Ayam Betutu Original There just seems to be something new at Lau Pa Sat almost once in a while — the market had recently seen the opening of new tenants such as that of Happy Beans, Flames (by the same folks behind The Vermillion House; a wine bar which operates its space at Marina Square) and a new outlet of Lao Fu Zi Fried Kway Teow that has attained the the Michelin Bib Gourmand for its original location at Old Airport Road Food Centre. The Warung is one of the newest additions to Lau Pa Sat, which occupies a stall unit that is fairly close to the outlet of Ling Jie Kampong Delights there. Being a fairly interesting addition to Lau Pa Sat, The Warung serves up Indonesian cuisine within the market, and focuses very much on Balinese grill in an attempt to serve up the taste of Balinese flavours and cooking to the masses. They have claimed that the chef that prepares the food here hails from Bali, and is a native Balinese himself — the items in which The Warung focuses on would be various forms of Ayam Betutu; said to be a Balinese dish that is typically “served up at traditional rituals and religious ceremonies”. Apart from the Ayam Betutu, other dishes which are served up by The Warung includes Mujair Nyat Nyat; a fish-based dish, as well as the Sate Lilit. It is interesting that the menu at The Warung also shows a dessert item being made available — that would be the Terang Bulan which is also known as the Martabak Manis; the Indonesian-style pancake similar to our Min Jiang Kueh (but thicker) that comes with various choices of spreads.
Since this was the very first time which we are having Ayam Betutu, it is needless to say that we went for the Ayam Betutu Original to give a taste of Ayam Betutu in its more undisturbed form. The Ayam Betutu is also available in other variants such as the Ayam Betutu Goreng and the Ayam Betutu Bakar at The Warung. Based on the description as mentioned in the menu, the Ayam Betutu Original comes with elements such as Balinese original Betutu chicken, steamed white rice, Sate Lilit, Telur Pindang (i.e. half-boiled egg), Sayur Urab (i.e. Indonesian steamed vegetable salad), Sambal Matah (i.e. Balinese raw sambal), and Sambal Embe (i.e. Balinese fried shallots sambal). Ayam Betutu is described as a dish featuring steamed chicken with a mix of spices and herbs — some of which being turmeric, onions, ginger, galangal, chilli etc.. First taste of the Ayam Betutu Original was that the flavours of the chicken feels almost similar to that of the Chinese brined chicken; it carries a saltish flavour and a slightly yellowish skin that resembles just that — perhaps being so from the turmeric. Unfortunately, we did feel that the flavours from the spices atop the Balinese original Betutu chicken wasn’t quite profound — was expecting more of a zing and some spiciness for this; a bit of shame considering the chicken thigh was actually pretty tender with the flesh falling off from the bone pretty effortlessly. The Sate Lilit fared better though, with meat that provided a chunky bite that comes with a refreshing note from the lemongrass, though we wish that the smoky char from the grilling of the meats could have been a little more prominent for an extra oomph. The white rice seems to be have drizzled with the same spice and herb sauce that came atop the Balinese original Betutu chicken; again the flavours aren’t very noticeable here, though it does help to moisten the rice a little and hence made it easy to have. The two sambals provide a variance of crispness and crunchiness to the textures of the entire dish, and worked well went paired with the steamed rice — provides a rather evident kick of spiciness that tingles the tastebuds of those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness.
While The Warung did describe their offerings to be something a little different that the standard Indonesian fare that one can find at other establishments, we did feel that the delivery of the dishes were a little short of the expectation that they had created. It is no doubt difficult to find Balinese cuisine around the island; that being said we felt that the flavours of the Ayam Betutu Original which we have had is a little mellow and lacks that usual punch that one typically would expect with such offerings. Do take our opinions of the dish with a pinch of salt though, especially given how this is pretty much our very first experience with the Ayam Betutu Original — that being said, we felt that the dish could have been a little flavoursome; perhaps the Ayam Betutu Bakar might have been an item that would suit our tastebuds better, considering how it would have came with Kecap Manis (Indonesian Sweet Soy Sauce) which would gel well with our taste preferences as well. Nonetheless, it is worth commending the efforts that The Warung has placed in trying to serve up a slice of Indonesia that is lesser seen in Singapore; they do seem like a food stall that goes well with Kopitiam’s efforts in revitalising Lau Pa Sat with the introduction of the Food Folks zone and the curation of stalls serving a wide variety of cuisine apart from the standard local fare which one would expect to find in a food court / coffeeshop / hawker centre setting. Prices of the Ayam Betutu dishes at The Warung are priced at a flat rate of $8.90; the Sate Lilit would be the cheapest item on the menu at The Warung being priced at $7.90, while the most expensive items would be the variants of the Mujair Nyat Nyat. The Mujair Nyat Nyat Bakar is priced at $12.90, while the Mujair Nyat Nyat Original is priced at $14.90. There is no doubt that The Warung is an interesting stall at Lau Pa Sat; a stall which we would likely consider having again another time, though probably we shall be giving the Ayam Betutu Bakar a try next.