Prime Indeed.

My boyfriend brought me to Astons Prime for my birthday lunch on a late Thursday afternoon and put simply, one word describes it - wow. I've always wanted to try the food at Astons but have never had the opportunity to, because the queue during mealtimes is always so long. Because we arrived at the restaurant at about 4pm, there was no need for queueing - in fact, there was only one other occupied table.

Despite the fact that the people at Astons proclaim "At Astons you don't pay for the ambience, you just pay for really quality food", the ambience at Astons doesn't get any complaints. Tasteful, classy interiors, a choice between cosy booth and normal seats, and jazz music in the background really upped this Astons Prime rating.

The service at Astons Prime was impeccable. We were greeted by all staff the moment we entered the restaurant. They were very sincere and polite, and even apologetic when one of our side orders took a while to arrive. They also had the initiative to come around to our table several times (but not too many!)and pour our sparking water ($4.50 for a big bottle of Badoit) into our glasses whenever we were about to finish.

I think they knew that we appreciated privacy, so just the right amount of attention was given to us. I only wish they had warned us about ordering a bit too much for 2 people!

We each had a Wild Mushroom Soup ($5.00), which was creamy with little mushroom chunks. It arrived hot, which was a very good thing, but it would have been better if the mushroom taste was stronger. We finished it together with the herb bread roll and herb spread they provided. Good stuff.

Then came my 10oz Australian Grain Fed Ribeye ($24.90), and his Porterhouse Steak ($39.90), both of which were done Medium-Rare and came with a small bed of fresh salad and a little creamy sauce on the side. The steaks were mind-blowingly tasteful and superbly seasoned, juicy and flavourful, we didn't even need the sauce. We didn't even want the sauce.

I knew we should have only ordered one soup because by the time the generous deep bowls of Creamed Spinach ($4.50) and Steakhouse Fries ($3.50) came, we were going "We are so dead..." But anyhow, the Steakhouse Fries were awesome. Every single fry in that bowl was golden brown, extremely crispy (I kid you not. They had a shell of friedness...) and salted just right. But the Creamed Spinach was a different story, possibly because its such a jelak-inducing item, and also because we were force-feeding ourselves by now. It just wasn't right to stuff something sickeningly-creamy down an exhausted stomach.

I am so sad that we didn't even have room for dessert, because there were MUDPIES on the menu. But anyway it was one of the most memorable dining experiences I've had so far. Granted it's a bit pricey, but it sure as hell is value-for-money.