Ayam Penyet Ria "Smashed Fried Chicken"

Ayam Penyet Ria "Smashed Fried Chicken" - 304 Orchard Road, Lucky Plaza #04-25/26

You know you're in for some authentic Asian food when you walk into a restaurant and nobody is conversing in English. This eatery may be tucked away in a near-inaccessible corner of a mall, requiring you to navigate labyrinthine rows of money changers and camera shops just to get there, but be prepared to wait in a long queue of hungry pilgrims chattering deafeningly in bahasa indonesia come lunch time. Needless to say, the chicken was smashingly good.

The eponymous Ayam Penyet with Rice ($6.90) is an absolute must-try. Roughly translated as smashed chicken, the bird is coated in a thin layer of batter, deep fried before being summarily beaten to a pulp; and they said KFC was Kentucky Fried Cruelty. The brutality is well justified in my book though, the chicken was wonderfully crisp on the outside yet dripping with juice within. Lightly spiced and not too oily, it was easy to separate meat from bone in its pulverized state and smeared with a thick, tangy, weapons-grade sambal chilli sauce; the sort that is eaten with relish despite the sweat beading on your forehead and the tears filling your pleasure-glazed eyes. The batter-rubble from the chicken was a decadent indulgence with fluffy white rice and still more chilli. Also eaten with a daring amount of this sauce were chunks of crisp-fried beancurd and - my personal favourite - tempeh; bars of compacted, fermented soybeans with a salty, crunchy shell that yields to reveal a moist, creamy and buttery interior.

My dining partner's Lele Penyet ($6.90) was absolutely phenomenal. The moist, flaky and near-delicate flesh of the catfish was a delightful contrast to its sinfully crispy skin. I'm far from a fish lover (sashimi and beer-battering aside) but I could appreciate how it lacked any fishy or muddy off-flavour that I typically find in catfish, more sambal helped sway my opinion too.

Sop Buntut ($7) or Indonesian Oxtail might eclipse chicken stew as the comfort food archetype. Massive chunks of fall-off-the-bone beef were spiderwebbed with rich and gelatinous tendon for a peerless mouthfeel and a richness that made it all very satisfying. Despite the weight of the meat, the broth was conversely ethereal-light and clean-tasting, spiced subtly in a manner not too different from mee soto.

Less spectacular was the Tahu Telor ($5.90) which I usually polish off with relish elsewhere. Soggy with oil rather than crispy and with far too little jullienned cucumbers to give it satisfying crunch, this was the big disappointment of the meal. Worse still, they dressed it with run-of-the-mill satay peanut sauce rather than the pungent, sharp-tasting, character-filled kicap manis that is - in my opinion - the only standard.

I spotted Teh Botol Sosro ($1.90) on the drinks menu and could not hold myself back. The last time I had one of these was years ago on a community involvement trip to build a library on Bintan Island and it hasn't changed one bit. Strong tea is added with as much sugar as possible without crystallization occurring in this bottled drink, the result is a simultaneous caffeine and sugar high as both hit the bloodstream. Your pancreas will not thank you but it feels so damn good.

We rounded things off with an Es Cendol ($3.50) to share and I was not overly impressed. The sugary coconut drink was a bit too sweet without being salty, creamy or thick enough, the grass jelly and green chewy bits were a tad gummy too. I'll stick to the roadside Malaysian vendors with their 1RM Indian Chendols, despite the inevitable Lomotil I'll have to pop an hour or two later.

The Handburger

The Handburger – 252 North Bridge Road #B1-65/66, Raffles City

My insatiable appetite for a slab of meat in a bun has taken me to yet another burger joint. The Handburger's mission statement is something that totally resonates with me: a good burger can be had at a decent price. They certainly proved that point with two gorgeous creations – one as part of a full set – that amounted to an extremely reasonable $27.78.

Chunky Fries ($4 with any burger plus a drink thrown in) arrived first, and chunky they were. These thick cut taters were crisp on the outside and mealy-while-still-firm on the inside. A tad salty, they weren’t exactly the best I’ve had but that didn’t stop me from stealing a fair amount from my friend.

The voice in my head said, “Damn, if there was a way of taking crisp-roasted duck pickled in it’s own fat - one of life’s most exquisite pleasures - and making it better, it’s probably this.” so I went for the Duck Leg Confit Burger ($11.80). Well it was grand, but not at all in the way expected. Nestled in the softest, most pillowy burger bun to ever grace my mouth were moist, rich and tender strips of duck; enveloping your teeth in a warm embrace of bite before parting delicately, almost lovingly, with a stream of juice. This divine mouthfeel was taken to the next level when contrasted with the crunch of sweetpea sprouts lending their herbaceous zing and plump orange segments exploding like tiny citrus nukes on the tongue. Topping things off was an orange sauce that bordered on being syrup with its sugary intensity. What left me wide-eyed in amazement was that this did not bring to mind classical Canard a l’Orange or even Confit de Canard but rather - and I kid you not - a vivid image of Lor Ark with Plum Sauce. Accidental Asian influence anyone?

