I read on the Sunday Times that Fish & Co is coming out with Fish & Co Express, and I must admit the revelation of the news hit me. Much as I don’t like Fish & Co (too commercialise), they are still a restaurant to me. But with the idea of having fast-food associating together with them, I will definitely think twice before dining there again. While it’s good for businesses to diversify, it can be a double-edge sword if not handle properly.
And this brings us to Aston Riding on the popularity of Aston specialist, the owner introduced Aston Prime which offered finer and of course pricer meats. And Aston express, the coffee-shop version, into the local heartlands. The result, immediate success, given the number of express outlets springing up all over Singapore.
The fisherman’s pride. Grill fish with herb ($6.50), of which we chose tasty rice and house salad. Express or no express, the standard in quality wasn’t really apparent. But given my last visit to Aston Specialist was over a year ago, my failing memory might not be a good judge. And quite unlike the name, the tasty rice wasn’t very tasty. I called it the fried-rice-without-eggs. And i love eggs, so it was a no-no for me.
You are right about this, we should have got two servings of this instead.
Tempted as I was to get the beefy jack burger, I ended up with the char-grilled chicken ($5.90) instead since the latter came with two side dishes, and the former none. The French fries were all about ordinary Joe & plain June. With the onion rings proving to be better. Given the price, I thought that the char-grilled chicken was pretty good.
Total bill was $13.2 for two mains. While it really depends on what you are comparing with. With hawker-fare or restaurant/cafe food? Given the accessibility of Aston Express, and the shallowness of my pockets, I dare say you will be seeing this post again. Although i’ll have no qualms revisiting them, but I seriously doubt anybody will spend $59.90 on the burgundy roast beef from their menu.
Aston Express
Beside 8 Sixth Avenue
The char-grilled chic is really one of the better items there. Seriously, i am no fan of aston’s at all. Haha
i ordered char-grilled chicken and black pepper chicken, which were not much difference in taste. quite disappointing actually. hahaha…
I find their steaks are quite value-for-money compared with some restaurants which charge over $20 for a mediocre steak. Ask for the sauce on the side!
it’s only the sauce that’s different. i quite like the black pepper chicken @ the jurong east aston. very juicy and nice.
look out for big D’s grill which has opened at holland/ghim moh area.
I rather like their version of pasta salad, neither too dry nor wet. I dunno if its because of the coating or what, but i do find their fried chicken much larger in size compared to the other chickens. haha.
U can give thier grand sampler a try too, gives a nice variety of sausages.
DhNys last blog post..Hong Kong Part 2!
pammiez: i think they are better than botak jones tho. lol!
yingz: yeah i can’t differentiate between the two, but i’m not a pepper-person, so i went for the char grill instead :p
rexic: haha i tried their steak before, a year ago. lol! it was not bad, and cheap. haha
m.Ru: You enlighten us! haha. okay, i think char grill is nicer than black pepper then. lol!
ratatouile: ah! big D! they are in bedok right? the new branch opened already? good, holland/ghim moh is so near me. haha
dhny: haha my date didn’t like the pasta salad, so we skip that. Yep i saw their fried chicken on the menu as well, bigger eh? lol
juro east also have one outlet! hehe.
i can join you on your next visit!
i still prefer the western food at tom kitchen, bukit timah hawker centre.
that’s why i didn’t like the chargrilled
cos i like things spicy and peppery.
yx: hahaha don’t need to wait la, aston so cheap, can go anytime. join ladyironchef on his magical journey in search of the nice food around Singapore. lol!
m.Ru: hahaha i’m a frequent visitor to bukit timah hawker but didn’t try tom kitchen before!
oh this sure does bring back some fine memories. back when i worked at awfullychocolate, i used to ring up Aston (yes, the man indeed) about once a week for my favourite grilled fish, veg and chips delivered straight to moi shop. It was amazing. You take good photos ladyironchef..i’m still saving up for a Canon Rebel XT…x
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diva: thanks! i’m using nikon d40 with a 60mm f2.8 micro lens : )
I rather pay 4 bucks at Long John Silver anytime!!! LOL
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chelley: haha they are not that bad la. i think comparing with most hawker western food, they are slightly better.
Astons is still my fav no-frills steak place esp when im too lazy to do steak at home. haha. Unfortunately the standard of the Bedok oulet nearer to home isnt particularly good. But the outlet at Cathay is better and hey, it’s in town. :p
thehungrycows last blog post..Buffet Dinner @ Peach House
omg! and i’ve planned to write about fish and co. soon… opppssss… lol!
Nic (KHKL)s last blog post..Peninsular Restaurant
I find the chefs at the express outlets not very professional when it comes to beef. They either overcooked it or undercook it. I always prefer to go the outlet at katong.
the hungrycow: hahaha yeah. i was surprise their town outlet maintains the same price as their Aston specialist at East coast.
Nic: lol! looking forward to your post, be it fish & co, or Mcdonald, it is always nice to read what you wrote : )
witchz: ahh.. of course, they are not call express for nothing. haha