Astons Specialities / Astons Express

Astons Specialities / Astons Express
119 East Coast Road

2 Handy Road
#04-03 The Cathay

205 Bedok North Street 1

721 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 #01-2823

10 Eunos Road 8
#01-114 Singpost Centre

Various Other Outlets Islandwide

http://www.astons.com.sg/

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Updated Post, Dated Apr-2019

Delicious, Value-For-Money Western Grills
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 7
Food & Beverage: 9
Service: 6
Value for Money: 8
Spent about SGD $21 per person.

Update Apr-2019: Nearly 9 years on, and Astons Specialities / Astons Express has done incredibly well, having expanded to multiple outlets across the island. They've since gone upmarket, and positioned themselves as a casual dining restaurant, offering delicious, good quality, value-for-money dishes. From their humble beginnings in a coffeeshop in November 2005, Astons Specialities / Astons Express still regularly draws long queues during peak meal periods at most of their outlets.

Ambience at Astons Specialities / Astons Express is outdoor industrial casual. Warm, decorative lights hang low over sturdy, wide wooden furnishings. Western cowboy decor of horseback riding, lassoing cattle, and rown hewn ropes tied around wooden logs, set the mood. Service at Astons Specialities / Astons Express is partial self-service, with ordering and payment over the counter, although staff will serve orders to your table. This also creates a short queue at the storefront. Dishes are straightforward, but staff do accomodate special requests, and I note they clean up tables efficiently. Food at Astons Specialities / Astons Express is focused on American Western grills - think steak or chicken, paired with a choice of 2 side dishes. Quality is consistent no matter the outlet, and dishes are bold and tasty. Portions are large for individuals. As a casual dining establishment, budget about SGD $18 - $25 per person for a meal here.

The Beer Tiger (SGD $5.50) is an Asian pale lager brewed by Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore in Singapore. It has a clear, bright golden yellow colour, with aromas of wheat, metal, corn, and yeast. The body is smooth, crisp, and refreshing, with tastes of malts, bread, hay, and popcorn. Fairly flat sweet bitter taste, with metallic notes and an empty finish. Great thirst quencher, though not big on flavour.

Beer Tiger (SGD $5.50)

Loved the Fiery Chicken & Prime Beef Ribeye Steak With Coleslaw & Onion Rings (SGD $24.50). The crunchy creamy coleslaw has a lovely vegetal sweet flavour. Although the soft limp battered onion rings are weak in texture, the sweet vegetal flavour is decent. The perfectly grilled-to-medium beef ribeye steak is tender and juicy, with lovely grill marks, and a bold meaty savoury salty smoky flavour. The fiery chicken thigh is juicy and tender, with a bold spicy savoury sweet flavour, and a short lingering burn. Served with either a weak mushroom sauce, or a sharp peppery spice black pepper sauce. This has been my default dish here in recent months.

Fiery Chicken & Prime Beef Ribeye Steak With Coleslaw & Onion Rings (SGD $24.50)

Fiery Chicken & Prime Beef Ribeye Steak With Coleslaw & Onion Rings

The Double-Up Fiery Chicken & Lemon Lime Chicken With Potato Salad & Mac And Cheese (SGD $16) is great. The cool crunchy waxy potato salad coated in light sour cream and garnished with spring onions has a light sour starchy sweet flavour. The classic mac and cheese has gooey creamy cheese sauce over soft conchiglie seashell pasta tubes. The fiery chicken thigh is juicy and tender, with a bold spicy savoury sweet flavour, and a short lingering burn. The lemon lime chicken thigh is juicy and tender, coated with a thick sticky lemon and lime gravy, which lends a bright zesty tangy sour savoury sweet flavour. Completely yummy.

Double-Up Fiery Chicken & Lemon Lime Chicken With Potato Salad & Mac And Cheese (SGD $16)

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Original Post, Dated Oct-2010

Decent Quality & Price
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 6
Ambience & Setting: 4
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 5
Value for Money: 6
Spent about SGD $9 per person.

Don't expect much ambience, as Astons Specialities / Astons Express is located in a coffeeshop. On the plus side however, it is pretty breezy, and is good place to people-watch.

Food at Astons Specialities / Astons Express is decent, just slightly better than your standard coffeeshop western fare. A few dishes stand-out above the rest, and is worth trying. These include their Steaks (I prefer mine medium rare), the Chargrill Salmon, Teriyaki Chicken, and also the Honey Bourbon Ribs. The majority of accompanying sides are average, though sometimes their Garden Veggies may be a little overcooked.

Service is quite prompt, even on busy days, and the Astons Specialities / Astons Express staff rarely take more than 10 minutes to serve you.