So where or what is Surabaya? It's Indonesia's second-largest city, and the capital of the province of East Java. However if you're wondering about this humble little eatery instead, it's located at a quiet corner of Lucky Plaza on downtown Orchard Road, and is admittedly often overshadowed by Ayam Penyet Ria, which has two branches within the same building.
Ayam Penyet Surabaya: 7.7/10
The chicken came with a piece of fried beancurd as well as fried "tempeh" (Indonesian fermented soybeans) and all-in-all I would say that it isn't too bad, in fact the chilli here is better than Ria's because Ria's just too numbingly hot and spicy. The one here is definitely more manageable haha. White rice is not served with this dish though, and you have to pay $0.60 for a plate of it. And oh, come to think of it, the chicken wasn't flattened at all, which is odd because it's meant to be "penyet" (smashed/flattened) right!
Ayam Bakar: 7.3/10
Daphne was nursing a sore throat and decided to order the grilled chicken instead, but we were quite surprised to see that they left the fried beancurd and tempeh out. The chicken thigh was more or less the same size as the one I had, and the dish costs the same too! The sauce on the chicken was quite sweet, but at least the chicken was tender. I still think the chicken was a little too small though.
Tahu Telur: 7.3/10
Daphne liked this a lot because she felt that there was a generous serving of eggs that went into it, but I think it's really more flour than eggs to be honest. It's served with satay gravy (made from peanuts and spices) but we didn't really try that.
Service
Good.
Price
$6.00 for the ayam penyet surabaya
$6.00 for the ayam bakar
$6.00 for the tahu telur
$0.60 for a plate of rice
$2.50 for a cup of lime juice
$1.80 for a "teh botol" (Indonesian iced tea, left)
There wasn't really much of a discernible taste to the tea, but I ordered it because I thought it would be a good idea to complete the meal with a supposedly distinctive Indonesian drink.
Place
Lucky Plaza #02-63/64, Orchard Road
Also: Far East Plaza #05-26/26A, Scotts Road
Website: www.restosurabaya.com
Additional Comment
Although run by Indonesian Chinese, it's certified Halal.
2 Foodie Comments:
i love all these reviews, because the next time i visit singapore, i'm visiting you and your lovely gf and bringing you two a gift, and i'll also know where to eat (or where to avoid)! :)
March 2, 2009 at 2:37 AMThanks Pearl, you're always so encouraging with your tags =)
March 5, 2009 at 9:26 AMIt's so nice of you to want to bring a gift, but it's okay really! Hopefully when you do visit Singapore we could bring you to some of the places that you are more curious about heh. My hols is in mid May - mid August or in December! =)
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