Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Ayam Penyet - What It didn't Turn Out to Be

This is not one of the dishes I usually try, but I decided to have a go at it - whilst in Malaysia. I ordered the ayam penyet at Johor Premium Outlets (JPO). Every store in JPO has discounts, except for these food stores that charge exorbitant price in ringgit. They probably figured that if you can afford to drive there to buy branded clothes, you can definitely afford to pay a little more for local fare. My local fare - the Ayam Penyet = MYR 10.90 (SGD 4.40)

Ayam penyets are supposed to contain fried chicken lightly smashed using a pestle in a mortar. My piece of chicken was small and did not look flat enough. My dish contained sambal, but the sambal wasn't the spiciest one I ever had. I still remembered the sambal in Changi Village that left a burning sensation on my tongue for hours. They served the dish in a plastic plate - not on banana leaves nor on wooden dishes. The rice wasn't richly filled with coconut.
But my stomach was growling and so the ayam penyet was used to silence it. And so I learnt a lesson - not everything in Malaysia is cheap and authentic.

No comments: