We had our dinner at Ambush (Junction 8) some time back. There wasn’t much reviews about it but the price for western food seems affordable, so we decided to give it a try.

Sausages and meatballs seems to be their specialty. The Mini Sausage Platter ($8.80) has grilled mini chicken cheese and french chicken garlic sausages, served with mustard and brown sauce.

We were intrigued by the name “hake loin”, so we ordered a Pan Seared Hake Loin with Burn Butter ($15.80) served with purple coleslaw and sauteed potato. We thought it was beef, but hake is actually a term for several different species of fish, and they are often identified by their color. Common species include blue, silver and red hake, and they have somewhat similar flavors.

 

The taste and texture is similar to cod fish. It is low in fat and cholesterol and is easy to pair with sauces and garnishes because of its mild flavor.

Paella is a Valencian rice dish that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century near lake Albufera, a lagoon in Valencia, on the east coast of Spain. Traditionally, it was traditionally cooked by men over an open fire, fueled by orange and pine branches along with pine cones. Dinner guests traditionally eat directly out of the paella pan. Paella can be made with meat, seafood, vegetables, or all of the above. Over the centuries, the traditional ingredients of Paella have changed and merged and today you will always have a unique paella depending on each chef’s style.

 

I tried quite a bit of paella lately so my expectations became higher. Marinara Paella ($13.20) has de-shelled prawns, fish fillet, fresh black & NZ green mussels. The paella is well soaked in tomato sauce but I find it too wet, hence making it tastes like porridge.

Atlantic White Cod Fillet ($14.50) with green pesto & pine nut was ordinary, expecting it to have a lush green color but it was much lighter.

If you are a meatball lover, try Zamorana Paella ($13.50) that comes with beef meatball, ham, sliced chicken sausages, bacon and chicken. The texture of the meatballs themselves was very tender.

It was very crowded during the weekends but service was prompt and the atmosphere was suitable for a chit chat session. They had a Oktoberfest platter which had a mix of pork knuckles, sausages and meat loaf, perhaps I will come back for that next time.