Ape Kade is a hole-in-the-wall kinda establishment down Kew Road, serving up some rice and curry. Seeing their interesting range of Lankan goodies on social media and being around the place during lunchtime, we decided to grab something to eat.
Food
They do special stuff on some days of the week – biriyani on Wednesday and lamprais on Friday. Rice and curries are available all throughout the week. You get four curries and a protein of your choice from a spread of prawns, calamari, chicken, egg, mutton, fish or fried fish.
We settled for a Prawn Rice & Curry (Rs. 230), a Mixed Rice (Rs. 250) along with a portion of Mutton Curry (Rs. 280).
The prawn rice and curry came with a plateful of fluffy, well-cooked white rice accompanied with chickpea curry, pol sambol, carrot & cabbage curry, and tempered leeks.
There were 6 jumbo-sized prawns packed with seafood goodness and a lot of curry flavour. Creamy and well-cooked, chickpea curry was the milky element on the plate, while the tempered leeks made things interesting with a bit of spiciness and the added crunch.
The pol sambol leaned on the tangy side while the carrot & cabbage curry gave a subtle sweetness. Sure, the curries were full of flavour, but the portions they serve are not quite enough to finish this mountain of rice.
Quite frankly, the Mixed Rice was more than enough for two. Mildly spiced, the rice was not too oily and cooked well, and came across as your typical fried rice. There were pieces of sausages and chicken hidden in the rice but again, they could have added a bit more of that. This one also featured a helping of devilled chicken that was adequately marinated, with a hint of sweetness to it.
The Mutton Curry had more than enough bite-sized cubes of mutton that were cooked through, alongside potato. While the dish was spiced up well, the meaty pieces had soused up all the curry flavours of the seasoning and had lost its unique mutton flavours. However, it wasn't too tough, was a bit chewy and tender enough.
Ambience & Service
Even though they seem like a small spot that can only do takeaway, you can actually enter the dine-in the area which you will find on the left side of the establishment, behind another shop. This does have a bit of a dodgy vibe to it, but the place was packed with office folks.
The place can hold about the 10 to 12 people. It's pretty basic, not the most comfortable seating setup out there, but it will get the job done.
The service was quite alright, and the food was served fast. The waitstaff was comprised of the owner, his wife and another guy, who are polite and accommodating.
They have all their items neatly laid on pots, so you can properly decide what you want.
Conclusion
While Ape Kade won't win awards for the best ambience, they seem to do a good job with the rice and curry. We would've liked it more if they could include a bit more curry potions to go with the copious amounts of rice they serve. If you need a grab a decent buth packet without breaking your wallet, they are a good option. We suggest sticking to takeaway, or get it delivered through Uber Eats instead of dining in.
