We've long since been meaning to go back to Ashik for a re-review but somehow never had the time (despite the fact that it's literally a 2 minute walk away from the office). On this particularly rainy day I figured it'd be a good idea to take a short walk, but it turned out the weather wasn't the only gloomy experience we'd have.

The Food

They're known for their rice and curry but unfortunately, this aspect didn't shine through. The place looked dingy with a grotesque serving station that looked unclean. At the time they had yellow, white and red rice so we opted for a serving of the yellow and red rice.

*Pictured: red rice with dhal, manioc, mallum, polos mallum with a helping of curried fish and papadam.

The Red Rice and Curry (Rs. 150) is justifiable in terms of price as it's piled high with curry and way too much rice. The rice itself wasn't washed and tasted musty. I bit into a rather large stone so you might need dentures if you're going to have this for lunch. The curries weren't at all fresh and the dhal was practically water with a few lentils here and there. The mallum that accompanied it was alright, it was nice and spicy but there was about a teaspoonful's worth of it. The fish reeked and it tasted strangely like river-water which was alarming. 

*Pictured: Same thing, but with yellow rice.

I asked for a Yellow Rice and Curry (Rs. 150) with chicken, but they messed up and gave us more of that foul fish. The curries served were the same as the red rice portion so see the above for details. 

Service & Ambience

Okay, you can't expect 5 star service here because it's pretty much an over-the-counter joint. The guys are fast, slightly unattentive and pretty chirpy on their end. Customer engagement is minimal which isn't too bad.

Back in the day when they were a nice joint, the stone tables and benches were actually a cool furniture choice and enhanced the whole outdoorsy feel. Not anymore, sadly. There are flies buzzing everywhere and the occasional spatter of crow doo-doo.

I'd say the flies are more welcome than their customers on that day though. An entire section was occupied by a bunch of teenage boys who repeatedly kept throwing slurs at us in Tamil. Unbeknownst to them, I understand Tamil very well and I can assure you that nothing pleasant was said. Truly sad. 

Conclusion

I really don't recommend this place unless you're dying of hunger and this is the only open kadé. If you do choose to go here, make sure you're with a very large group of people to outnumber the crows, flies, and pervs.