Astons Specialities

I like beef. Wait. I love beef. I love cows. Don't love milk. But I like Ice Cream. On the other hand, I do love steaks. I studied at a state where they name their steak cuts the Kansas City Strip. I can have beef every week or nearly every day. My wife, can be a testament to that because in school, every 3 days was a beef day. But when I came back to Singapore and discovered the quality of beef to be bad or poor, I told myself to have steaks maybe once or twice a year.

Everyone loves a good deal. Wait. Everyone absolutely loves a bargain. I thought I found it recently but I might have been having a meat mirage. People around me have been talking about Aston Specialities. It's a restaurant located along East Coast road and they serve good steaks. That's what people tell me.

I arrived at the place around 8pm on a Friday and it was full. Full with teenagers and families and young couples. I would like to think that I am part of a young couple but lets face it, these couples were probably still in college. We had to wait in line because the restaurant was full and the restaurant insisted that we had to order before we could find a place to sit (strike 1!)

And so I waited. I waited and waited. I waited for 30 mins before I could order and get a seat and see what all the fuss was about. We ordered the strip loin steak, the bbq ribs, a burger and alot of drinks along with a side of garlic bread. When the food came, I was surprised. The total bill we paid was less than $40. So yes, it is reasonable. The steak that my wife ordered was about 4 ounces? Which is small in my book because any steak you eat has to be about 8 - 12 ounces. We ordered with the sauce placed on the side because Singapore restaurants tend to have an over kill of sauce on the steak and this place was no different (strike 2!) The ribs were decent. It was sweet, the meat came off the bones easily, the burger was bad. I paid for a $5.50 burger and it came with beef patty and a slice of cheese. I was confused. The steak was decent, but the sides that came with it, was not that good. The mashed potatoes tasted processed (strike 3 and you're out!) but the fries, onion rings and potato salad wasn't bad at all. the garlic bread was slightly too soggy for my liking (strike 4?)

Before I get accused of being a high brow for food, let me say this, if you're a teenager and want to bring your girlfriend to a cool place to eat to show that you "know," secret hideouts, I say you bring your girlfriend there. Again, if you're a teenager, I don't know why you would be reading this blog. Anyways, if you have a young family with kids, bring your family there. They will like the place. I have been told that its better than Han's and Jack's Place. Honestly, I have hardly stepped into any of these restaurants in like many years so you can't take my word for it.

Just remember, don't order the mashed potatoes as one of your sides and stay away from the Burger and specifically ask for the sauce on the side for your steak. I was so ready to be impressed, and the pictures on their blog are pretty sexy meats. If you want to order the burger, they have this special burger they make that looks fantastic, order that! Don't order the burger on the menu. Don't order the ribs. And wait, if you could, ask the server if the cooks can abstain from putting the steak seasoning on the steak, and .... I think that's it.

I would really have digged this place if I was younger. I really do.