Ayam Penyet Ria, Bedok Point

Ayam Penyet, 'Smashed Chicken'

During the last few days I was in Singapore, my mum and I went to Bedok Point for a stroll since I hadn't been to the shopping mall at all. We came across Ayam Penyet Ria, which my mum said we should try since this place tends to be packed (How to tell the good places apart: There are always long lines waiting to get in!).  

Ayam Penyet Ria styles itself as a cafe (I suppose), but it resembles a fast food joint. That said, I have no issues against fast food ("Alas!", cries my thighs) - I do love a good McSpicy. When we entered the cafe it was rather empty, yet we were directed to a small two people table, barely 20cm away from two school boys (who were all sweaty and were starting to smell... although that isn't really the fault of the cafe I guess, but why on earth couldn't they have given us any one of the other 15 available seating places? OH YES because they had placed a reserved sign on all of them). Who on earth would have reservations for a cafe at 3pm, anyway? 

After some deliberation, we ordered their famous Ayam Penyet ($6.50), translated as smashed chicken. Now, now - If you're envisioning some arcade style game where people go around smashing chickens that pop out from the ground, STOP! The name is derived from the fact that the slain chicken (after marinating in their secret herbs and spices and whatnot) is smashed with a mallet before being deep fried. This dislodges the meat from the bones and make them literally 'peel' off the chicken with a few nudges from your fork.

As you can see, the chicken is served with deep fried beancurd, soybean cake (a Javanese delicacy known as tempe) and some vegetables. The whole dish is also topped with fried crumbs and served with a side of blacan-chilli relish.

The food: 

What can I say? Maybe it's because we arrived during a dead time that our food seemed to be of poor quality. The rice we were served was NOT HOT. Furthermore, it was clumpy yet dry, like rice that was cooked some time ago and just left in a huge bucket of rice with all the condensation and water vapour inside the bucket. Honestly, how hard can it be to serve proper rice in ASIA? :(

The chicken was very tender indeed - and each bite was full of flavor. The meat was very soft - but after I progressed past the first layer, I found it hard to swallow. The chicken meat on the inside was extremely dry and reminded me of the dry shredded chicken strips our old canteen lady used to put in Macaroni Soup. Although the cooking DID remind me of authentic Indonesian cooking (it was very similar to the crispy duck I got in Bali), I am pretty sure that this dish is a lot drier than what was served to me in Bali.

HOWEVER. The meal was not a loss. THE CHILLI. OHMYGOD THE CHILLI. I cannot say enough about it. My mother found it too spicy (and it was). But the combination of the spiciness and the sour taste was practically addictive. I found tears coming out the corners of my eyes and my drink went *poof* in a jiffy. But damn, it was worth it.

Perhaps the stall at Lucky Plaza serves food of better quality (since that seems to be the one people rave about). But having read some reviews, I think not. (P.S. I might still go back for the chilli!)

Recommended for: Students, Budget eats, People with lots of saliva, People who like to kill their tastebuds

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Ayam Penyet Ria
Lucky Plaza #01-45, 11 AM - 10 PM
Lucky Plaza #04-25, 12 PM - 9 PM
Tampines Mall #04-27, 11 AM - 9.30 PM
Jurong Point #B1-06, 11.30 AM - 9.30 PM
Bedok Point #B1-05, 11.30 AM - 1 AM

Everything with Fries, Joo Chiat

A bad knowledge of Singaporean Bus Routes brought us to Joo Chiat when we initially intended to go to Parkway Parade. Therefore, we (Significant Other and I) decided to give Everything with Fries a try (down the corner from Astons, Joo Chiat). Everything with Fries (such a catchy name) was created by the same connoisseurs that brought us Awfully Chocolate. They have two outlets, the first in Joo Chiat and another at Holland Village.

Being a Saturday Evening, the cafe was rather crowded when we entered. We were ushered in by a friendly waitress who took the time to explain the concept behind the name (with every main course, you get a side of fries that are seasoned with either one of five flavors - Curry, Herbs & Garlic, Salt & Vinegar, Sour Cream & Onion or Original). You could also opt for a choice of shoestring fries (skinny fries, like that you get at Burger King) or chunky cut fries. 

The drinks were first to arrive - we ordered an Iced Lemon Tea and Lemon Soda. The Ice Lemon Tea was sweet - very sweet. In contrast, the Lemon Soda had a nice kick to it.

The menu offered a choice of 11 main courses - which isn't much, but just nice if the food is good. Our food of choice that night was the Wild NZ King Salmon ($18.90) and the Lamb Burger ($11.90). Both of us picked Shoestring Fries to go with our meals - the herbs we chose were Herbs & Garlic and the Salt & Vinegar... I suggest you bring 3 friends along so that you get to try every single seasoning ;)

Herbs & Garlic: (pictured with the Lamb Burger) The first bite of fries produced a cheesy taste with a light garlic aftertaste. After consuming half the fries however, I felt the fries were too salty with the seasoning and the delightful bite provided by the garlic was now causing a light sting on my tongue... I'm pretty sure I left with garlic breath that night.

Salt & Vinegar: (pictured with the Salmon) Personally I felt that the vinegar taste was absent in this dish... but I wasn't the one who consumed most of it. Significant Other found it average.

