20 January, 2008

Astons Prime - Birthday Treat (or Trick)

Located a stone throw away from their flagship outlet, Astons Specialities, sits Astons Prime – a more Atas, or upmarket version of their sister outlet that cater a wider range of premium meat cuts – with bookings and reservations accepted.

The meal started off with the complimentary bread and homemade garlic spread, which my dad and I like it pretty much. While some might argue that the spread was bland and tasteless, I like it for its fragrant while finding some strong tasting ones overpowering, to the point artificial. Unfortunately, that is as good as it goes for the night. The Wild Mushroom Soup although generous with the shrooms, tasted just like any canned soup, and there is really nothing wild about it since the mushrooms used are nothing special. A case of misleading advertising? You tell me.

The main course was the USDA Certified Angus Beef Ribeye Choice Cut that is known for their propensity to produce tender, flavourful beef. They have just the right amount of marbling to insure a juicy, incredible full-bodied flavoured steak. When it finally arrived after a long wait, I was so hungry that any dish you serve me should taste good, but what do you know – first cut to the meat and there was no blood to be seen for a medium rare steak. A second cut that halves the steak shows the same result although mine was slightly better than my dad’s – at least my meat came with a hint of pink on the inside, while my dad's steak came well-done. Thank goodness we did not ordered the Grade 9 Wagyu Beef, which would have been a waste if it was cooked this way.

But more drama was to unfold as halfway through our dinner, we realised that my mum’s Fillet Mignon has not arrived. We checked with the staffs not once, but twice and the response we got was “Sorry but the grill is full, you would have to wait”. I was left wondering for a second whether the staff is implying that it is our problem that their grill is full? It is obviously an oversight that the kitchen has forgotten the order since 5 of us are already halfway through our mains. I wouldn’t be half as angry if he had proceeded to say that he would tell the kitchen to expedite the order, but instead he goes on to mention “other table is also waiting for their steak”. That really left me speechless – What has another table waiting for their steak got to do with us? Is the supposedly "you are not alone" statement suppose to make us feel any better? The manager tried to diffuse the situation by apologising and offered a complimentary oil soaked Chicken Quesadilla, which my bro-in-law had a bite and spit it out saying that it tasted funky. Badly trained staffs coupled with lousy service recovery methods, all these which can only be found Uniquely in Singapore.

Rating

Food: 1.5/5 (Unlike its flagship outlet, cannot serve a decent piece of medium rare steak)
Service: 2/5 (Badly trained staff and lousy service recovery)
Ambience: 3/5 (Simple furnishing)
Price: 2/5 (Not worth the price for such badly executed beef)
Total: 8.5/20
467 Joo Chiat Road
Singapore 427678




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4 comments:

HairyBerry said...

read some rather bad reviews even on the flagship outlet...perhaps morton's is a better choice, no?

His Food Blog said...

Hello! My last experience at the flagship store was pretty good. The steak was very nicely done in medium rare and the price very affordable considering it came with 2 sides. However comparing to Morton, is pretty much a lost cause since you are paying much more for the service, and food - But yes, Morton is still the place to beat for a good steak experience in my opinion.

Miss Tam Chiak said...

oh i heard bad reviews abt it. too, esp the steak, its really CMI.

His Food Blog said...

Hmmm... looks like I am not the only one who experienced it. With bad reviews like this, I wonder how long this establishment is going to last.

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