Entree Kibbles: Ayam Penyet Ria @ Jalan Legundi (Opposite Sembawang Shopping Centre) [Singapore]

It's no secret that I love ayam penyet (Indonesian smashed chicken) and when I noticed that Ayam Penyet Ria has opened for business just a short bus ride away from where I stay; I made a mental note to check it out soon as I remember this particular brand is popular at its original outlet in Lucky Plaza!

Place was deserted when we arrived during lunchtime and I attributed it to the Puasa month for which our Muslim friends are fasting and could only eat when the sun sets or before the sun rises. Unlike most Indonesian-themed eateries, it felt more like a cafe setting.

Order list - pretty extensive with both fried and grilled selections. There was even a salted egg variant and our favourite Indonesian drinks and desserts like avocado juice and es teler. It was hard deciding even though the classic ayam penyet is a must-order!

Avocado Juice - known as jus alpukat, I was supposed to find that it's blended avocado drenched onto a bed of shaved ice. Shouldn't they be fully blended? Nevertheless, the taste was pretty good but with all the ice, it's real hard to suck them up using the metal straw.

Teh Botol Sosro - to think that I used to hate this national drink of Indonesia; it's now a need-to-order beverage whenever I am in an Indonesia restaurant. I ordered the large size and it sure didn't feel sufficient; even the metal straw was less than halfway into the drink!

Bawal Penyet - as I was with my mom, I think the fried smashed pomfret would appeal to her, especially when I remember occasionally digging into that large piece of fried pomfret when there was an ayam penyet stall in University Town a few years ago!

Mom was pretty satisfied as far as taste was concerned (I thought there was a slight fishiness to it) but I had a bigger issue with the size of the pomfret; it was only about the size of my knuckle and cost a ridiculous S$12.90. I recalled paying less than half that amount for a fried pomfret doubled that size in NUS. Has the pricing of pomfret increased exponentially over the past few years?!

Ayam Penyet - two things disappointed me; one, the display was different on the menu and two, I was looking forward to having the chicken thigh, not breast!

Other the aforementioned, I have no complaint about the flavour of the meat and skin; in fact, I did enjoy the crispy bits on top and had a love-hate relationship with the chilli! Loving it because it had that addictive, aromatic spiciness and hating it because it numbed my tongue and I was sweating buckets!

I don't understand why people don't like tempeh; known in Chinese as stinky beans, I don't find it smelly at all and while the one at Ayam Penyet Ria didn't have much of a taste; it's definitely the chilli to the rescue.

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Truthfully, it was a pricey meal and I would have gladly stomached it if the portion was of a decent size, which wasn't the case for the bawal penyet and even the beverages we had. I am not that huge of a chilli fan to return and its competitor, Ayam Penyet President had a branch at Northpoint, just a few minutes' walk from my home.