave of absence from updating my blog. As much as I had planned to do regular updates and even revamp my blog (as you can see, all that really changed is my photo watermark), I was so caught up with my job hunt/reservists/Christmas & New Year plans/travels that none of these plans actually materialized.

As for 2013, I am two weeks into my job and have pretty much acclimatize to the working schedule. First two weeks was purely getting used to waking up before daybreak, so it was pretty much wake-work-sleep (and the sequence continue). Finally, I'm more or less used to the routine (OH I HATE ROUTINES!!!) so I can now spend more effort on continuing my blog.

So for the rest of the year, you can expect more consistent blogging (now that I also have the finances to back up my foodie adventures) and probably a revamped blog too. *Fingers Crossed* So stay tuned! 2013 will be an exciting year!

Oh! I also agreed to write for The Smart Local - a Singapore-based review site initiated by our very own locals. I feel its a great way for us to not only support (and discover) local highlights but also to support our local entrepreneurs. Feel free to visit the site for the next best place for fun, food and adventure.

Now back to business...

New Lucky Claypot Rice

The day started off with Dawn having a hankering for Claypot Rice, so I decided to go online and hunt for recommendations from our local bloggers & review sites. The search led me to the gem that is in Holland Drive - New Lucky Claypot Rice. Featured on ieatishootipost and the CEO's 2012 hawker choice for best Claypot Rice, I knew I just had to try this stall to see how good it actually is.

The Food

The most basic criteria for a decent (not even fantastic) Claypot Rice is that the rice has to be cooked INSIDE the claypot from scratch. Many places try to circumvent this "requirement" (for ease and quickness in cooking), pre-cooking the rice and merely heating it up (with the ingredients) inside the pot. What you get is just rice with dishes (just think Mixed Fried Rice) without all the flavors from the pot. Thankfully, New Lucky Claypot still cooks it in the traditional way.

To me, the defining factors for a good Claypot Rice are 1) the texture of the rice, 2) the various non-rice ingredients (chicken & lup cheong [sausages] are must-haves, the rest is varied according to the stall owner) and 3) the overall flavor when the rice, sauce and other ingredients are put together.

For New Lucky Claypot, the texture of the rice was perfect. It was firm, well separated and had just enough moisture to balance it all. The rice was also nicely burnt at the bottom which means the timing was done perfectly by the chef.

As for the second factor, New Lucky Claypot gives a decent portion of lup cheong, chicken and salted fish. The lup cheong (as I agree with ieatishootipost) was the best thing in the pot. The fragrance of the meat with its lovely texture gave the entire dish an extra punch. The chicken was perfectly cooked - nice and tender. As for the salted fish, I would have preferred more of those inside the pot but I guess that is down to personal preference.

Lastly, the overall blend of the flavor from everything. We were given the Black Soya Sauce (as stated on the SoShiok reivew that it is a special Black Sauce selected by the owner) and Spring Onion Oil to add to the pot. After adding sauces and mixing the pot, the flavor came together nicely, bringing this simple rice dish to the next level. Really good stuff!

The Price

The Chicken Claypot Rice here is considerably cheap. Its $10 for two-persons pot and $25 for a five-persons pot. Add $5 for extra chicken.

The other dishes are pretty decent as well. We paid a total of $18 for a two-persons pot, watercress soup & oyster sauce vegetables. Oh and they gave free Ang Pows.

Totally worth it!

Definitely one of the best Claypot Chicken that I have eat here, New Lucky Claypot is a must-try for all (Claypot lover or not). It is located on Holland Drive (facing the Holland Drive Road) and it open everyday except Wednesday. A word of advice: Because the rice is cooked from scratch, it will take at least twenty - thirty minutes to cook the dish (thus waiting time will be around there or longer). So to avoid the long wait, call beforehand to reserve your order.

New Lucky Claypot
44 Holland Drive Food Center #02-19
Tel : 6778 7808
11 am - 1.30pm, 5.30 pm - 10.30 pm 
Open all days except Wednesday