Cafe Ashvita - Food and Fun!

It's been a while since I attended a CFG Showcase and had quite forgotten how much fun these events are. Aside from the food, which typically ranges between extraordinary and a total-letdown, the fun and family element is what makes these CFG Showcases a great success.

So, Cafe Ashvita it is today. It was the perfect weather to sit outside and what better than a CFG Showcase to do it! The usual suspects, ranging from kinder garten (KG) to post graduate (PG) were present and a few new faces too (as is wont to in any CFG meet). 4 vegetarians and a whole bunch of non vegetarians were around, and surprisingly, the good doctors Wasim and Madhu shared the table with us lesser mortals - the vegetarians. Of course, Sathish (who bore the brunt of the fact that the veggies were still not invited to Sindhu's Kitchens) also shared our table.

Psst: KG jumped into the water as soon as he came ;-)

Ashwin, owner of Ashvita surprised us by saying that we were going to have 5 soups, 11 (or was that 14?) starters and then the main course followed by 6 desserts. I kid you, NOT.

Oh, before that, the choice of welcome drinks was a surprise in itself - Mojito, Margarita or Tonic Water. These will be soon retailed at Ashvita. Mojito had a strong hint of mint, which would be a perfect combination with rum. The margarita was more like a lemon juice. (One 250 ml can is priced at INR 75)

That sorted out, Ashwin and Munira, the PR, was constantly at our side explaining the various dishes in the menu. Without further ado, here we present the dinner from Cafe Ashvita.

Soup menu: 
Tomato soup, with loads of pepper, and some pasta and egg drops - wow factor.
Mushroom and garlic soup, with a hint of coconut milk - Perfect for a cool winter evening.
Green peas and cream soup - supremely bland especially after having eaten the above two.
Clear pumpkin soup with loads of coriander - Almost like a rasam but great.
The fifth one was a chicken soup for the non veg soul.

Note: Ashvita doesn't serve sea food,

Starters: 
Hold your breath, for here we present so many kinds that I had to use the mojito as my palate cleanser :P

Crispy spinach and sprouts - This was very nice, crispy true to its name.
Masala papad in a cone :-)
Onion rings, with some spring onion, salt and pepper flavored.
Punjabi breakfast (with some kind of sweet roti that was almost like a poli), eggs and potatoes. The potatoes were too soggy, and the roti was slightly hard to chew on.
Fried rice patties with a hint of saunf
Fried momos (with varied fillings), the sauce on top almost looked like jam :)
Fried potatoes with mayo, onions
Paneer and Mushroom Tikka
More mushrooms
Big boss Kashmiri
Big boss paneer tikka

The starters overall were great, lots of flavor, each dish concentrating on just one prime flavor. This is a refreshing change from the myriad of flavors that go into dishes these days. The big boss Kashmiri was my pick, along with the crispy spinach and sprouts. 

The main course was another big spread - dal makhni, pan fried noodles, and vegetables, tomato mushroom rice (a big disappointment), saffron plain rice, vegetable jalfrezi. The bread basket had egg parotta, aloo paranthas and butter rotis.

Honestly, the main course was a disappointment. The dal makhni was good and so were the vegetables but other than that, nothing to die for.

Then arrives the final course of the day, the desserts.

Oreo milk shake
Kit kat milk shake
Mocha milk shake
Beetroot halwa
Lemon Sponge Cake
Vanilla Sponge Cake (the only difference is in the icing :D )


Totally loved the desserts, but these aren't dishes that you can't make at home. And Bharani tells me the gulab jamuns here are to die for! :)

And no meet is complete without a group photo (although Rosh forgot to turn on the camera the first time around ;-) )

Fuzzy gave the vote of thanks and then class disperse :) That was one gigantic meal !

Ashvita is situated off RK Salai (Opp Dominos). Their buffet is priced at INR 595 for 4 starters and the buffet. They also have a store that sells quaint little stuff. :) The ambiance is great, both the inside and the outdoor.

Note: This review is part of the CFG Showcase event
Note 2: This place is not for the diet conscious. This is purely for satisfying the taste buds!