Dining

Ambush – Fuss-free and Good Italian Food

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One of my favorite places for pasta is Ambush. It is tucked within the gourmet section of the Takashimaya basement food court. Not only are the pastas affordable, they are super yummy too. In particular the seafood dishes, which I have a soft spot for.

I like to call this the Japanese pasta place because the menu consists of several Japanese-inspired dishes. Dining here is pretty much fuss-free. You queue up to make your order while the waitstaff find you a table. There is no service charge.

Clam chowder

Clam chowder
SGD3+

The clam chowder is pretty bland although the taste of the clams do come through.

Seafood Paella

Seafood Paella
SGD10.80+

The baked seafood risotto fares slightly better. They call it the seafood paella because it is served in a paella (large, shallow frying pan), although it should not be confused with the Spanish rice dish that goes by the same name. This arrives with juicy prawns, mussels and squid.

Slipper lobster spaghetti in Arrabiata sauce

Slipper lobster spaghetti in Arrabiata sauce
SGD13.80+

Being a big fan of crayfish pasta, I find the slipper lobster spaghetti in Arrabiata sauce! It is perfect, and comes with a generous amount of crayfish! Look!

Slipper Lobster in Arrabiata Sauce

I don’t think I have ever had that much crayfish in a single dish before! For almost the same price, I certainly get much less for the crayfish pasta at the Pastamania restaurants! To top it all, the shellfish flesh is extremely tender.

I slurped down every last bit of the delicious arrabiata (spicy tomato sauce) sauce almost without looking up once. Hahaha I had no complaints!

Swedish meat ball linguini in Marinara

Swedish meat ball linguini in Marinara
SGD6.80+

The Swedish meat ball linguini in Marinara (tomato sauce) reminds me of the popular meat ball dish from IKEA, as well as the spaghetti ice cream from Icekimo.

The Marinara sauce tastes almost exactly like the arrabiata sauce, just without the spice.

Ahhh… Can’t wait to have more of that crayfish goodness! There are many more dishes that seem interesting too, such as the cod fish in Rustico sauce, wild salmon fillet in Thai basil sauce, and queen scallop in wasabi mayonnaise. Whoa, yumminess overload!

Ambush
Takashimaya Shopping Centre
391A Orchard Road
Ngee Ann City Tower A #B204-2-1
Singapore 238873
(65) 6735 9311 | Website

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About the Author

Veron Ang is the founder and chief editor of Sparklette. She lives in Singapore and has dined and traveled across the world. She also runs Sparklette Studio, a web design and WordPress development firm. If you'd like to connect with her, head on over to the contact page or follow her personal updates on Twitter: @VeronSG.

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22 responses

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The Cooking Ninja
June 26, 2007

mmm…I’m going to note this address down and have this wonderful delicious lobster in Arrabiata sauce when I’m back home next year.
Reply
Miccheng
June 26, 2007

Hmm… seemed to recall we had to drag u down town leh… :)

It was a great meal nonetheless. The meat balls were tender and pretty juicy – we shared one remember? :D The meat balls are a mixture of both pork and beef so it didn’t have the strong aftertaste of beef.

I liked the clam chowder actually – not too salty & just the right consistency in the broth. Goes down easily.

Yes, we should try the rest of the menu soon. ^_^”

Miccheng
Reply
Veron
June 26, 2007

Yeah! The menu looks hawt!

We shared a meat ball? Boy, that sounds dirty! lol! To be more precise, I took a little bit off one meat ball just for sampling purposes.
Reply
Daphne Maia
June 26, 2007

i love crayfish too!! did u get to try crayfish at the seafood place in JB on sat? i hope u did!! butter crayfish is yums!

btw, u can’t call clam chowder ‘broth’ cos broth is a thin clear soup n clam chowder isn’t. hehe.

i don’t like clam chowder. i don’t like mussels oysters clams cockles la-la hum and anything that looks like these stuff. mollusks, i think they are called.
Reply
Veron
June 26, 2007

High-five to all crayfish lovers!

