Ayam Penyet Ria, Kuching

We're staying back in the afternoon for work this week. 3 times this week, and that's a lot of days by our standards. Heh. So that means more having to eat out more, since I was not really in the mood to pack my own lunch from home. Heh.

It's been two weeks since I've returned from Bali, and well, I do miss all the spicy Indonesian food we ate over there. And so for lunch today, W, S and I went to Ayam Penyet Ria , opened not long ago along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman here in Kuching. Well, that's the block of shops just next to Sarawak Plaza, opposite Tun Jugah, where the old Maybank was. Now, in place of the bank, there's not only Ayam Penyet Ria, but next to it is New Atmosferah Restaurant .....

Teh botol for W, Ais kacang for S, no drinks for me

W loved this teh botol and drank it a lot on his trip to Bandung. I'd not drank it before. But I recognise the brand - Sosro. At Eden Hotel in Bali the other day, we were provided with Sosro tea sachets. I took them home but I'd not drank them yet. 

S did not comment about her ais kacang, so I wasn't sure whether it met her standards or not. She ordered it kosong, meaning that she did not want extra sugar added - only to be told that they used gula apong in the concoction. 

Ayam Penyet, RM10.30

W ordered the ayam penyet. It was served on a a piece of banana leaf atop a small 7-inch wooden plate .... Heh, I did buy one wooden plate of that size from Bali - I think it cost me only IDR15,000 and that's a mere RM4.80. 

There was chicken, a chunk of tempe and deep-fried beancurd, 2 slices of cucumber; the other vegetables were blanched cabbage and kangkong - you can probably see the cabbage peeking out underneath the cucumber. The reason you can't see the kangkong is that there was only A SINGLE STRAND somewhere in there .... 

I strongly think that they are very stingy with the vegetables. You'd think that kangkong is so expensive that they can only afford to provide you with a strand. Tsk, tsk, tsk .... 

 Free flow of sambal though ...

There were 3 types of sambal the other day. Eat as much as you like. But do not waste. W took it upon himself to take the sambal for me ... so I wasn't sure which sambal was which .... they were not bad, spicy. 

 Ayam bakar, RM11.30 

Served with rice .... extra sambal on the side ... 

I had the ayam bakar, the chicken was coated with a sweet soy sauce and grilled. It had a bittersweet, caramelised flavour. Not too bad, but not enough for me to be crazy about it.

The spiciness of the sambal made my nose runny, but was still tolerable. At least I did not have trouble with my tummy, like I had with Bebek Tepi Sawah the other day. :))

Air-conditioned restaurant, comfortable. Food was decent, drinks were pricey. Not bad a place, but not totally great either.