I’ve long wanted to try the ayam penyet (crushed/smashed chicken) at this place in Bandong here where I buy my nasi lemak and all the Malay kuihs in the morning but I never had the chance to do so. Finally, last Saturday evening, I decided to drive past the area to see what they had…and to my delight, even at around 6.00 p.m. they had already started their business for the evening…and there were already quite a number of people eating there.
I noticed that there were a lot of them eating some kind of fish dish and I wanted to try that, so I ended up ordering the ayam penyet (RM6.50)..
…for my missus only.
It came with some rice wrapped in banana leaf…
…which gave it a pleasant special fragrance and by the side, there were some keropok (rice crackers), a very small piece of tempeh (a soya bean product), a bit of sambal cili (chilli sauce) and some bits of raw veg.
The chilli did not have any belacan (dried prawn paste) in it and did not go down too well with the raw veg to eat as ulam…and the keropok was a bit limp (lau hong/masuk angin). The tempeh was nice but there was simply too little of it. My missus thought the chicken was hard and over-fried and she could not figure out what it was that they had sprinkled on it…and they did not clobber the chicken as in the case of the ayam penyet elsewhere. The final verdict was that it was a disappointment and what she had here (RM5.00) and here (RM16.90) were a whole lot better.
I had what they called pecel lele (RM5.50)…
…which is originally an Indonesian dish with a fried catfish served similarly with the other condiments that came with their ayam penyet.
The fish was really very nice…
…and I must say that I enjoyed it despite the same complaints about the condiments in the ayam penyet dish.
All in all, unless I happen to be in the vicinity, I certainly would think twice about going back there again as the food is kind of pricey for an open air roadside eatery and even the drinks, iced lemon tea at RM1.60 a glass, are more expensive than at the regular kopitiam (coffee shop) in town.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Fried catfish! Catfish! Catfish!
Shoo! Shoo! Told you to stay away from my blog. LOL!!! 😀 Never mind…already end of May – will be home soon. 😉
gosh… the fish is so meaty…. i have tried Catfish before…. though cooked it a different way….
Many ways of cooking fish. This one, they just marinated with some stuff and deep fried…and I found it nice because the fish was nice. 🙂
I kinda like the ayam penyet that I had here as the chicken was tender and spicy. Also, they served it with some ulam (which I obviously didn’t eat for I’m NOT a goat) and the sambal belacan was also very nice. Can’t remember the price but it was a real restaurant at The Curve shopping mall so even if it was pricey it was worth it.
Oh? One of those higher end places? Sure no kopitiam prices but hopefully not as expensive as the RM16.90 one that my missus had once. Nice…but too expensive. Can have ayam penyet for 2 or 3 people elsewhere…
Yes, the ayam penyet seems to be very dry.. in fact all dried condiments, no curry to go with them? how to telan? 🙂 Cat fish is a common dish among the Malays over here, my canteen fella cooks them each day, something like the above, with lots of chillies on top…
Hah! You Cina tulin, must have soup one… I like keli in kunyit/assam soup…or steamed with soy sauce, ginger, garlic and brandy. Over your side, so far I’ve mostly seen them cooking lemak – ok also.
Oh! So this is ayam penyet! We called it butterfly style chicken n sold marinated in all sorts of sauces in supermarkets. Sometimes I made my own marinating in one of those instant nyonya sauce like the masak merah then baked them in oven, cooked some coconut saffron rice to go with.
Yours sounds like ayam percik to me. My friend’s wife cooked that when we are in the UK – very nice but looked like a lot of work. Wouldn’t want to try that on my own.
Maybe its’ Ayam Penyet Tua, so tough……..LOL!
Nasib not ayam penyet kurus…all bones, like you! LOL!!! 😀
Ayam Penyet.. I’ve had some of it in KL, the sambal they provide it with is really really spicy.
The fish does look nice..
The fish was nice. Come to think of it, I have never had ayam penyet – all three occasions, my missus was the one having that! 😦
Aiyo, you should try it bro. They infuse this spice into the ayam making it really delicious. The “penyet” is only for novelty’s sake
I’m sure they do that. I could taste it in the fish…and also on the outside. Very nice. Will try the ayam penyet as soon as i get the chance but not here since my missus said this one’s not that good.
oh that is kind of special with the rice wrapped in banana leaf.. i came across ayam penyet in the foodcourt when i work the Gardens, after two times having their ayam penyet set which they are selling at promotional price of RM4.50, they closed down!! hahahaha~~ 😀
Gardens, got anything so cheap meh? Looks like the place there very high class, everything expensive one…
OMG, just look at the bones…enuff to make me scream and run back to my Mama!
