ayam goreng tenes

Fried chicken, one might say, would be the dish that transcends culture, country, age and palate. I can't think of a lot of people who wouldn't be satisfied with a beautifully fried chicken (except vegetarians, of course).

This beautifully fried chicken is what this post is all about. You may or may not have read my earlier post where I extolled the virtues of ayam kampung, an asian breed of chicken that has muscularly lean meat, with its unique flavoursome-ness that has won me over again and again.

My favourite place in Malang for ayam goreng (fried chicken) serves this particular breed of chicken. The place is simply named Ayam Goreng Tenes, so called due to its proximity to the tennis stadium (tenes is javanese for tennis).

I should tell you that there is another place, not more than five minutes away, called Ayam Goreng Prambanan, my father's favourite. He would always (always!) suggested to go there every time (every time!) we wanted to go to Ayam Goreng Tenes. Sigh.....

Back to Ayam Goreng Tenes.

Ayam goreng (paha) - Rp 9,000

In this warung, the chicken is first marinated in spices before given the deep-fried treatment in a very high heat. Soon after you order, you would hear the loud crackling noises of cooking oil as your chicken are being fried, the very high heat of the oil ensures that your chicken doesn't end up greasy, and since the chicken is so lean, they take very little to cook, spending less time in the oil. The result is a piece of chicken where the skin and outside meat is crispily dry, yet the meat inside is moist and falls off the bone.

When you order the fried chicken here, I would implore you to order more pieces than you would normally order or you'd be left unsatisfied by the end of your meal. As ayam kampung is a leaner breed of chicken, it doesn't have much meat on the bone.

The condiment of choice for eating with the fried chickens is the potent mix of sweet soy sauce with the volcanic bird's eye chillies. The condiment is mixed at the table, with the proportions entirely up to the diner. I like mine with a decent amount of chillies in it.

Cumi-cumi goreng - Rp 19,000

Udang goreng - Rp 15,000

To fill you up, the norm would be to eat the chickens with a plate of rice. Though there are more options. Like the deep fried squid, sauteed with some brambang (red shallots) and spring onion whites. Or the deep fried prawns, given the same treatment as the squid.

If you're more of the adventurous sort, you can try the paru goreng (deep fried chicken lungs).

Paru-paru goreng - Rp 7,500

Or if not, a bowl of jangan asem would always do the trick to cool your tongue down from the fieriness of the chillies. Jangan asem is a mildly sour soup, lending its taste from tamarind, which does a great job to refresh the palate. It is spiced with melinjo seeds. Other ingredients commonly found in the soup are corn on-the-cob, green beans, bean sprouts, winter melon and melinjo leaves.

Sayur asem jakarta - Rp 3,500

Ayam Goreng Tenes
Jalan Tenes 12
Malang JAWA TIMUR
Open 7 days 10am-10pm