How much would you pay for a plate of tasty baked dory with rice? ‘When in Rome, do what the Romans do’. So the saying goes. This applies to anywhere else even in Singapore. My adaptation of the saying goes, ‘When in Singapore, do what Singaporeans do.’ This includes visiting places where typical Singaporeans eat.
It is possible to spend below $10 per meal if you know where to go. If the hawker centers are not appealing to you because of its noise and open air concept, making you drench in sweat faster than you can finish your meal, head to the food courts in the local malls.
Here, you can have a delicious, hearty meal for less than $10. What a bargain! If you enjoy seafood, especially fish, you’d enjoy baked dory or ‘ikan bakar’ in Malay. Ayam Penyet and BBQ serves all kinds of chicken and fish dishes with rice and cabbage, tofu and sambal (chili paste that includes onion, garlic and ginger) on the side.
Ayam Penyet and BBQ is a stall that can be found in most Food Republic Food Court in Singapore malls. Literally, ayam penyet means smashed fried chicken which is generally what the stall serves. Smashing the fried meat with a
heavy wooden hammer loosens and tenderizes the meat, after being deep-fried to golden brown. This method of serving chicken originates in Indonesia and is usually served with rice, sambal and simple vegetables. This stall serves a wide array of chicken and fish dishes such as
sambal stingray, grilled tiger prawns, Ayam Balado, Ayam Cabe Hijau, Bawal (Pomfret) Penyet.
Since I enjoy fish dishes, I tried the baked dory and asked for an additional serving of sambal goreng, comprising mostly green beans, soya bean cake, tempeh (a fermented soya bean cake) and perhaps prawns, fried in a chilli paste. This additional ingredient costs just S$1.
Presentation
You wouldn’t expect the dish to have high visual appeal judging from its self-serve nature and its low overall price. The rice is placed in the middle, surrounded by the dory, vegetables, sambal and tofu. You can help yourself to the soup from the huge metallic tureen at the stall. The baked dory is smeared with soy on top, for added flavour.
Cost
The fried dory combination costs $7.80, including additional sambal goreng. This is very affordable. You can choose any other vegetable or gravy option available to top up.
Portion
The portion is average. It is hearty enough for me as it comprises carbs from the rice, vitamins from the vegetables and protein from the fish and tofu.
Taste
The dish is tasty enough, its flavour enhanced by the sambal and soy on the baked dory. I find the soy a tad salty and will ask not to have it the next time round.
Verdict
I have tried just one dish from Ayam Penyet and BBQ, so I will just rate the dish and not the stall. The baked dory dish gets 3.5 out of 5 stars. It is hearty, tasty due to its accompaniment and its portion is just right. However to justify my rating, I find that serving green vegetables or any other stir fry vegetable mixture twill be more tasty and visually appealing than the cabbage on its side. The tofu is pretty small in portion. If it were to be accompanied by tempe of similar portion, the dish will be more satisfying.
I guess the original combination is reasonable judging from its low price, in which one can’t expect huge side ingredient portions or a better variety of vegetable dish unless one is willing to fork out extra dollars. On a more positive note, I walked away from the food court, feeling a sense of satisfaction on both my tummy and my wallet.