Ashy's Afghan, Ashburton by Bureaucrat

There's no shortage of cafes along High Street, Ashburton.  Indeed, the family-friend Mr Burton and the lovely Two Seeds can be found along this lively strip of shops.  However, I was very excited to see a new eatery pop up - Ashy's Afghan.  

I think Ashy's Afghan used to be a typical cafe, but in probably the last year or so, it's changed into an Afghani restaurant.  This suits me fine as I love Afghani food.  An impromptu lunch with Boy Chick's playgroup buddies saw us check out Ashy's Afghan.

Inside, it's spacious and welcoming - great if you have kids!  Boy Chick's buddies and their grandparents haven't had Afghani food before.  As such, I recommended they go with something that's not too spiced or 'challenging' to eat.

It's lunch menu is very well priced.  The double skewer charcoal kebabs (chicken thighs or minced lamb) is an absolute feast at $13.90.  The photo doesn't do it justice in terms of showing just how big the serve is.  We got two of these.  I had one all to myself, and I can tell you I was stuffed! The chicken was tender and juicy.  It was lightly spiced with a little paprika and lemon. The rice was light and fluffy; salad was fresh; I didn't try the pita as I was just too full.  While this was very yummy, I would have liked a stronger char-grilled flavour on the chicken. 

While the kiddies were willing to try a mouthful or two of the chicken kebabs, we were realistic and ordered a big bowl of chips and also a serve of fish and chips from the kid's menu.  These were nice - crisp and crunchy and not greasy.  The fish fillet looked like a quality frozen one (sorry no pics).  We also got a couple of milkshakes for the kiddies.

Although I was full, I couldn't leave without ordering a few items to eat back at home.  In particular, I just had to try the eggplant and the mantu (dumplings).

Fried eggplant (borani banjan)

This is the borani banjan (eggplant).  Lovely luscious pieces of silky fried eggplant that's smothered in a tomato and garlic sauce.  It came with a serve of basmati rice.  Absolutely lovely and comforting.

I also got the mantu (lamb dumplings). There were heartier than the ones that I had more recently at Afghan Salang Restaurant, though still very yummy.  Silky parcels of minced lamb that were topped with a dhal 'sauce' and drizzled with a yoghurt dressing.

Verdict

We really liked it.

Cheap eats.

Overall

I really liked Ashy's Afghan - it's really great addition to the Ashburton shops.  It's very well priced for the quality and quantity of food.  Although, I have to say the flavours here are a bit more muted when compared to the more punchier flavours of Afghani restaurants in Dandenong.  Having said that, it's still very tasty food and I'll definitely be back for more kebabs, eggplant and mantu.   There's also a reasonable selection of vegetarian options too.

The service is also commendable.  The staff were all more than happy to tolerate the many questions Boy Chick and his friends kept asking of them.

Find it at

Ashy's Afghan
3/305 High Street
Ashburton VIC 3147
Phone: (03) 9942 3948