Aspirasi : Fried Chicken Rice

This is one of the oldest stalls that has been in this food centre for quite a while, a Muslim-owned stall that serves Fried Chicken Rice. There are the normal Chicken Rice ($3.50), Sambal Chicken Rice ($4.00), Sweet & Sour Chicken Rice ($4.00), Lemon Chicken Rice ($4.00), Black & Pepper Chicken Rice ($4.00), Penyet Chicken Rice ($5.00), Fried Rice with Chicken ($5.00) and Tomato Fried Rice with Sambal Chicken ($5.50). There are various choices to choose from, something for everyone on the menu. 

I decided to go with the Penyet Chicken Rice. The fried chicken came nicely smashed-up, accompanied by a pile of raw shredded cabbage topped with sambal chili, a slice of cucumber and a cherry tomato, together with a bowl of soup. The well-seasoned chicken was nicely fried to have the delightful crispiness, it was flavorful to eat it without the chili. The spiciness of the chilli can be quite intimidating so go easy.

ASPIRASI

2 Seah Im Road #01-45 Seah Im Food Centre SINGAPORE 099114

Operating Hours: 11.00 am to 9.00 pm (Closed on Mondays)

Indonesia Delight Gandis : so so Mee Rebus and Ayam Penyet

I visited a Malay stall in the coffee shop at D'Lithium, a building along Playfair Road and I tried their Mee Rebus which I did not like. Just a couple of days later, someone posted pictures on the famous Mee Rebus in Ang Mo Kio and a Facebook friend commented, he recommended the Mee Rebus from a Malay stall that used to be at D'Lithium for 6 years but forced to move to a new location due to an increment in rental about 2 years ago. Their current location is at Trivex Building along Burn Road, which is directly behind the exit A of Tai Seng MRT station and about 5 minutes' walk from there. The family that started this stall was from Bandung and moved to Singapore 12 years ago. 

I was there around11.00 am and there was only 1 other customer in front of me. I decided to go with their Mee Rebus ($3.00) and Ayam Penyet ($5.50) without the rice as I was eating alone. They also serve Mee Soto ($3.00), Soto Ayam ($3.00), Lotong ($3.00), Ikan Penyet ($5.50) and also dishes for Nasi Padang. I was asked whether I want the chicken leg or breast for the Ayam Penyet and I opted for the chicken leg. While waiting, I was told that the chicken leg is not ready and the lady suggested that I go for the breast which I agreed but regretted later. I waited for about 5 minutes for both to be ready.

The Mee Rebus tasted just average, the gravy was too diluted and is not starchy enough to coat every strand of noodle well. The flavour is quite mild and its taste is not even close or on par with the Mee Rebus by Rahim Muslim Food located in Ang Mo Kio that they serve with satay sauce with an option to add poached chicken to it.

Their chicken pieces are supposedly marinated with various herbs and spices then deep-fried and 'penyet' (smashed). The chicken breast though nicely fried to a desired crispiness but it was too dry within thus not as flavorful, which I did not even manage to finish. It might be due to that they fried it for too long and the other possibility is, they actually re-fried it so its texture was somewhat compromised. Maybe, I should have waited for that chicken leg. Worst of all, I was expected to eat it with disposable spoon and fork and it was particularly challenging when eating that piece of fried chicken. 

There was still no queue after I done eating at about 12.05 pm.

INDONESIA DELIGHT GANDIS

8 Burn Road #01-06 Trivex Building LC Food Centre SINGAPORE 369977

Operating Hours: 7.00 am to 2.00 pm (Closed on Sundays)