I remember my pals coming to life at the mention of McDonald’s during our pre-school and pre-teen years. It was as if they’d been doused in rocket fuel, or eaten the contents of the kitchen’s sugar tin. The golden arches and plastic Happy Meal toys (that provided entertainment for no longer than a few minutes, in my opinion) never fazed me.
I didn’t understand the hype at all. Instead, I’d beam from ear to ear when a visit to The Ashvale was on the cards. The award-winning business – which was founded almost 40 years ago in 1985 – boasts locations in Aberdeen (on Great Western Road and Jesmond Drive), Elgin, Banchory and Inverurie.
The latter was always our go-to, with it being the closest to our family home. One thing, however, that would make my nose screw up was the imminent sentence, “you have to order off the kids menu, Karla.” It wasn’t down to the quality of the dishes by any means, but (I won’t beat around the bush) I was greedy and had no concept of portion control.
The more food, the better. You could say that my latest work outing allowed me to fulfil a childhood fantasy. Fulfilling a childhood fantasy at The Home of the Whale, The Ashvale I’d wanted to try finish The Ashvale Whale for years, purely because I believed I could.
After failing miserably at , I had a point to prove – not just to myself, but to P&J readers. I’d been messaging operations director at The Ashvale, Stuart Devine, about arranging a time for me to stop by before we.
