Glasgow – Ashoka Ashton Lane – Fast Food

Hector finds himself at The Ashoka Ashton Lane (9 Ashton Lane, Glasgow, G12 8SJ) mid afternoon. Completing the visits to all Harlequin Curry Houses north of the River Clyde, Hector is delighted that it is possible to eat here all day from noon. Not enough venues are open in Glasgow after lunchtime.
Hector’s ongoing dietary experiment of eating once a day means that dinner can be consumed at any time. Entering the Ashoka at 15.15 I was asked if I could vacate the table by 16.00. This puzzled, was a Coach Trip arriving? In a restaurant which seats around Sixty it says much about the volume of their business if they are booked out this early in the day. There were about a Dozen Fellow Diners all sat around the periphery of the room, all window seats were full, of course. I was shown to the far wall, a Table for Two.
A Young Waitress with the most charming of smiles came to take the order. A Lamb Desi would be the Fallback if I could not negotiate the Karahi – Hector-style. The Special Karahi Bhoona – A host of spices sautéed karahi style in a rich tarka base with an abundance of capsicums, and onions – read well until the abundance…
Ordering this dish a la carte would be £10.95. I was shown the Lunch Menu – Two Courses for £7.95 from a Prescribed List, or, any Two Courses with Rice or Naan for £9.95 (Sunday to Thursday). Very confusing. I had to ask if the Portion Size would change depending on my choice. Apparently not.  So, who pays Full Price?
Can I have the Karahi without the Capsicum. I do not like Capsicum in Curry. Perhaps you could include Potato instead?
Would this be the last I would see of this Waitress, a new one was allocated.
The ritual question was repeated. If I ask for simply no Capsicum I usually get a Curry overloaded with Onions. She assured me that is what would happen. Substituting the Capsicum with Potato proved not to be a problem. Hector was impressed. Not every venue will do this. I had to choose a Starter – Fish? The Tawa Machi was individually priced at £5.45, this would be a test. Apparently this would take ten minutes to prepare and time was at a premium. They needed the table at 16.00, the whole place was booked out with Voucher Customers. Spicy Chicken Chaat ((£4.75).
The Ashoka Chain are into some hefty marketing and discounting, it would appear to be working. But is the Curry here any better than any other Harlequin Restaurant, and would it impress The Hector?
The Waitress with the Smile was back bearing the Sparkling Water. She offered to open it.
I think I can manage.
No sooner had I poured the Water into the Glass when a Chap came through the adjacent door with the Chaat. Two Little Chicken Pieces. Prague this was not. Had I been paying £4.75 I would have had something to say. Is this the Full Portion? If not, then The Waitress gave the wrong information, if so, then they’re having a laugh…
What Meat there was disappeared in seconds. The Sauce was Thick and Sticky, far too Sweet for The Hector Palate and the Flavour did not come across as Particularly Indian.
Just how soon would the Karahi come? Surprise surprise, in virtually no time at all.

This was Fast Food.

Enough Bitching. What was presented looked Totally Acceptable. The Portion Size was Favourable. Seven decent sized pieces of Tender Lamb, some of which had to be halved, so no complaints here. Three pieces of Potato completed the Solids. These were spooned on to the Mushroom Pilao which also included Peas. The Rice was an Ideal Quantity. Sliced Onions were contained within the Thick, and thankfully not Excessive, Masala. I had avoided The Onion Overdose. With Potatoes, Rice, Peas, Mushrooms and Onions, there was an Interesting Array of Vegetables and hence Textures. Perfect. The Onions may have been Caramelised, difficult to be sure but the slight Sweetness from the Onions suggested so.
The Lamb was spot on in terms of needing chewing but not being so soft it didn’t. There was no Flavour emanating from the Lamb itself. As in a previous visit to an Ashoka (Shak) Restaurant, there was the conclusion that the Lamb and Masala were strangers until a few minutes prior.
There was a Modest Kick, the Seasoning was not Remarkable, slightly under perhaps. In the Spectrum of Curry Flavours, this dish was Monochrome. One Indescribable Flavour dominated, at least it was there. No Methi was harmed in the creation of this Curry, indeed, does Methi feature in any dish on the Menu? I don’t see it.
Not Bland, but nothing to excite The Hector Palate.
Hector finished eating at 15.42. Twenty Seven Minutes for the Ashoka Experience.
The Smiling Waitress offered me Tea or Coffee. No thanks.

The Bill
£11.90. I went up to pay, Waitress #2 stood to attention as if she had been meant to bring The Bill. I was going to the till anyway, Mein Host was there.

This was indeed Great Value, no problems with the quantity.  For those who rate Ashoka Curry highly, one can see why there is a Loyal Following.

The Aftermath
The Calling Card was handed over and the Website shown. I was asked how I found their Curry.
Too Mainstream for me. The List of Glasgow’s Top Rated was shown, he spotted Yadgar in #1 position.
Yadgar is amazing, that’s my favourite. So, he knows what could be served at the Ashoka, but isn’t.

Hector left the building at 16.00, there was no sign of an Arriving Throng.

This completes the Tour of Glasgow Curry Houses north of the Clyde, though there are three Takeaways with minimal seating to review still.