Astons Specialties II

Mention Astons Specialties to your friends and they would think of three things: 1) the good Western food at 2) affordable prices but with 3) the problem of long queues. The long line outside of outlets like the ones at The Cathay and Suntec City Mall can be a testing experience indeed, especially for the terribly hungry. So you could imagine my delight when I was looking for some place to eat with a couple of my buddies in the Yishun-Sembawang area when I found out that Astons has a branch at the usually quiet but newly renovated Sembawang Shopping Centre. It was quite empty at half past five (not surprisingly) but even by seven there were still a few tables available. Comfortable booth seats here as well, so I would say it's probably better coming to Sembawang than waiting it out downtown.

French Fries: 4.25/5


Because I love my fries. French fries at Astons are great because they aren't too oily, are crispy, and are nicely salted and "spiced" with tasty peppers.

Dinner Burger: 4/5


I was curious about the dinner burger but found out that it's really a simple burger where you choose your chicken patty from their selection of grilled chicken. Having eaten the Teriyaki, Hickory BBQ and black pepper grilled chicken before (see Astons menu here), I opted for the simple chargrill chicken. It comes with a light mushroom sauce which went well with the buns, but the best thing of course is the tenderness of the chicken fillet. Of course, the burger shouldn't look that plain, just that I'm not much of an omnivore haha. And oh, it comes with a choice of one side.

New York Strip


Darren had this and on first bite he was smiling with satisfaction. I suppose he wasn't expecting much because of the low price of $14.90. He mentioned later that this is comparable to the strip at Vittles although I have yet to try their steaks there. A forkful of the beef proved to be quite tasty and tender. Well-grilled.

John meanwhile had the Hickory BBQ grilled chicken, which was something I had before at Suntec City Mall. The grilled chicken are all pretty much the same and I think the difference lies in the accompanying sauces or gravies.

Service
Good.

Price
$1.80 for a side dish
$5.90 for the dinner burger (choice of one side)
$14.90 for the new york strip (choice of two sides)
$6.50 for the hickory bbq chicken (choice of two sides)

* No service charge.
** Note that prices vary from Astons Express, Astons Specialties and Astons Prime.

Place
Sembawang Shopping Centre, #03-14.