You better get over that phobia. My brother-in-law’s like you too, so every time people gave them fish, they would give to me. They do not eat fish in the house. His phobia of bones got so bad that eventually,he chocked on a duck bone! Had to spend RM300 at a specialist clinic to get it removed…and don’t get me started on the story about a friend in KL who choked on a chicken bone and had to go for surgery! There! What is there left for you to eat? Hehehehehe!!!!
Sobs… not just sked the bones la… some fish got funny smell wan… really puts me off la, especially if it’s steamed fish. I still eat some fish…provided it’s deep fried or not much tulang punya. =.=
Steamed fish…must be very very fresh and many types of fish not suitable because of the fishy smell and there are some that I do not like. Try cod or what we call snow fish or Alaska fish here… Nice!
my husband would definitely love that crispy fried fish.
I did.
I had my 1st ayam penyet some time ago, it also tasted so so only… now I started to question whether ths signature ayam penyet is really nice to eat or just another rumour, hrm…=_=
I think it is just deep fried or grilled chicken chop but the difference is probably in what they use to marinade the meat. Like the deep fried fish I buy from my regular kampong stall – so nice, dunno what sambal they use to marinate it – definitely not rubbed with salt and deep fried like at the Chinese stalls. Other than that, of course, there is the sambal and the other condiments they give. Otherwise, it’s just chicken…
I don’t think I’ll give a try to any ayam penyet liao based on my previous experience n your comment, lol! Inconsistence is a big No NO in culinary world! Muahahaha!
Must try…and see where they have the best mah! Or check people’s blogs, maybe you can find one that will praise some place to the skies. Otherwise, how to know where the good one is. For everything, there are good places and not-so-good places. Like me, I go here and there and try and I tell people this good, this so-so, this best…and then they can also go and enjoy lor…
I am never impressed with ayam penyet. I even masak sendiri ayam penyet with the rice and the whole nine yards and still have not change my mind. Actually, in my opinion, our Malaysian cuisine lagi sedap than Indonesian but when it comes to cakes, the Indonesians will beat us hand down.Their cakes are so the very the delicious.
Ewww…you makan catfish?..eee..don’t know where they have been swimming in and feeding on..muahahaha..at least chicken feet can still cuci-cuci and can peel a layer of skin but catfish feed on unsavoury stuff and jadi darah-daging..lol!!
Hahahaha!!! My foster-cousin’s hubby is in construction…and once, he had to do some works at a cemetery and he had to dig out a grave. It was flooded and lo and behold! The grave was filled with ikan keli, so many of them. Up till today, he would not touch the fish! Muahahahaha!!!! I have no problem with that – what I don’t see don’t hurt me. Hehehehehe!!!! As for Indonesian food, maybe Pierre in Wellington has something to say about it. Go! Drop by his blog! http://littlehungryheart.blogspot.com/ Lots of nice food there too! 😉
Over a mall here by the name of Curve, there is a malay restaurant which merely sell ayam penyet. Have some other dishes too.. Shud give it a try one day.
Never been to The Curve… So far,nobody ever offered to take me there. Sobssss!!!!! 😦
Goodness me the food sure looks good !! Especially the fish ! Oooh , and I love tempe … too bad its hard to get really good ones :p
yes, the tempeh was good…but the size of a postage stamp. So miserable. I’ve had tempeh before…all so hard, not nice. Never liked it – this was the first time. The fish? Yum! Yum! LOL!!!
The pecel lele looks sooo yummy! however i normally request for other type of fish because i have a thing for catfish…
Why? The fish was nice – no smell, very sweet. Others like kembong, tenggiri,bawal hitam all have their own fish smell…but I don’t mind. But some fish, I cannot tahan the smell…
OOohhh…..I have always wanted to try ayam penyet here in Semenanjung, but still have not been able to convince my hubby to bring us to try it.
Well, I guess you need to know where you can get the really good ones. Like everything else, not all are good. Somebody just said they’ve a nice place at The Curve?
the fish indeed looks good…yummmm
Tasted good too! Some people don’t know what they’re missing. Yummmmmmm….. 😀
Gosh!….love the cripsy fried cat fish. The ayam penyet looks a bit too dried for my liking. Over all, not too bad.
