04 February 2007

A Cheap And Good Restaurant

Singaporeans just love to queue. In particular, they like to queue before a store opens its doors. I am not talking about the first day of operation of a newly opened store like Ikea Tampines which saw people queueing overnight for the store to open the next day. I am talking about queueing before an established store opens its doors for the day. You see it at Hello Shops:


You see it when they give away free digital cameras:


You also see it at restaurants:


It was the long snaking queue outside this restaurant I saw 2 Saturdays ago which made me vow to try its food some day. When there is a queue at a restaurant, there can only be 2 reasons:

1. The food is good; and

2. The food is cheap.

In the case of Aston Specialties, it is both good and cheap. And since I didn't make a killing from the stock market recently unlike some people, I can only afford cheap food, never mind if it is good or not.

Today, my family arrived at the restaurant at 11.45 am. Its shutters were not opened yet and there were already 3 persons standing ahead of us in the queue. One was an elderly lady aged about 70 who said that she grew old while waiting she had been waiting there since 11.15 am. When the small restaurant finally opened its doors at 12.10 pm, the 10 tables or so within it were filled very quickly. Tea and coffee ($1.20 each) were served quite quickly:


I should mention that there is a 30-cent charge for a glass of 'sky juice' (plain water) but there is no service charge or GST levied at this restaurant. You get to choose 2 side dishes to go with your main course.

The grilled fish ($5.90) was served in 10 mins:


Grilled fish with onion rings and mashed potato

About another 10 mins later, the other 3 main courses were served:


Barbeque chicken with sausages, seasonal vegetables and baked potato



Black pepper chicken with sausages, seasonal vegetables and mashed potato



Black pepper sirloin steak with seasonal vegetables and baked potato

There are plenty of mushroom bits in the mushroom soup ($2.20). It's so tasty that I couldn't resist finishing half the soup before taking a picture:


The mushroom soup came with 2 small pieces of garlic bread

Overall, we found the restaurant's food very good and its prices very reasonable. The most expensive main course we ordered was my sirloin steak ($10.90).

So how about buying me lunch at this restaurant, Jayne? It is near your residence as it is located at 119 East Coast Rd. It is a cheap treat as lunch for our family of 4 only cost us a little over $44, about the price of a meal for one at Cafe De Amigo. I am sure that it won't make a noticeable dent in your share earnings. Maybe you should also invite Chris Sim as well. Don't let us grow old waiting for your treat.

20 comments:

Chris Sim said...

How sneaky... Is that your subtle way of dating the hot mama! Oh pleazzeee.... I dun want to play the lamp post hor .... But be very discreet Victor... Your other half and Chris (Tan not Sim) may be reading your blog. Dun say your buddy neber warn ya.

Victor said...

Chris, that's why I pull you along mah. My wife may not read my blog but she always lurks around East Coast area too. If she sees the 3 of us, at least you can help me do some explaining. But what I am afraid is that after seeing your photo, Jayne may want to date the tall-when-sitting-down-handsome-hunk instead of me, haha.

eastcoastlife said...

sigh... I thought I would be treated to a meal, turns out I have to pay for the meal.

If I have a choice to pick my dinner partner, would I go for better looks to work up my appetite or would I just settle for you two?

Victor, see your photo first, then I decide. muahahaha....

Anonymous said...

I think Sporeans like to queue becos they can then engage in the 2nd favourite pastime .. complaining. Especially if they have a blog.

But pls don't be impressed with queues. When Turf City first opened a couple of years ago, not only queues but traffic chaos; and queues at toilet. Today it is a ghost city.

Victor said...

Jayne - I don't sell my looks for a cheap lunch like that. I'll duck this kind of lunch. You think I duck or what?

Chun See - I happen to be a typical Singaporean. I enjoy both queueing and complaining, not to mention my other favourite pastime, haha. Eh, why nowadays you don't put your blog link to your name in your comment anymore? Is it because you are getting too many hits that you can't handle?

Anonymous said...

Cheap and good food! I like!
I hate to queue, but always complain...:O

Unknown said...

Looks like an interesting place to suss out and affordable some more. I love unpretentious eating outlets as you can focus on the food without having to dress to the nines or do your John Robert Powells etiquette thing. As you can see from my blog, I prefer a more casual laid back kind of lifestyle as opposed to black tie affairs since obviously I get a lot of that in my line of work!

tumbletot said...

Hi Victor,

Thanks for the photos, but you didn't take what I ordered, which was ribeye steak with baked potato and seasonal vegetables. Maybe can photoshop your black pepper sirloin into the ribeye? :P

Anyway, photos of the food is making me hungry again... Better leave your site or I'll be wanting to go down there for supper. Haa...

Cheers!

Victor said...

Tigerfish - Of course I was only joking when I said that I enjoy queueing. I can't imagine anyone who would really enjoy queueing.

Walter - Yes the food is good and you don't have to observe any dress code at this restaurant. But somehow, I felt pressured to finish my food quickly by the sight of so many people queueing outside the restaurant and staring at me. Like that I also can't eat in peace.

Tumbletot - Wah ribeye steak. Is that what my son said was Japanese beef which cost $128 for 300 gm at the restaurant?

Anonymous said...

I won't like to wait up too long for food. As for other queuing, normally I won't join the Q if there are more than 20 people.

tigerfish said...

"anyone who would really enjoy queueing?" those you have captured in ur cam...are pple who enjoy queuing loh!
And plus if got CNY Ang Pow TOTO...maybe queue longer arh!

Anonymous said...

I don't care about the fling you're having, but where's Astons located?

Will take my wife to try the good and cheap food after she recovers from flu. ;0

Victor said...

Tigerfish - Haha, good one. Those people in the queue? More like they got no choice lor.

Alex - Haven't seen you around for quite a while, both in blogosphere and in the office. Have you been speed reading? I mentioned the address what - 119 East Coast Rd. It's opposite Katong Mall, near to Joo Chiat Rd. You can't miss it one - the only restaurant along that stretch to have a queue like that. If you are going for lunch, go before 11.45 am, if you don't mind queueing but don't want to queue too long.

Victor said...

Frannxis - It depends on how fast the queue moves too, right? If there are 50 people queueing up to buy tickets for a $10 million Toto Hong Bao Draw, I don't mind queueing because it's over and done with in less than half an hour.

Anonymous said...

Right Vic, lottery queues usually move fast...and there are queues I can't avoid, like seeing doctor or passing thro' immigration

Anonymous said...

Hi Victor, guess my fingers went faster than my brain, was thinking that the address you mentioned was Jayne's house, silly me!

Maybe we can go there for lunch after Chris' upcoming promotion?

Victor said...

Frannxis - Another queue which you can't avoid is at a bank, as described here. (Still can't get over it.)

Alex - I won't feel guilty taking a treat from a high flyer, haha.

eastcoastlife said...

喂 Victor!
What stories have you been telling behind my back that your frenz are assuming you came to my house?

Victor said...

Jayne, Alex really made a mistake. I can't control other people's perception... or carelessness.

Alex, see what you got me into? I really don't know where Jayne lives other than it's near the Al Porno restaurant and the duck shop in East Coast Road. If I know where she lives, I will surely stalk her and write another poem" one.

Anonymous said...

My sincere apologies for the boo-boo, please forgive me. :(

But on the other hand, Vic, perhaps you can take a day leave to cycle round East Coast area? We'd like to read another stalker poem!