Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Restoran Ayam Penyet Best in Seremban

As an Indonesian living overseas, I often crave the real Indonesian cuisines. A lot of people say that Malay cuisine is pretty similar to Indonesian cuisine but I feel that there are still some pretty big differences between the two, especially the sambal. Usually, when I crave Indonesian food (that is quite troublesome to be cooked at home), the nearest place to satisfy my cravings would be the Ayam Penyet (Smashed Fried Chicken) Ria Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur or Balinese Restaurant in Puchong. However, sometimes I am bound to kill the idea of satisfying my taste bud because of the travel distance between Seremban and Kuala Lumpur - quite far just for having lunch/dinner, right?

Few months ago, my husband and I noticed that there is a new Ayam Penyet Restaurant in Seremban called Restoran Ayam Penyet Best. In the beginning, I hesitated to give this restaurant a try because I've tried eating Ayam Penyet at random Malay restaurants in Seremban and Johor but I was not happy with how they prepared the food as their Ayam Penyet was more like Malay style's Ayam Penyet. No pun intended but somehow, I still feel that the authentic Indonesian style's Ayam Penyet is still the best, just like how people in Java make the dish.

One afternoon, my husband brought home a pack of Ayam Penyet, Rawon and Gado-gado from Restoran Ayam Penyet Best in town. Their Ayam Penyet and its sambal taste pretty close to Ria's Ayam Penyet in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore so I was pleased with how they make the dish and thought of visiting their restaurant again some other time to try some other Indonesian dishes they have.

A set of Ayam Penyet, white rice and a glass of Ice Lemon Tea costs RM 8.90.

I find that their Rawon is quite tasty but very salty, even when the soup's eaten with white rice.

Tasty but too salty. 
We don't usually put tomato and long bean sprouts in our Rawon in Indonesia either.

Their Gado-gado is not so fantastic either, unfortunately. Not too flavourful, if I may say.

Restoran Ayam Penyet Best's Gado-gado.

Nevertheless, I was still determined to go to their restaurant once more and check out the other penyet dishes they have.

Seremban's Restoran Ayam Penyet Best's Menu Book.

The first time I dined in at their restaurant, I ordered a set of Ayam Penyet (which includes a plate of white rice and a glass of Ice Lemon Tea) and Bakso Penyet (Smashed Fried Beef Meatball). My husband and I love their Bakso Penyet - we find this dish is delicious and don't mind ordering this particular dish every time we eat at this restaurant again.

Our must-have penyet dish. I love, love, love their Bakso Penyet.
Bakso Penyet costs Rm 7.50. Additional white rice costs RM 1.20/plate.

Yesterday, my husband and I went to this restaurant again for dinner. We ordered Bakso Penyet, Empal Penyet (Smashed Sweet Marinated Fried Beef) and Sayur Asam.

Their Empal Penyet is not bad and we like it; although the fried beef was a little bit chewy for my jaw.

A set of Empal Penyet, white rice and a glass of Ice Lemon Tea costs RM 8.90.

Moving on, I was quite disappointed with their Sayur Asam though. It was very salty and the tamarind soup tastes quite weird. I did not enjoy their Sayur Asam, let alone finish the whole bowl.

Sayur Asam costs RM 4 per bowl.

Yesterday evening when my husband and I had our dinner at this restaurant, we had a chat with the kind lady bosses. One of them helped us carry Baby Naomi who happened to be very fussy at the time when our food was served. She carried Baby Naomi until she fell asleep in her arms so both husband and I could enjoy our food. The owner explains that this Restoran Ayam Penyet Best in Seremban is just one of the many Ayam Penyet Best restaurants in Malaysia. My husband actually told her that it's great to have at least one Indonesian restaurant in Seremban so we don't have to go all the way to Kuala Lumpur just to get some real Indonesian food.

I will certainly introduce the Indonesian Penyet dishes to Baby Naomi when she's bigger.
Without the hot sambal, for sure.

In conclusion, Restoran Ayam Penyet Best's penyet dishes are worth trying if you want to eat really authentic Indonesian food in Seremban. The food is affordable, the service is nice and their sambal is above average - very close to sambal you find in Indonesia.

**Updates in July 2014**

Both my husband and I feel that this restaurant's food quality control has dropped significantly and this restaurant serves food that is substandard for my liking be it taste, freshness and authenticity. I think we won't be going to this restaurant again for quite some time. Too bad.

** Restoran Ayam Penyet Best **
Address: 35, Jalan Tunku Hassan, 7000 Seremban, Negeri Sembilan (opposite HSBC).

1 comment:

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