ASTONS SPECIALTIES
119 East Coast Road
Tel: 9147-4627

Open: Sundays, Tuesdays to Thursdays: 11.30am to 11pm, Fridays and Saturdays:11.30pm to 2am, Closed on Mondays
A piece of wagyu steak can set you back $100 in a chic steakhouse, but at Astons, you can get it for $38.90.

The Western food eatery began life early last year as a hawker stall in a coffee shop a few doors away.

Mr Aston Soon, 34, an ex-Ponderosa chef, drew customers with good food at affordable prices. Fish and chips were going for only $4.90.

He closed the hawker stall and opened the 34-seat eatery in July this year. Prices have risen by 50 cents to $1 but the queues remain constant, so expect to wait 30 minutes on weekends.

Food reviewers like K.F. Seetoh have praised the most popular dish there - the prime New Zealand rib-eye extra cut, which is coated with a rich mushroom sauce. Together with two side dishes from a choice of salads, it costs $14.90.

BLACK CANYON COFFEE
11 East Coast Road 01-01
Tel: 6346-5900
Open: 11am to 11pm daily

Thailand's largest coffee chain first opened a branch at Serene Centre in Bukit Timah in 2002.

That has since closed, but businessman Paul Yong, 47, has taken over the franchise with a few partners to set up this 100-seat outlet in September. The restaurant serves coffee and Thai food.

A favourite is the spicy tom yam seafood soup ($7.95), which has a generous portion of prawns, squid and fish.

Coffee lovers should check out the mocha glacier ($5), a refreshing iced coffee topped with a scoop of mocha ice cream.

FRESCO
95 East Coast Road
Tel: 6345-2561
Open: Sundays, Tuesdays to Thursdays: 11am to 11pm, Fridays and Saturdays: 11am to midnight, Closed on Mondays

Opened two weeks ago, this gelato outlet sells 16 flavours over the counter every day.

Ms Lisa Lim, 49, Fresco's chief executive officer, whips up her creations using low fat milk and very little sugar. Try the honey chrysanthemum. It is fragrantly sweet but not cloyingly so. A scoop costs $2.50.

The Refreshingly Divine ($8.90) is a sundae made with scoops of dragon fruit and rennet apple flavoured gelato and served with nata de coco and honey.

HONG KONG TEA HOUSE
Katong Village, Block A,
86 East Coast Road, 01-09/10
Tel: 6345-1932
Open: 24 hours daily

It claims to be Singapore's largest Hong Kong teahouse at 15,000 sq ft. The four-month-old eatery can seat over 400 people.

Hong Kong-born Singaporean Victoria Li, 41, says she opened the eatery to cater to Hong Kongers living here.

Every ingredient, down to the dark soy sauce, is imported from the territory, and the chefs are from Hong Kong too.

Try traditional dishes like the pork chop baked rice ($9), pork trotter in vinegar ($3.80 per bowl) and crispy fried lotus root with pork ($3.50).

SAMBA BRAZILIAN STEAKHOUSE CHURRASCARIA
Katong Village, Block C, 86 East Coast Road 01-37/39
Tel: 6348-8406
Open: Lunch: 11.30am to 2.30pm, Dinner: 6 to 11pm daily

Originally located at Big Splash in East Coast Parkway, it moved to its present location last month.

Carnivores will have a field day at this churrascaria, where servers roam with various cuts of meat. The eatery offers a buffet of 12 to 14 different types of grilled meat every day, including beef rump steak, honey baked ham and leg of lamb.

Health-conscious diners can stock up at the hot and cold salad bars which offer enoki mushroom, tuna salad, jackfruit with crabstick and grilled pineapple.

For December, lunch is at a promotional price of $10 for adults and free for children below 10. Dinner is at $28 for adults and $14 for children.

SAMY'S CURRY RESTAURANT
Katong Village, Block C, 86 East Coast Road, 01-23/30
Tel: 6345-1726
Open: 11am to 11pm daily

Yes, this is a branch of the famous Indian restaurant at the former Civil Service Club in Dempsey Road.

And, no, its director V. Maheyndran does not plan to close the flagship eatery anytime soon, even though the Dempsey Road premises are up for tender. He says the 50-year-old eatery will remain there as long as possible.

Its Katong branch serves Samy's popular dishes like chicken masala ($3.50 per piece) and fish head curry ($17 to $25).

But the staid decor, with neat rows of wooden tables covered with green checked tablecloths, feels too much like an office cafeteria.

STONEGRILL
91 East Coast Road
Tel: 6348-1211
Open: Lunch: 11am to 2.30pm, Dinner: 6 to 10.15pm daily

This Australian franchise opened in January and diners can play chef here.

They have to cook their own meat on a special volcanic granite that is heated at 400 deg C for eight hours.

The meat is not marinated. Instead, servers have to season it by tipping sea salt on the hot stone.

General manager Simon Ng, 26, says scalding the slab of rock sears the meat immediately and retains its juices, so little seasoning is required.

Choose from steaks like Prime Of The Land ($23.90), a tenderloin cut from New Zealand, as well as Wild Stuffed Mushrooms ($7.90), which are breaded white button mushrooms stuffed with mozzarella cheese.