I like mine medium rare.. but somehow alot of places failed in grasping the idea of medium rare.. its either bloody raw or its well done... but a steak always depends on the cut of the meat itself i guess.. so it all boils down to the cut in my opinion

I like mine medium rare too. As what Adrian has said, a lot of places somehow doesn't grasp the concept of medium rare. Maybe it's out of... "safety", because a lot of places tend to over-cook it.

adrian: I agree! But lets not even go there to the cut of the meat when they cannot even get the basic right.

fuzk: Agree too! I am opting for Rare-Plus next time when I am paying good money for my steak. If they opt for "safety", by right the the furthest it should go is medium rare.

I find too often that inexperienced chef doesn't take into consideration that after the beef is taken out from the heat, it is still "cooking" within. Plus some places served on hot plate, so that kinda makes it worse.

But personally i would love to learn more about cuts of meats.. (teach me personally :P ）coz in australia.. the butcher really noe his stuffz like which cut blah blah blah .. but cannot compare coz their sausages > ours x 1000 lol ..

I love mine medium, cause well is too rubbery at times =/ but still depends on where you go. some stalls at hawker centre safer to go with well =P

i like my steak rare. or even 'super rare' ( it doesn't exist, but i told the waiter to tell the chef to cook the meat for half the time for 'rare') i like it bloody and not 'cooked'. that being said, i love sashimi. i am used to eating cold food so..

adrian: Haha! But of cos, you wouldn't call a butcher a butcher is he doesn't know his cuts.

john: I agree. You should try medium-rare one day :) I usually go with well in hawker centre too cos I'm not sure how fresh those meat are at times.

lala: Hmm.. are we talking about beef carpaccio here? Haven't met someone who likes their meat rare or in fact "super rare" - you are the first :) But I'm looking at rare-plus when I am paying good money for my next piece of steak.

Ay Kalos, your reply was:

Hmm... and I was right about the "doneness" of steak... any good piece of steak not done medium rare is a waste of natural juices of the meat in my humble opinion... as this is the time the meat begins to release alot of "red juices"... Also, I feel a medium rare steak have a "springy" feel to the firmness. However, this is entirely my own opinion... anyone has other views on "doneness" of steak?

I felt that since this was your opinion, then there was no need to reply. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion as to the way they like their steak done yeah?

I know Aston very well, if you had ordered your steak medium rare and it came well done, I can contact him on your behalf and make sure that he does one right for you.

Hi Leslie nice of you to drop by my humble blog.

In no disrespect to you and your relationship with Aston, I just somehow felt that it was a biased review on Aston Prime by you -- solely my own opinion -- because I had a horrendous experience there.

But before that, let me add that I pride myself in making unbiased reviews and I give credit when credit is due -- Aston Specialities received an excellent rating for their food by me but none can be said for Aston Prime.

If you had read my review on them, you will realised that not only did my steak came out well done that night, so did my dad's. And on top of that, my mum who was celebrating her bd that night had not received her order of Fillet Mignon even though all of us were halfway through our steak.

To think I had such high expectations on them basing on my experience with Specialities -- but they did not even deliver the basics that night -- service and food.

I would greatly accept and look forward to the offer of having Aston doing a right medium rare steak for me -- but sad to say it wouldn't be @ Aston Prime -- for that very night they have lost a family of 5 as customers for good.

to kalos: no, no, i wasn't talking about beef carpaccio. i was talking about eating a slab of steak. i always have it cooked for lesser time than rare. if they wanna show their disgust, they could very well give me a raw piece of meat even, haha. i started off eating steaks medium well, then i slowly progressed to where i am. i guess it's all down to preference. i have a friend who likes his steaks VERY welldone. to the point that it is burnt. oh well, as long as we're happy!

Hey lala, welcome back!

I know in Europe, people tend to have their meat rare-plus or rare and the very least they could accept is medium-rare. Because it is at these doneness that they feel the meat is "sweet" from the all the juices still trapped in the meat.

I am slowly progressing to where you are as well, because Singapore steak house really cannot served a decent piece of steak at the right doneness based on most of my experiences. So hopefully with that, I am able to get a decent piece of meat at the very least.

Hi Kalos,

One of the reasons I like Astons is because he is not afraid of taking feedback and to correct any shortcomings.

When I started blogging Aston Specialties when they just opened. They used to serve their steaks drown in the Mushroom sauce. I told him then that most steak lovers would want their sauce separate. As a result he changed it. Same goes with the ieat super burger which only came out right after a few tries.

So when I heard about your bad experience, my immediate response was that if Astons knew about this, he would go all out to rectify the problem. But he has to know about it first.

Its alright if you wish to be unbiased. But that does not mean you don't give people a chance to prove their worth.

There have been some bad reviews on Aston Specialities. Yours was good because you had a positive experience the day you were there. People who had bad experience would similarly say that your review was did not reflect their experience.

I have personally spoken with Aston about your experience. He is willing to sit down and listen to you and offer you a meal replacement. He is willing to do this because he prides himself to provide a good service.

So if you write to my email with your contact number, he will give you a call to find out just what happened that night and make arrangements for your re-visit.

Hi Leslie,

I appreciate your effort in contacting Aston and your time in replying to my comments.

I will drop you an email to further discuss the arrangements!

kalos - i understand. i've had my fair share of bad steaks. thats why i always ask for rare. somehow, it will come terribly cooked in some parts.

for good steaks, you really goota pay a high price. pontini @ grand copthorne hotel actually serves a great wagyu steak at a cool price of $95++ -_- what the hell was i thinking for spending that money, but yea.. it was DELICIOUS.

Hey Lala - Unfortunately I would have to agree with you on that.

Didn't know Pontini serves a mean steak, but I am saving up for my steak @ Morton's!

kalos - enjoy your steak @ morton's then! i would really love to try, but not many of my friends believe in spending on steaks..

i guess i'll wait till opportunity knocks on my door! do write about your experience @ morton's in the future then. :)

i love medium rare but tend to order rare cos they ALWAYS overcook. at least when it comes out too raw, i can return it for them to cook longer. once the steak gets too cooked, it'll ruin my entire dinner!
i'm going to try aston's soon, kinda worried about the "done-ness" after reading your post!

Lala: Yep, would definitely review on it if I am there.

Evelyn: Agree. Which explains why I am opting for rare-plus from now onwards.

Which one are you planning to visit - Aston Specialities or Aston Prime? The flagship store at Katong, or the new ones at Serangoon Gardens or NUS?

Based on my experience and hearsay, the flagship store, i.e. Aston Specialities, has been the most consistent in dishing out good steaks. Aston Prime though was a big disappointment for me. :(

the one at gardens is aston specialties right? i wanted to try the one at katong, but seriously out of the way!

I love my steaks Medium Rare. However , if I'm very comfortable with the quality of meat (like at some places), I tend to opt for it to be done "blue". :)

evelyn: That's Astons Express - which still falls under the same group.

superfinefeline: Hmm... blue is pretty daunting for me. If I didn't rem wrong, it is suppose to be "cold" in the centre right? Out of curiosity, where does the "some places" refers to?