I was at the Serangoon Gardens Way outlet on Tuesday nite 10/03/09 and would like to highlight the following issues which I found very disappointing:-

My order was processed at 19:18 as per attached receipt

1. the soup was served after 5 minutes, this was ok

2. the chicken was served at 19:30 within expectation, however the portion for the shoestring fries and beans was considerably smaller as compared to those served to other diners

3. at 19:40 I enquired about my order and the young man wearing his hat in reverse behind the counter said "your order is on the way, since it extra cut and thicker it takes a longer time to cook"

4. I was finally served the ribeye at 19:52 - 34 minutes after I placed my order which is
extremely long time to wait and long after my wife had finished her chicken. The server apologized for having me wait so long

5.the steak was just warm, not sizzling as I would have expected, two thoughts came to my mind
a. it was sitting on the counter for quite some time or b. this was not so popular so the meat came straight from the freezer and onto the grill, that is why it took so long to cook and when it was taken off to be served it was not as hot as expected

6. when I requested for HP Sauce or A! sauce, I was told that they had run out and the new stocks had not arrived (quite a lame excuse for a establishment that sells steak don't you think?)

7. the only sauce available was the self-dispense chili sauce and the packet sauce in a basket. The were two bottles of Tabasco with only a few drops remaining and though there were plenty more on the storage shelf, non of the staff appeared interested to replace them

Overall, my wife and I were very disappointed with the service experience though the outlet came highly recommended

I wrote the Astons management (address found on their website) on 11/03/09 and to date 13/03/09 they have not responded.

Ahh i love astons! I think this is by far the most worth it western food i've had in singapore. i mean, this is eating restaurant-standard food at a coffee-shop price, wad more can i ask for rite?

I've tried a couple of their dishes so far, and all of them have never disappointed. I like how their meats turn out charred enough for that extra flavour, but still remain juicy inside. I'm gna plan a trip back soon, and I high recommend that you try this out too!

Today marks the second time that I am doing a review on Astons Specialities, albeit a rather short one. The first review can be found here. This time however, the location is different. That's right, Astons has a new outlet in the Serangoon Gardens estate. Unlike the original outlet, the new outlet isn't a stand alone unit by itself. Instead, it is housed inside a coffeeshop just next to HSBC and Borsch Steak House. Not really visible from the main road if you ask me, unless you happen to be walking towards the Starbucks/Cafe Cartel area.

On to the food. I had an order of Sirloin Steak medium rare with sides of fries and baked beans. My dad had the Sirloin as well, medium well though and my mum had the Char Grilled Chicken. Both my dad's and my steak turned out overcooked. Mine came almost medium well whereas my dad's one came well done. However, the meat was still a little juicy and sweet in my case, which was a relief in some ways. My mum's chicken was just average.

In my conversation with the cook/owner later on, he explained that the stall was only 3 days old and they weren't familiar with the equipment yet, hence the overcooking. He even offered to change our steaks for us and gave us a small discount on the food, which I felt was a nice gesture on his part.

Total damage was $25. Not cheap, but not expensive either. I'm sure once they get the hang of the equipment, the food will get better and the crowds will come. I'll definitely be back.

See all my pictures here