Ayam Penyet Ria

Ayam Penyet Ria is one of the most popular ayam penyet cafes in Lucky Plaza. They have cafes on two floors in the building, and another nearby at Far East Plaza. We were lucky that we had our weekday dinner there early at around 6pm, because the entire cafe was soon filled.

Pictorial (partial) menu (L) and full menu + ordering chit (R)

The Ayam Penyet (smashed fried chicken) was a big piece of chicken that was not greasy and full of flavour. You cannot see it from this angle, but there was a mound of crunchy batter bits behind the chicken, reminding me of KFC. The breast meat attached to the small drumstick was a little dry and tough though, and the cafe could improve in that area.

What stood out to me was their sambal belacan. Paired with the chicken, it created a flavour explosion in my mouth, and was so addictive that I ate my mother's belacan as well. My uncle and aunt found the chilli hot and did not want it, so more for me!

My mother had the Lele Penyet (smashed catfish). Only the fish head could be seen because the rest of it was buried under the generous serving of batter bits! She ate the whole dish up, but noted that she preferred the grilled flavour of the milk-fish we had at Resto Surabaya.

My uncle had the Empal Penyet (smashed beef steak). He said that it tasted authentic, and he enjoyed it a lot. I tried some and found it a little dry and chewy... kind of like beef jerky, but edible.

The Tahu Telor was a little different from that found at Indonesian restaurants: instead of being covered in spicy kicap manis, it was covered in a slightly sweet and watery peanut gravy. There was a lot of delicious crispy fried egg, and the dish was a nice change from the tahu telor we were used to. However I think I still prefer my tahu telor with kicap manis, because the peanut gravy makes me feel like I am eating tofu and egg satay.

The Gado Gado was also slightly different in that the peanut gravy used was more sweet and watery than what we were used to. It tasted good though, so much that we ordered a second serving. There may just be am issue with consistency in the kitchen, because our gado gado arrived with only a few prawn crackers and belinjau on top, whereas our second gado gado arrived heaped with crackers and belinjau.

On the whole, my relatives and family enjoyed our dinner at Ayam Penyet Ria. Additionally, the cafe looks cleaner than the other ayam penyet cafes in Lucky Plaza. So if we want ayam penyet type food in the future, we will return here.

Ayam Penyet Ria

Lucky Plaza
304 Orchard Road
Singapore 238863

#01-45 - Opening hours: 11am - 10pm
#04-25 - Opening hours: 12noon - 9pm

Other locations and some of their menu are listed on their website:
http://www.ayampenyetria.com/home.html