Funan Weng, together with Yee Cheong Yuen in Holland Village, have historically been the places to visit just for their authentic, Cantonese style horfun with shredded chicken & mushroom. This month, Funan Weng is having a promotional set meal of special horfun with the works - shredded chicken, braised shitake mushroom, shrimp, wontons, charsiew and an appetizer of two deep fried soi gau (minced pork & shrimp dumplings) - all for only $5.80, with optional topup of $1 for home brewed barley drink or chrysanthemum tea. Diners may opt for the horfun to be replaced with HK style thin egg noodles without any extra charge.

The horfun was fine, smooth & slippery - just the way I like it. Nice to have ingredients to accompany every mouthful of horfun. The deepfried soi gau deserves special mention, it was delightfully crispy and tasty, full of lean pork, shrimp & finely chopped black fungus. Two thumbs up.

Jia Wei 家味 is a pleasant dining hall for lunch as the tables are spaced further apart than most Chinese restaurants and its clientele comprises mostly adults or families with older rather than noisy young kids. This makes the restaurant conducive to private conservations as the staff were unobtrusive if rather inattentive, in the sense that you've to ASK for serving spoons and for soiled plates to be replaced.

We had dim sum and fried carrot cake with XO sauce for lunch. The steamed dim sum fared better than the fried items. Here's what is worth ordering:

* Steamed Shrimp Dumplings 笋尖虾饺
The dumpling skin was thin but resilient, encasing not one but two fresh and succulent prawns. Excellent take on a classic dim sum item.

* Crab Roe Siew Mai 蟹皇烧卖
Unlike your regular siew mai containing mostly pork, this is Jia Wei's unique creation of ultra thin wanton skin encasing shrimp and lots of crab roe with just a teeny bit of pork. Sinful in terms of cholesterol levels from the crab roe but oh so good.

* Four Treasure Siew Mai 四喜烧卖
A work of art, it is almost too pretty to be eaten. Below the colourful diced mushroom, carrot and bell peppers is a tiny minced pork patty with plenty of chopped chives. Another of Jia Wei's signature creations not found elsewhere. * Scallop Rice Rolls 带子肠粉
While the rice flour noodles are a trifle thicker than your usual cheong fun at Canton Paradise or Imperial Treasure, each roll contains two whole scallops. Sublime.Six types of dim sum, carrot cake and vegetables shared amongst three adults, with the bill at less than $27 nett per head. Not cheap but the quality and nifty handiwork by their dim sum chef made it worth the money.

Chewy Junior's light as air choux pastries with their rainbow toppings and luscious fillings need no introduction. Normally priced between $1.40 to $1.90 each, they go for $6.90 per half dozen towards closing time. Popular flavours such as oreo and chocolate hazelnut are usually sold out by then, but there are still 8-10 flavours to choose from. The spicy chicken floss puff was very good, better than eating bread rolls or buns topped with floss. Here you get the taste minus the carbs. The strawberry topped puff surrounded by a twirl of cream cheese was very good too - not overly rich, with the berries' antioxidants minus the sugar overload.The tangy passionfruit puree topped puff was light & refreshing - great as a light dessert after a hearty meal. Great value & great taste too.

The Phad Thai noodle dish here at $5 is priced even lower than the version served at the Food Republic food court at nearby 112 Katong Mall which costs $6. Jai Thai's Phad Thai tastes a little bland but some chilli flakes or a spoonful of prik nam pla will take care of this. The portion is not huge but Jai Thai's chef is very generous with the ingredients - there were five shrimps and plenty of chives, bean sprouts and egg in my Phad Thai. The only thing I would wish there was more of is the chye poh. The set meal at $6.80 comes with your choice of beverage (coffee, milk tea, Chinese tea, iced tea or lime juice) and dessert of the day (usually konnyaku jelly or tako). Great value; friendly staff too.
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Ambush sounds like an unlikely name for a restaurant serving fairly authentic European fare. Apart from the name, the restaurant has all other aspects of its culinary concept right - laid back bistro theme & decor, a menu with a representative sample of popular European dishes and beverages, pocket friendly prices and speedy service. This formula hits the right spot for young working adults as well as nuclear families in the heartlands who are looking for good quality meals without busting their budgets.

Ambush has an impressive but unintimidating menu:
* pork knuckle, sausages and rosti from Bavaria;
* mussels and frites from Belgium in the heart of Western Europe;
* seafood entrees featuring salmon, hoki and cod from the Nordic countries; and
* paella and pastas representing the cuisines of the Mediterranean nations.

These are our recommendations:

Minestrone soup $3.50 - this was a hearty tomato broth full of diced garden vegetables like celery, carrots, pearl onions and zucchinis;Sausages $12.20 - we picked the smoked bratwurst and chicken garlic sausages which were robustly flavoured and meaty;

Ambush Paella $13.20 - a hearty and filling tomato-based casserole of rice with mussels, plump prawns and sliced chorizo sausages;

Baby Scallop Pasta with Fish Roe Cream $13.80 - a scrumptious and satisfying entree with six fresh scallops. A similar version at TCC costs twice as much.
Warm Chocolate Souffle $8.80 - this turned out to be a chwee kueh-sized chocolate lava cake topped with a tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream. It reminds me of America rather than Europe.Overall, we had a very satisfying meal at Ambush. The table crew was young but their enthusiasm and can-do attitude meant no service lapses. The appetizers and main courses were very good, so much so that the desserts seemed lacklustre & forgettable. Not bad for $20 per head without the beers.