My dining companion stuck firmly to basics though, and a wise decision it was. Stuffed in a caramelised onion bun (very similar to the one described earlier) was a zen lesson in balance, burger style. The Handburger Original ($7.80) was composed of the bare essentials: a ribeye patty, caramelised onion relish, a slice of molten cheddar and a smear of smoky-sweet barbecue sauce. The patty was excellently put together, lightly seasoned, moist yet not wet, tender yet with a sufficiently gratifying bite, solid yet falling apart in just the right way into a rubble of juice-spewing mince; it had the tightrope-balance just right and it was nothing short of beautiful.

Entre Nous Creperie

Entre Nous Creperie - 27 Seah Street

What's not to like about a good crepe? Crisp, delicate and light, filled with something decadently sweet or delightfully savoury; it is proof that a God with tastebuds exists. The catch is that a truly good crepe has proved almost impossible to find; what one typically gets is a too-thick, doughy and soggy pancake masquerading as one. As such, when this eatery with its roots in Brittany came highly recommended from a most discerning friend, I prayed that my search was finally at an end. And it was, albeit at a rather hefty price tag of $69.85 for a party of two.

I went for the Entre Nous Set ($29) which came with a salad, one galette (i.e. savoury buckwheat crepe) and one crepe. The Salad of the Day comprised juicy cherry tomato halves, succulent shrimp, sweet crab-sticks, crisp lettuce and gorgeous raw mushrooms that crumbled in an explosion of rich earthiness with each mouthful. Everything was chopped to just that perfect bite-size; large enough to be munched on yet small enough to be eaten elegantly.

This was followed by a Le Ouessant Galette (alternatively $18.10 a la carte) which scored the ultimate umami trifecta of eggs, mushrooms and Emmental cheese couched in the richness of cream and porcine punchiness of ham. Wonderfully satisfying with such indulgent ingredients, the weight of this filling was juxtaposed against its buckwheat crepe parcel. It was so sheer, light and crisp that I marveled at how it held everything together. Beneath the obvious butteriness, the subtle nature of buckwheat could be just discerned. Actually unrelated to comparatively flat-tasting wheat, buckwheat flour is made from a fruit-seed that is nutty and fragrant.

I washed all that down with a mug of House Cider (supplement of $3), opting for the dry rather than the sweet. It was quite strong with a light acidity without being too sour. This mildly effervescent beverage was just perfect to cleanse my palette of all that eggy, cheesy and creamy sin.

Meanwhile, my dining companion went for the Geraldine's Favourite ($17.50) paired with a glass of Rosé ($11). This galette could only be described as a cheese-lover's dream; mild Emmental set a creamy, mellow stage for the dazzling displays of intense Roquefort and sharp goat cheese. Needless to say, this utterly rich and divinely creamy creation literally oozed with delicious character.

My set was rounded off with an Entre Nous Crepe ($3 supplement for a les gourmandes dessert crepe or $9.10 a la carte), their signature salted butter caramel crepe. The secret to its magic was the bold use of salt that rendered it a hair's breadth from savoriness but magnified the buttery decadence and smoky sugariness of the caramel a thousandfold. The ribbons of caramel sauce virtually explode on the tongue with astonishing depth and intensity; it's no wonder the stuff is sold in jars at $12 a pop.

Trung Nguyen Coffee Company

Trung Nguyen Coffee Company – 177 River Valley Road #02-34/36, Liang Court Mall

Colonisation was a period in many Asian countries' history that most try to forget. However there are a few things that indicate it was not all bad; industrialization, modernization and French-influenced Vietnamese drip coffee. Trung-Nguyen has taken traditional “ca phe sua da” out of the coffee shops of Ho Chi Minh and into chic outlets at malls in Japan, Thailand, China and now Singapore; a-la Starbucks.

The Creation #4 ($5.90 with condensed milk or $4.90 without) is a clear indication that quality has not been compromised. From the elegant metal drip apparatus to the 10-minute wait I had to endure for the coffee to filter through, there were no cut corners in this cuppa.

The thick, condensed milk-sweetened elixir had an intoxicating aroma that was rich and comforting with buttery notes of toffee and caramel. The dangerously high caffeine content hits the bloodstream from the first sip; filling your veins like rapidly combusting rocket fuel. I was quite surprised I did not go shooting right out of my chair.

Lovely hot, it was absolutely divine splashed over ice. The stuff was so potent and concentrated that the invariably melting ice did not even put a dent in its strength. While those with iffy tickers should think twice (it could probably chuck you into cardiac arrest and give you a stroke simultaneously); it is highly, HIGHLY recommended for everyone else!