Hands up if you swore off ayam penyet after getting yet another dry mess of meat the last time you ordered it. We, too, have stopped eating the Indonesian chicken-and-rice dish after one too many chewing battles, but Kaki Lima at Maxwell Food Centre has broken the spell.
Deep fried and given the requisite pestle smash on a flat stone mortar, the chunky leg of deep fried chicken rests on a bed of white rice – oh, and don’t bother with the 50-cent upgrade to Kaki Lima’s rather tasteless nasi kuning (yellow rice).
But here’s the killer part: crunchy bits of fried batter crumbs are meticulously packed in a separate baggie to maintain their texture. And make sure to ask for your share of one of the hawker stall’s potent sambals to kick the experience up a few notches. At $3.50, we'll take this juicy chicken any day of the week.
Kaki Lima is at #01-67 Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur St.