Thanks for clarifying the “broth” bit. I have amended my post to reflect that. Coincidentally whilst typing this review, I had deliberated over the choice of words. Decided to go with “broth” over “cream soup”. But now I have reverted to my second choice.

Oh, I love mussels and clams! They are fine! But I have to say no-no to the rest too.
Reply
Kevin
June 26, 2007

Meatballs are hawt. Gotta get me some balls.
Reply
Veron
June 26, 2007

Wow, that’s hawt.
Reply
BL
June 26, 2007

Hi Sparklette,

Nice pictures. Oh man, I want to go back there and try the crayfish dish you took.

Nice review by the way…
Reply
Veron
June 26, 2007

Oh! Now I feel bad for not letting you sample my dish after you let me sample yours. Bad manners, Veron!

P.S.: Kind of weird to hear someone calling me “Sparklette”. I can’t recall if you called me that in real life too.
Reply
Mai
June 26, 2007

The paella just doesn’t look like a reall paella at all (or at least the ones I had in Spain). On the picture you put, the dish looks quite creamy instead of dry and yellowish, and it has melted cheese on it !! – so weird for a paella – (I may be mistaken though)…I wonder why they call actually call it a paella :-P
Reply
Veron
June 26, 2007

Well, that’s Asian fusion food for you. I guess if we’ve never tasted the real thing, we would never be able to tell what’s wrong with the imitation.
Reply
Jayson
June 26, 2007

Hey Veron!
I dedicate my very first haiku to you!

Crayfish, Red Crayfish – 5 syllabus
Some are Big, Some are Small small – 7 syllabus
I Like small small, You? – 5 syllabus

nice?
Reply
Veron
June 26, 2007

Wow, my first fan-submitted haiku! That’s hawt!

Technique: 5/5
Creativity: 3/5
Grammar: 1/5
Vocabulary: 1/5

Total: 10/20

You pass!
Reply
Veron
June 26, 2007

Oh! I like big big.
Reply
Miccheng
June 26, 2007

Big Big… Lobster? Crab?
Reply
Michael Baxter
June 26, 2007

You guys have Takashimaya in SG!?

Noice!

I don’t want to get going on Japanese “spaghetti” — suffice it to say that it is a universal disgrace, abomination and unmitigated travesty.

You DON’T F______ FRY spaghetti!

I’ll say that again.

You DON’T F______ FRY spaghetti!

This stuff looks suspect to me.

‘Crawfish’ sound intriguing.

Now Ms Sparklette, when you come to Kyoto I am going to take you to my friend’s Italian restaurant. He even owns a vineyard in Italy. His pasta dishes have a twist, but it is not a grotesque one. His dishes are made with Kyo-yasai (Kyoto vegetables).

Now why do vegetables grown in Kyoto taste better? I’ll tell you AFTER dinner.

Charlie
Reply
Joyz
June 26, 2007

Wow, the crayfish pasta really looks yummy, will try that the next time I’m @ Taka. I think there’s a lack of good food in Orchard, all overpriced and overrated. I wouldn’t mind you “dragging” me to a meal! All the good food you cover *drool*…
Reply
Brigitte
June 26, 2007

Is there any service charge involved? I’m heading down! Thanks for the wonderful review on it!
Reply
Daphne Maia
June 26, 2007

hahahaahahahahahahah jayson’s haiku is so funny! i nearly choked on my lychee while reading it hehe!

veron u’re so bad, how can u give him only 10/20!?

no one is ever going to write a haiku for u again cos u’re so mean… hahaha.
Reply
Jayson
June 26, 2007

hey Daphne …. how can you laugh at my virgin Haiku?
:C

thank god you didn’t choke on that lychee…
I don’t write beautiful Haikus to kill…

Oh yah, do check out sparklette.net’s official Haiku!
And vote for sparklette.net!

- Jayson the kookoo Haiku Man
Reply