What to eat in Negeri Sembilan: BBQ Chicken

Smokey and Charred Chicken Goodness

(This is the third part of my Negeri Sembilan series. The first part is here, the second part is here)

On the drive back from Port Dickson, the smoke billowing from a humble wooden shack by the roadside caught my eye. I mean, no one can miss it and it wafted here and there.

A delicious legend

I made the ad-hoc decision to stop at this place calling itself Ayam Bakar Lejen or legendary grilled chicken. I mean, if you are calling yourself a legend, you got to be good right?

The moment I stepped out of the car, my nose was hit by the smell of meat hitting flaming-hot metal bars. Is there a more appetising smell in the world? It must be in the top 10 of food smells that I know. 

Quickly settling down, I made an order of (what else?) grilled chicken and grilled squid. You can order the entire chicken but I settled for a quarter of dark meat. The squid is grilled to order and is bigger than my hand. This bodes well for the coming feast. 

The chicken was tasty enough. A good layer of char gives way to tender, juicy meat. Pair it with sambal and bliss hits your palate. I made a mistake though, I forgot to ask for dark meat and was served white meat instead. No harm though.

The huge squid (top right) being grilled after placing my order

The show stopper, for me, however, is the grilled squid. It arrives already chopped into bite-sized pieces. Dipping a piece in the accompanying chili sauce is a must. 

The flavour is mild, the texture is amazing. You get a slight crisp char before it gives way to the tender squeak of squid. Meaty yet yielding, tender with a slight chew, it is what you desire in a good grilled squid. Every single piece was devoured. 

Of the three places visited and blogged about, this is the one I will return whenever I am in the neighborhood. What's not to like about meat grilled well? Nothing. #makanalls