Today, my girlfriend and I went to NU Sentral because it was near to a place we were planning to recce for a LARP project we are going to run in a few months.
My first impressions of the Waroeng Penyet was that it was going to be a standard fare of Indonesian fast food. Heck, fast food usually isn’t the most promising in terms of taste or health. However, upon closer inspection they had grilled options which definitely piqued my interest as they seemed healthier.
What surprised me even further was the fact that the dishes were relatively inexpensive and had an immense variety available on their small wooden plates. The grilled chicken comes with tempeh, taufu and an assorted amount of vegetables.
As I was wary of portion sizing due to my previous experience at Pigs and Wolf, I decided to order a garlic kangkung dish. Overall, with a sugar-free tea, the cost was definitely lower than expected. The size of the chicken was as expected as it was just a single thigh. However, what I did NOT expect was how big the portioning was for the kangkung. It was ginormous!
For taste, the grilled chicken was extremely well seasoned and the meat was tender enough to slip right off the bone. Overall, a very pleasant experience to eat. There were an abundance of variety sauces of various spice levels available on the side to dip your food in. Absolutely genius! As a person of the pale sort, I veered away from the spicier options but their sweet & spicy soy dip was very delicious.
The only thing I felt that was a bit too extra was the raw vegetables that came with the chicken. To me, they were decorative at best. However, this is from the opinion of a person who despises raw veggies so take this statement with the biggest grain of salt.
The kangkung was standard and as expected of a Indonesian restaurant. However, the portioning was perfect. Also, the tomatoes in the stir fry absorbed a lot of the flavour of the garlic which made them very palatable and, dare I say, delicious. (I also don’t like tomatoes).
Thus, a place that definitely deserves praise would be any place that makes me veggies that I actually enjoy shoving into my mouth.
In terms of cleanliness, it is surprisingly good. There was always a staff on hand to clear stuff. In fact, I was very happy with the customer service as they pointed out that my girlfriend dropped her phone on the ground. This is behaviour that is uncommon in Malaysia and due to this, I praise.
Overall, the eating experience was definitely above par compared to many fast food style joints around the city. If you are looking for Indonesian cuisine, I’d definitely recommend you to hit this place up. As a result, I grant this place 7/10! It is a place I recommend to try if you are in the area but as it is still just a fast food spot, I would not recommend a special visit.
Definitely check them out at their website or their Facebook page.
Leave a comment down below, if you have any favourite Indonesian cuisine in KL that you’d want me to try. Or any other restaurant.
Sean Saw's Food Adventures 