Category: Buffets

**** Ashoka has closed.

The Missus's latest obsession is Indian Food. After years of  laying dormant; she now craves it again. So one recent morning she told me she wanted to eat "Indian again", but "I want to try something else", so we set off for the Little India Center on Black Mountain Road in the Miramar area, and settled on Ashoka the Great.

Though Ashoka seemed a little shop-worn on the outside, the interior of the restaurant was quite large, clean, and well lit.

Of course, many Indian Restaurants feature a lunch buffet, and Ashoka is no exception. And being absolutely starved, and not wanting to wait, we went for the lunch buffet($8.95).  There were about 20 items featured, with vegetarian items such as Saag Paneer, the spinach and cream dish featured in almost every Indian buffet I've ever seen. The meat dishes featured Chicken Makhni, Lamb Curry, and Tandoori Chicken.

While we were going through the buffet line, our Naan arrived at our table:

The Naan was much too doughy and bread like, and not charred enough on the outside for us.

Overall, the vegetable dishes at Ashoka really outshone the meat dishes. The Chicken Makhni was really much too mild and somewhat watery, the Tandoori chicken while well caramelized, and very moist, was very bland. The we enjoyed the version we ate at India Princess alot more. The "curry" portion of the Lamb Curry was very tasty and herbaceous, if not a bit too watery, but the chunks of lamb were not gamey and rich enough. You really couldn't tell you were eating lamb.

There were two vegetarian dishes that were very good. The Malai Kofta, which can probably described as a vegetable, potato, and nut fritter in a creamy-curry sauce. The combination of flavorings and texture made this dish stand-out. The Bindhi Masala, sort of a stir fry of okra, onions, and tomato, with the distinct flavor of ginger and garlic, was another very tasty dish.

A nice little bowl of Kheer(rice porridge), was a nice refreshing finish to the meal:

I also had a glass of Mango Lassi($2.95) to help clear my palate between tasting the different dishes. This version had less of an yogurt/milk flavor, but the mango flavor was much more intense.

The food at the buffet at Ashoka was pretty good, with the vegetable dishes outshining the meat dishes. We'd visit again in the future to try some of the other items on the menu. In the meantime, we noticed several other restaurants in the plaza which we'll try in the near future.

Some notes; the service at Ashoka was very nice, relaxed, and laid back. Though the buffet at Ashoka is $8.95, compared to India Princess at $11.95, drinks are not included, so in the end it's a wash.

Ashoka the Great Cuisine of India
9474 Black Mountain Road
San Diego, CA 92126

*** This location of India Princess has closed.

This past weekend, the Missus's long Indian food hibernation came to an end. We were walking past an Tandoori restaurant and she turned to me and said, "you'll think this is funny, but I want some Indian food". My reply, "so you want some corn and berries" earned me a dirty look. It's kind of a long story but, during my time doing consulting work in San Diego, the Missus became obsessed with Tandoori Chicken from a certain restaurant in San Diego. So I would have to pick up two to three orders when returning from San Diego. After four cycles of this behavior, the Missus had pretty much burned out on Tandoori Chicken and Indian food as a whole. That was five years ago. During that period we've kind of lost touch with Indian food, but it's a good thing that many Indian Restaurants feature lunch buffets; and India Princess is no exception.

This tiny storefront on Fourth Avenue is pretty deceiving. And it's a looong walk to the dining room.

Since it was the weekend, we went for the Champagne Brunch($11.95). While I went to place the validation ticket in the parking kiosk across the street the Missus got things underway. The buffet is set-up in 3 parts. A garnish, salad, chutney, and dessert section.

A middle vegetable and starch section, and a meat section.

While we were checking out the offerings our Garlic Naan arrived. The Missus forever being proactive had ordered this(it comes with the brunch) while I had stepped out. The Naan was just ok, we've had much better at other places. We enjoy ours more "toasted" and with a much more pronounced garlic flavor.

As with all buffets, there are hits and misses, Indian Princess was no exception. We both loved the Keema Mutter, basically ground/minced lamb with curry, peas, and other spices. We ate the Keema Mutter mixed with the Mint Chutney, making it delici-yoso!!! Surprisingly, I enjoyed several of the vegetarian dishes, the Zucchini Aloo was moist, mildly garlicky, with an almost buttery texture. The Channa Masala, had chickpeas(garbanzos) in a spicy tomato sauce, and was very enjoyable. We both enjoyed the Tandoori Chicken, though a bit on the milder side, was very moist, even the white meat portions. We also enjoyed a type of leavened "bread", the name of which I don't remember, but it reminded us a bit of Chinese steamed buns.

And of course there were the items that were less than satisfying. Specifically the Fish Maharani, in a coconut and curry sauce. The fish was grainy, dry, and tasted "off". It was obviously fish that had been frozen for a pretty long time. Both the Chicken Curry and Chicken Tikka Marsala were on the bland side.

Since we didn't desire any champagne, we got Diet Cokes and a Mango Lassi instead. This "sweet" yogurt drink was very refreshing, and palate cleansing. After tasting a specific dish, we'd take a sip of the Lassi to clear our palate.

If you're well versed on Indian food, a buffet may not interest you. For the fairly uninitiated, like us, a buffet allows us to get some culinary "footing". It also helps if the staff is as helpful as the Gentlemen working at India Princess. One of them actually went down the line,  explaining every item to the Missus, and was oh so helpful! It also helps to go a bit early before the restaurant gets too busy.

Some notes: Indian Princess serves a buffet lunch for $8.95 from Mondays through Fridays. The Champagne Brunch is served on Saturdays and Sundays for $11.95 from 11am to 3pm. The staff is very helpful and efficient. During the evenings and weekends there is validated free parking in the Medical Office Building across the street. The drill is, you park your car, and when you are seated you are given a "ticket"; you then go back out and across the street and place the ticket in the appropriate parking kiosk slot.

We had such a good time, and after eating 4 plates of food were so full that I forgot to take a photo of the storefront. So I went back to get one later on:

India Princess Royal Indian Cuisine 
3925 Fourth Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103