 ASHOKA INDIAN
When
you walk into Ashoka Indian restaurant on the third floor
of the Hamilton Hotel, don’t expect to find a flashy
modern space decorated with pseudo-Indian accents. Instead,
expect to be transported straight to India. This restaurant
feels like it’s been around for a long time, and it
has. Ashoka has been feeding Indian food to Seoulites for
18 years! With it’s low ceilings, wood carved chairs
and Indian-themed wallpaper, Ashoka really looks like a place
that would be in New Delhi or some other Indian city. As soon
as you walk in, you are greeted by traditional tandoor ovens
in the open kitchen. The restaurant is surprisingly large
and there are windows on both sides of the restaurant looking
out onto Itaewon. There are loads of Indians dining here,
so you know the food is pretty much what they got back home.
At lunch, there is a brilliant buffet from Monday to Friday.
Its 16,500 won plus service and tax. The buffet has a lot
of variety and it’s much fresher-tasting and not as
heavy on the stomach compared to other Indian buffets offered
in Seoul. We sampled the yummy chicken makahni and several
of the vegetable appetizers like the veggie pakora and some
veggie rolls which seemed to have carrots. I also ate some
delicious cauliflower which was pickled and spiced. Everything
had it’s unique flavor and it was super tasty. I even
liked the tandoori mutton, and I don’t usually eat lamb!
For dessert, there was Gulab Jammun which is balls of condensed
milk and flour. It can be bad if not prepared properly, but
it was really quite good. The a la carte menu is too extensive
to be all listed here. Every well-known Indian dish seems
to be on the menu. The kitchen offers choices from tandoori
kalbi, chicken curries and chicken tikka, Indian style seafood
and lobster etc... Plus, there are a lot of vegetarian choices
(like paneer tikka) The naan is also crispy and chewy, like
it’s supposed to be. While you’re at it, wash
it all down with a fruit lassi.
The service at Ashoka is top-notch. Even though we had the
buffet, the waiters were always around to address our needs.
Ashoka has become one of my favorite Indian restaurants in
Seoul, and it’s location in the heart of Itaewon could
not make it any more convenient. If you haven’t been
there before, and you’re craving a real taste of India,
Ashoka is definitely the place to go.$$$
(Hamilton Hotel 3F 119-25 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu) 02-792-0117/796-0855
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