Friday, May 25, 2007

Astons Part II

I went back to Astons twice after it reopened...place is twice bigger now which is good news cos the waiting time shld be cut by half! but dunno y...i still queueing up for as long as in the past! haha...

they were introducing the Wagyu grade 5/6 beef pricing @ $38.40 for 200g when i was there....but sorry man! poor nsf me decided to save up! and so i'm gonna intro the lamb loin chop tt i tried!the lamb loin chop is confirmed better than any lamb chop available in western stalls, or lower end restuarants! the lamb loin is where the most tender and expensive cuts come from, and they cook best if they're thick!

judging by the photos..i guess everyone can tell tt aston sure knows wat to do wif the meat! Astons offers 3 portions of thick, big lamb loin which is definitely worth while! the meat is well-grilled on the exterior but remains red, soft and juciy inside! the meat is so soft and tender tt u won't have trouble cutting it! who still wanna go for tough, hard lamb chops sold elsewhere rite?? Dun worry! the meat doesn't have any funny lamb smell. A small serving of mint is given at the side to go wif the meat, which complements it totally!! pricing @ 15.90 wif two side dishes, it is definitely worthwhile!! i ended up giving a bite each to all my friends and there were only praises! =D i give a 4 for this meat!

the ribeye xtra cut pricing @ $15.90

one word for the beef - Shiok!!!

another i-eat-superburger! look at the melted cheese oozing out! i'm hungry again!!!

a nice cross-section of the burger done by kian! but i guess the ingredient was smashed while he attempted to cut! haha

Astons Specialties
119 East Coast Road (opp Katong Mall)
91474627

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Changi Village Nasi Lemak

as the title suggests! yes i'm gonna intro the famous Changi Village nasi lemak today! had it lunch after picking up my dad from tanah merah ferry terminal....act i dunno which is the real one...but i rmb it was at the edge and i saw tt the stall i bought from had the longest queue! so i guess i'm correct! whenever there's a long queue...there something good at the end of the queue! haha

the stall offers four diff set all @ $2.50! the chicken wing set, fish set, fish fillet set and the otah set! and of cos i took the chicken one la
oh well lets start on the rice! the nasi has a faint fragance of coconut milk! but it is too faint on my opinion! i prefer those nasi that has a strong coconut milk fragance! i think tt makes the nasi shiok! so a little bad for this stall

the sambal chili is good! not very spicy though...its home-made =) u can find ikan bilis and bits of onion in the sambal chili! tastes bit bit sweet to me! it goes well wif the rice! i wanted more chili but too lazy to walk back there though!

there's nth interesting abt the egg...i will love it loads if the yolk was runny...but it wasn't =(

i added an extra otah @ $1..quite a big piece eh! but there was a strong burnt banana leaf smile...which makes it not really pleasant....and its cold already le...if only it was warm la....not worth the $1 i paid!

the ikan bilis is home-made too! looking at it and u can tell tt it wasn't from the factory! very crispy eh!!! i juz love having ikan bilis wif my nasi! if only they added peanuts! it will add to the bite and the fragance of the meal!

and lastly! the CHICKEN WING! its its REAL GOOD! very crispy lo! and the oil and juice of the meat still drips from the wing after u bite! delicious! haha...i was lucky to get the freshly fried batch! yeah! the uncle juz keep deep frying the chicken wings while i was queueing lo! and he nvr stop frying i guess! more to tt..there were two ppl in front of me who juz queued up to get the wings lo! only the wings eh! and they bought like 15 plus wings each! tt's pretty hardcore la! so now u shld now how good the wing is! =D

for the nasi lemak, i'll give a 3.5/5! i believe there are better ones out there though! but the wings..i will give it 4/5! =D

International Food Stall
Stall No 57
2 Changi Village Road
Spore 500002

あぶりや (Aburiya)