The fries were hot, crispy & not soggy - lovely, in other words (:

The Wild NZ King Salmon was as described in the menu. Overlaid with breadcrumbs on one side, it was crispy on the outside. Inside, it was a dream. The salmon was cooked sashimi style, slightly pink and translucent - it literally melted in the mouth. For $18.90, the portion size was generous as well. 

The Lamb Burger was amazing. Their handmade bun was baked with a light coating of butter that produced a slightly sweet crust surrounding light, airy bread. I was reminded of buns you get at the local market bread shops first thing in the morning! The lamb patty was handmade, thick and well seasoned. In between the patty and the bun was tomato and cheese - but with a slight twist. I dislike tomatoes in burgers. More often than not, they're not fresh or they uh... soggify the bun. The Everything with Fries incarnation is made with tomato relish - a godsend to people like me who love tomato based sauces and salsa but dislike the actual tomato fruit. Instead of a cheese slice, the lamb burger is made with cream cheese. Together... heaven.

A few notes - we weren't offered a choice between the Baby Caesar Salad or Coleslaw with our dishes (maybe they ran out of coleslaw?).  I also felt that the staff was 'pushing' us to have dessert even after we had decided not to - we took the menus they thrust into our hands just to humor them, but shouldn't it be a personal preference if I want dessert or not? Although, the next time I'm here I think I shall give the Nutella Tart or the Mille Crêpe a go. 

Ambience wise, Everything with Fries definitely needs to rethink the cafe design. The cafe is rather spartan, simply consisting of wooden furniture placed in a shophouse with white floors and stone flooring. I admit that the shophouse itself isn't very large per se - but I believe that the staff has tried to squeeze a table and chairs into every single square inch of the place. Even with a tiny gap between us and our neighbors, I'm pretty sure that Significant Other could have seen the high score on the Nintendo DS that the kid seating next to him was playing on (if he wished, duh). The environment would be much more pleasant if they had more spaces in between each table - at the expense of a possible longer waiting time during peak hours, of course.

Recommended for: Large Groups, Gatherings, Family, Yuppies

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Everything with Fries
458 Joo Chiat Road
S (427671)
Tel: 6345 5034

Opening Hours
Closed on Mondays
Tue - Sun: 12 PM - 10PM

The Royals Cafe, Siglap

The Royals Cafe has occupied its spot along the cafe strip of Upper East Coast Road for a number of years now. I've had the opportunity to visit a couple of times, but since I haven't had a meal there for a while I decided to have dinner there today (and blog about their famous Nyonya Mee Siam at the same time). Mee Siam is a favorite dish of mine - I can eat it for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner. Almost every place I've eaten at interprets Mee Siam in different ways. I prefer mine swimming in spicy gravy with just a touch of lemongrass and lime! How about you?

What Style of Mee Siam do you prefer?

 The Royals Cafe was quiet when I arrived at 7.30PM (it was a Monday, after all). Normally, the atmosphere is quiet noisy as it tends to be a popular spot for students in the afternoons and families on the weekends. For dinner, I ordered the Mee Siam ($4.90) and Ice Latte ($3.50). The Ice Latte arrived first (pictured below). For $3.50, it wasn't bad indeed! I suspect that I would have enjoyed it, if I hadn't gotten a dodgy straw (it had a hole along the side somewhere, which made it impossible to properly drink the beverage). Instead of bothering the wait staff, I simply inverted the straw - voila! Except I ended up getting foam on my fingers and realized (to my disgruntlement), that the wait staff hadn't provided paper napkins yet.

The Mee Siam arrived around 10 minutes later, with the cutlery and paper napkins (finally!). I unceremoniously dumped the entire plate of chilli provided into the bowl and stirred it into the soup. Unfortunately for me (!!!), no lime was provided /sadface/. The vermicelli was cooked to a nice consistency with a little springiness left to the noodles. The gravy was flavorsome and thicker than usual - I found it to be less spicy than the version offered in most kopitiams. In fact, the thickness of the gravy fell somewhere in between the normal Mee Rebus and Mee Siam gravy (in my opinion). I would have liked it to be more spicy, but other than that, I had no complaints really. Tau Pok, Hard Boiled egg and prawns also featured as part of the dish (strangely enough, the prawns didn't seem out of place). 

I wouldn't call this place a fave hangout - but hey, if you're looking for cheap eats with air con and nice dessert, you definitely have to stop by The Royals Cafe. Other than the Mee Siam, The Royals Cafe in Siglap also serves mini pies, gelato and other baked treats. I've tried a few other items on their menu (both asian and western) - and to be honest, I probably wouldn't repeat the experience. The Mee Siam was definitely good, but their other dishes were quite a let down - for some strange reason, they reminded me of Secondary School Canteen Food.

Definitely try their cakes! My brother is a fan of their Chocolate Banana & I adore the Chocolate Mint slice. A favorite amongst regular customers is the Dark Chocolate Truffle, which simply melts in the mouth, leaving behind a slightly bitter yet refreshing chocolate taste on the palate. My brother ordered their 1.5 KG Chocolate Banana Cake for his birthday and on another occasion, my friend ordered the 1.5 KG Dark Chocolate Truffle for a small celebration - each time, no leftovers remained! I daresay I will be returning for their sweet treats :)

Recommended for: Family, Large Groups, Chill Out


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The Royals Cafe
19 Upper East Coast Road
Crescendo Building
(beside Jalan Tua Kong)
Tel: 6445 6457

Opening Hours
Daily: 7.30 AM - 11 PM