Eisriq's Mind To Mind: Ayam Penyet RIA (Smashed Fried Chicken)

Name of Restaurant:
Ayam Penyet Ria

Address & Contact:
LG2.85 Marrakesh (Blue Atrium), Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall, No. 3 Jalan PJS 11/15, Bandar Sunway, 46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor D.E., Malaysia.
Tel: +603-5631-5624

Business Hours:
Normal shopping mall business hours

Price:
Depending on menu

Specialty:
Smashed Fried Chicken

Rating:
3.5/5-Star. Service and ambience is good and fast.

Remarks & Opinion:
They lived up to their tagline "Smashing Good Food, Delivered Fast". There are two Ayam Penyet in the market - One is Ayam Penyet RIA and the other is Ayam Penyet AP. Make sure you go for the RIA and not the AP. I have no facts on this, but from the taste, I guess the AP is trying to copy the RIA . AP fail terribly in terms of taste, texture and overall presentation.

Coming back to Ayam Penyet RIA, I have noticed this restaurant for quite a while and pass them off as normal malay/indonesia fast food. However, one fine day, I was given a treat by a Singapore friend at this place and I was surprised by the good food this place serve. I thought it was a fluke and did not care much about this restaurant until a few days ago, I went back and give it a try. They have maintained the good food and i just ate and ate and admit I have not been fair to this restaurant.I ordered the followings:-

1. Ayam Penyet (of course since it is their name)
The chicken is tasty and the meat is not dry (not like the usual malay fried chicken) and you can actually feel the moist in your mouth. Add some sambal and it send you to heaven!

2. Empal Penyet (Smashed fried beef)
I do not know why this restaurant is not named Empal Penyet but Ayam Penyet. Actually their empal penyet is very much better than the chicken. The beef is tender but does not give you that soft and soggy feel. It is tasty and as you chew, the taste is more prominent andit does not give you the dry feeling for the meat is moist. If the sambal can send you to heaven for the chicken, the empal with sambal will do that many times!

3. Soup Rawon (Beef soup)
Again, i do not know what had happened. I do not usually order sopu and definitely not in a malay/indonesian restaurant. However, this soup rawon caught my eyes when I was ordering and somewhat ordered it, and boy! am I glad I ordered it. Its tasty and does not give you the usual heavy aroma that comes with beef soup, yet it is mesmerising as you twirl your tongue and the soup caressing it. The feeling is just great.

4. Brinjal/Aubergine/Terung
Just normal and if you require vegetable to accompany your food, this can be a good choice, else you can pass as I have eaten aubergine prepared many times better than this. The brinjal prepared at this Ayam Penyet restaurant is still a bit too oily for me though the taste is there.

5. Gado Gado
The gado gado is normal but I love the tempe and the fried tofu that came with it.

6. Es Bandung
The bandung, when drank on its own, it is a bit too sweet, but after the baptism of fire from the sambal, the bandung is heavenly! In my opinion, I guess the bandung concoction is designed to quench thirst but for "firefighting" purpose. The other drink is teh botol, but I still prefer the es bandung

What's the damage for three person? Under RM50/-. The next time when I visit this restaurant, I will only order empal penyet, soup rawon, tempe and fried tofu and of course es bandung. The rest can give it a pass.

Photos for your assessment of the food:-