27 August, 2008

Astons Specialities - The Cathay

Anyone who has slight interest in food will probably heard about Astons Specialities.

In fact with its fast expansion strategy, Astons Specialities and Beef Steaks are almost akin to McDonald’s and Hamburgers nowadays.

With Astons Specialities & Astons Prime located in Katong, and the numerous Astons Express outlets located at the heartlands, HFB is happy to announce that a new Astons Specialities has finally come to TOWN and is located at The Cathay Building!

With its simple wood-based furbishing and its signatured chalkboard indicating the Special of the Day, HFB couldn’t resist himself but be tempted by the promotion screaming WAGYU RIBEYE Grade 5/6 - $38.90nett [including 2 side dishes] and end up ordering it along with Sweet Corn and Coleslaw.

The sweet corn patted with butter was satisfyingly sweet – love it! As for the coleslaw, I would prefer the cut of the veggies be thinner, but otherwise it was normal.

Grilled to a perfect charred on the outside and medium rare on the inside, what sets this wagyu ribeye apart from the normal ribeye is the tenderness of the meat - marbled with monounsaturated fats; the natural juices that gushed out with each chew were such a delight! Also, the lingering tint of sweetness on the palate was pure enjoyment.

But coming back to reality, HFB wasn’t fully satisfied with 200gm of meat, and he was harbouring over his dining partner’s Prime Ribeye X’tra Cut ($16.50nett) that was much thicker and bigger.

Besides nicely cooked to medium rare, what HFB found lacking in the wagyu, was ironically satisfied by the X’tra Cut – the “Beefy” taste!

A personal preference, HFB believes a beef should taste like beef and that was somehow missing from the wagyu, or perhaps he is just not used to eating wagyu.


*** So to be accustoming to this rare breed of beef, HFB will be organising an Australian Wagyu Grade 9 Makan Session (Yes you heard it right!!!) on Sep 3 (Wednesday), 7pm at the Astons Specialities, The Cathay. The price of meat is $89.90nett for a 250gm with 2 sides. For those who find it too expensive, or prefer a smaller cut, there will also be Wagyu Grade 5/6 Striploin, 200 gm, for $35.90nett or the above Wagyu 5/6 Ribeye, 200gm, for $38.90nett make available for you. Before you say “Eh, but that’s the same price if we walk-in, no big deal!” The man himself, Mr Aston Soon has graciously agreed to be grilling your Wagyu Beef that evening and even generously throw in a FREE house pour (red wine) for every wagyu ordered. So if you are interested, do email me your name, contact number, the no. of pax and the choice of beef to hisfoodblog@gmail.com now! Closing date for the sign-up is 30 August, Sunday, 2359hrs. ***

Rating

Food:4/5 (Nicely marbled beef with enjoyable sides)
Service: 3/5 (Decent service)
Ambience: 3.5/5 (Simple decor and comfortable)
Price: 5/5 ($59.80 is VERY affordable!)
Total: 15.5/20
2 Handy Road
#04-23/24, The Cathay
Singapore 179030

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8 comments:

Steve said...

I have to admit to never having tasted Wagyu beef HFB. I have definitely never seen it available in butchers or markets here in Oz - despite, as you pointed out, it being "Australian Wagyu".

So I wish I was there on 3 Sept for the Makan Session, but it will have to wait. I look forward to the comments and photos from that session.

(hopefully that post will tell me what is so special about Wagyu beef... because from the post above, it sounded like the ribeye was better at half the price...)

eneres said...

i like aston too.. :)

btw i think your address got typo.. it's cathay not liang court.

His Food Blog said...

steve: Hmm, I am a novice at it too! So hopefully I will get to unravel the mystery behind it that evening.

serene: Oops - thank you for pointing it out! My mind was probably still lingering at Tampopo when I was writing this - Heh heh!

Anonymous said...

BTW
All animal fat is by definition SATURATED fat.

Other than that small inaccuracy, good review. Thanks for posting

His Food Blog said...

Hi marg,

Thanks for pointing out. I guess a more accurate term would be monounsaturated fats (post edited).

The increased marble score improves the ratio of monounsaturated fats to saturated fats i.e. a Grade 9 Wagyu will have a higher ratio of unsaturated fats, which many deemed to be healthy than the saturated ones - as food containing monosaturated fats lower LDL cholesterol and possibly increase HDL cholesterol.

:)

Borneo Gecko said...

Aston Sucks!!!!

Had a bad pre Father's Day dinner with my folks & wife at Aston Spec @ East Coast Rd last nite.

The restaurant manager Ken was sulky, rude & ungracious when we requested for table change since my mum find it too cold. Don't even bother to response when I thank him (We owe him a living?)

The part time waiter just threw the sachets of sugar on the table when he serves my mum hot tea We owe the whole joint a living?)

The only saving grace is this guy Kenny apologise to us on his behalf that makes me sit down and not to create a scene.

We spend about $80 (Tenderloin, Ribs, Lamb Loin, Fish) for table of 4 so we should have spitted out this chain, went to Botak instead.

Not coming back anymore, it suck!!!

His Food Blog said...

Hey Borneo Gecko,

Would you like to drop me your email and contact number so that I can get Aston to personally contact you?

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

is astons halal?

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