i know i've neglected this blog a little...the last update was like so old...so yup! i'm back! and today i'm goin to introduce あぶりや (Aburiya)!! a jap charcoal-grilled restaurant in holland v! i guess lots of ppl will find grilled stuff boring...u may link it to seoul garden...or even those in marina south...some may even link it to bbq! but well at あぶりや...it is pretty different! its concept is similar to tt in st james power station! its has a charcoal pit at the centre of the table for u to grill ur meant! for those who are scared tt u will get oily or dirty after the dinner....ur worries are unnecessary! there won't even be any grilling smell on u when u leave the place!
i went to あぶりや wif my mum on friday for mother's day dinner...i shall not go ranting too much and start on the food! haha!
this is the first dish i tried! Buta Karubi (pork belly)! the restuarant do not give u butter or oil..so most of the food here provides u fatty meat like this! a plate @ $7.90 gives u four pieces! honestly this really depends on how u cook! if u burnt it...then too bad! haha...but honestly..like the one i have..it was fairly meaty despite the layer of fat! marinate used was pepper and salt! very simple rite! haha...the meat's decent!
the next dish is Shake (salmon)! for the price of $9.90, u get two pieces of salmon..each piece is a decent serving for one! =) as everyone know...salmon is rich in fat (omega 3) so nth much was added and u juz see the salmon grill and turned crisp on the outside and soft on the inside! =D squeeze a little bit of lemon juice to well-grilled Shake and TADA! haha
next up is Ika (squid) likewise @ $9.90...it offers u 6 large pieces of ika!...its put in a aluminium tray wif a slab of butter in it! reason is simple...it has no oil! haha...it doesn't really take too long to cook despite its thickness! however, as it is sort of like pan-fried on the tray...it doesn't give u "grill feel" which is a little bit disappointing la...and its cut is too big and too thick! eat until very sian at the third piece! both my mum and i feel that it should be thinly sliced! then it shld taste better will more of the meat grilled!
next up is Tori (chicken)! this dish is slightly different...its uses the bbq sauce marinate! like wat u see in Tori Q...due to the sweetened sauce...it gets burnt very easily when grilling! so my tori looks like it went through hell fire! the skin is burnt already haha...but the chicken is tender nonetheless! price @ $5.90 for 8 pieces...its decent!
next up is Yaki Teba (chicken wing stick)! my mum and i tot we can grilled it ourselves but it cooked when served! $7.90 for 2 sticks! two mid joints on 1 stick! tastes not bad la...but considering tt its $2 for one mid joint and u can get one whole wing else where for $1...i won't recommend it la...
here comes the Hotate (scallop)! price @ $7.90 for 6 pieces! quite big eh! got 50 cent coin size or slightly bigger! cooked in the same way as the squid! ok in my opinion...mum likes it though haha
next up is the Sausage Mori! i love sausages! but this is a bit disappointing...this is an assortment of sausages! or pork cum beef cheese sausage...spicy pork one... and two others la...can't really rmb liao...but all pork! the cheese one will stick to the wire-mesh! which isn't ideal at all...overall ok for the sausages! i think prefer the sausages at taka basement! its priced @ $8.90 for this assortment...a little steep though
next up is Yaki Tsukune (pork stick)! priced @ $5.90 for two sticks! the meat is quite long...i thik as long as one's finger ba...the meat goes well wif the sauce...but i rather get the one from ori-q though...sorry...oh yar...u're supposed to dip the meat wif the egg yolk! but both my mum and i tot it wasn't a good idea! haha
next up is Tontoro Ponzo (fatty pork)! its priced @ $8.90 for 8 pieces! omg...this is even fattier than buta karubi la! like really only contain fats like tt! Ponzo actually means the vinegar sauce wif radish to give the meat a sour taste after grilling! the thick fats of the tontoro caused a mine fire on the charcoal la! its grilled real fast! this one muz be grilled till its very crispy! when u bite it in ur mouth..omg...u can hear all the crisp la! this is really better than buta karubi...but for those who are health conscious...dun eat it! haha but i dun give a damn!
last dish is Saba (mackerel)...the second and the last fish! haha $9.90 for half side of the fish....its further cut into 6 portions! this is also good! the saba skin when grilled is so crispy! as for the meaty portion...grilled it to golden colour! add some lemon juice and here u not! grilled saba!! i dun think it lose out the shake! haha
as for those who wan beef! there are a wide vareity of wagyu beef for u to choose from!!! i'm gonna try those next time! too bad my mum dun eat beef lo! sian...its priced from $10 plus t0 $20 plus only! imagine a grilled wagyu tongue...made juz the way u wan it! OMG!!!
they also offer set menu priced @ $60 and above for diners in grp! so ppl goin in decent number can consider tt...they also offer soba...ramen...soup...but still highlight is the charcoal grill!!! beware though....it only opens at night!
Overall...i will give this restaurant a 3.5/5! cos the food really depends on urself! but the marinate's good! a wide variety from miso, bbq, salt and more to choose from! its worth the experience despite the steep price! (i spent $96.75 in total for the meal for 2)
あぶりや
17E Lorong Liput
S'pore 277731
Tel: 64646536
Mon - Fri: 6pm - 1130pm
Sat: 530pm - 1130pm
Sun & PH: - 530pm - 1030pm