My first time eating it this way and I loved it! 😉
I’ve heard so much bout Ayam Penyet yet I’ve never tried it. Looking at the pic, I think I’ll love the fish more as I’m more of a fish person 😀
So that is pecel lele lah! 🙂
I’m sure they’re all over KL. Quite a number of places here now too… The pecel lele was nice – wait till I find one really good ayam penyet – will post on that then.
The rice in banana leaf is quite unique! It looks like glutinous / sticky rice, is it?
Nope, it’s ordinary rice but it has a pleasant fragrance to it.
ok, now you make me drooling with this post as i have to have my sandwiches for breakfast here in brussels… 😦
With brussel sprouts? Muahahahaha!!!! 😀
The crispy fried catfish looked so yummy and meaty but RM5.50, the price is a bit on the high side. 🙂
Yup…and even the drinks. The ayam penyet was worse and it was not even nice. 😦
I like the fried catfish! Looks so good, can eat it with sambal belacan alone. I like almost all sorts of deep fried crispy fish..can wallop the whole fish by myself, incl the head and fins 🙂
Me too. I like fish…even the cheap kembong and the like, much more than some of the expensive ones.
smashed = penyet
so nice ler..the chix soft inside, but crispy outside..not tough lor…but this pic, nampak over fried and dry 😦
pecel lele..yummy..yummy… 🙂
You think squashed is a more appropriate word than smashed? I was thinking if a car is involved in a serious accident and it’s all penyet or kemek, we say it is all smashed up. Yup…this one was indeed overfried and dry, according to my missus but the pecel lele was good.
Oh my, the fish looked so yummy. Perhaps they charged extra for serving special authentic Indon food? Rm1.60 is rather pricey for a roadside stall, even by Klang Valley standards.
+Ant+
Don’t talk about our drinks here! Those blood suckers! Daylight robbers! The coffee shop association people demanded for an increase citing all kinds of reasons. What the heck! It’s all water and ice! Tsk! Tsk! Hope they burn in hell for their greed.
I will have to check the prices of the ayam penyet, and pecel lele as well, at the other places and compare – can’t really say right now as we’ve tried at just one other place – RM5.00 for the ayam penyet but that was sometime ago.
Ayam penyet not related to monyet whatsoever? lolz The catfish is it called ‘tong saat’ in hokkien. Bananaz hopeless in names only know how to eat muahaha.
Dunno the name in Chinese. We only know it as keli…. What’s in a name – just eat! LOL!!! 😀
Oh! I believe that’s called nasi lalapan in Miri. It’s an Indonesian dish that seems to be sweeping over Sarawak like a storm! I wrote about it here:
http://sixthseal.com/2011/03/nasi-lalapan/
but yeah, I think pecel lele is the right word for the dish.
It didn’t come with the fragrant rice wrapped in banana leaf though…that would have been excellent! 🙂
A friend based in Indonesia has this to say on my link in Facebook: “Btw, lalapan is any greens that is raw that goes very well wt nasi pecel or nasi uduk. Not to be confused wt ulaman. Eg cucumber, salad leaf, kacang panjang, terung bulat kecil, cabbage, all RAW! Ulaman are herbs eg kemangi, selasih, ulamraja, even the peppercorn,” when a Kuching friend said I should go for the lalapan in Miri adding that what they have in Kuching isn’t nice – he went to Surabaya though, not the one you went to.
But yours looks so much better than mine – the lalapan part – what we had was really so miserable. Your lele looks a lot uglier though. LOL!!!
Ayam penyet and the catfish look good. I like the way they serve the rice in banana leaf, very creative.
I find that drinks at bandung very expensive, remember last year when i am back, went for supper and only the drink itself cost me so much! I think i complained to the guy.
So? Did you manage to get a discount? I wouldn’t be going back there again soon, that’s for sure. They can drink all the drinks themselves till they pee in their pants. Tsk! Tsk!
long time never eat ayam penyet! i wan some!
Go! Go! Lots around… Let me know the place if you come across any good one.
Ah…I miss eating catfish. I forget the last time I ate one.
Oh? Not easily available there. We have…a lot – at the market. Would have to kill the slippery fish and cook ourselves. Now that we can eat it outside…I think I will just go out and eat it when I feel like having it. Saves me all the trouble.