Most of you in Singapore have probably heard about Porn’s which is a Thai restaurant chain owned by Singapore Mediacorp TV host, Pornsak Prajakwit. In case you’re wondering why the restaurant has such a name (I know what some of you are thinking!), ‘Porn’ in Thai simply means blessing or happiness.
The husband and I got a really good deal off Qoo10 for its lunch buffet at its Mount Faber Safra outlet. The original price for the ala carte lunch buffet was supposed to be $19.90++ per person but we got it at a promo price of $16.90 nett per pax and after redemption of our Q-points, we only paid $23.80 for the both of us. I love Qoo10! Haha. For those of you who are still new to Qoo10, go check the website out so you can maximise your dollars with their deals and steals on fashion, beauty, tech, home & living, food and so much more.
Another reason why I like this ala carte buffet besides its reasonable pricing is that the food is prepared upon order and every dish is served hot and fresh to your table. Since food isn’t made via mass production and then left out on buffet tables to go cold or soggy, quality execution of each dish can be better ensured.
Let’s have a look at what’s included in the buffet.
Except for the whole fish dish (choice of fried or steamed) for which the service staff would come round your table to hand you a hardcopy menu so you can take your pick, everything else that was inclusive in the buffet could be found on their digital ala carte menu. Do note you can only submit a maximum of four dishes per order via the tablet and you would have to wait 10 minutes before you can submit the next order which wasn’t a bad idea as we could pace ourselves and not over-order or over-eat.
Two types of beverages were provided – lemongrass drink and lime juice – that we could self service. Too bad there wasn’t any ice provided as the drinks were quite sweet so I had to mix with plain water which was also available.
Dipping sauces were on the left of the drink dispensers.
The Granny’s Prawn Cakes were thick, plump and filled with a generous portion of crunchy prawns inside that somewhat reminded me of a really springy prawn ball. The exterior coated with breadcrumbs was fried to a wonderful crisp, didn’t taste greasy and had no rancid oil taste. These cakes went so well with Thai sweet chilli sauce. A must order.
We were really impressed that a whole seabass was given for this Simply Steamed Fish dish. Portion was big for the two of us. The fish had its main bone removed for easy consumption and was really meaty and fresh with no fishy smell. The broth was a little similar to a clear tom yum soup and was tangy, spicy and packed full of flavours. Another must order.
The Deep Fried Chicken Bites were marinated in Thai herbs and peppercorns and then deep fried with garlic. We didn’t notice any visible garlic bits or flakes but we did taste a subtly garlicky flavour on the batter coating. Though these chicken pieces were fried to a lovely golden brown, they weren’t crispy or crunchy as we expected them to be. I thought the texture was somewhat like how some Japanese restaurants fry their soft shell crabs. The chicken meat was nonetheless juicy, moist and flavoursome.
The Innocent Tom Yum Seafood Soup (Clear) was well balanced and wasn’t overly salty. There were prawns, sliced fish and straw mushrooms in it. Would have liked it better if it had a more spicy kick.
The Mango Salad was refreshing and crunchy with a good balance of sweet, sour and spice. Made a good palate cleanser in between dishes that somewhat aided digestion too so we could nosh to our hearts’ content, haha.
The Pad Thai was a little wet than the usual ones we had and tasted just a tad too sweet for my liking.
The Green Curry Chicken had lots of chicken pieces in it. The sauce was thick and creamy but was also very sweet.
The Kang Kong Tempura was da bomb! My most favourite dish of the entire meal. The dipping sauce that came with it was heavenly; there were bits of minced prawn and chicken that gave a nice bite. A little similar to belachan but infused with aromatic Thai flavours.
The portion was really huge. Very oily too but so crispy and addictive. Definitely didn’t taste like kangkong (or vegetable) at all. Shiok.
The Yum Yum Wings were soft and not crispy enough but I loved the lemongrass flavour in the marinade. Standard stuff and a little on the salty side.
And to end our meal, there were 5 flavours of ice cream available – vanilla, paddle pop, mango, mint and yam. The ice creams were nothing to shout about. I would have preferred Thai desserts like mango rice, red rubies or luk chup (fruit-shaped mung bean cakes). But nonetheless, it was still a much appreciated sweet treat just to change that flavour in the mouth from all those rich and fried food. I liked the mint and yam ones best.
Overall, this was a very satisfying meal that was also value for money. Every dish was a full-sized ala carte portion. I highly recommend the mango salad, prawn cakes, steamed fish and kang kong tempura. There are still so much more on the menu but we could only manage 9 dishes with some leftovers cos’ the green curry and salad were just too much for 2 persons. Would love to come back again (in a bigger group next time) to try out the other dishes.
PORN’S
2 Telok BlanGah Way
#01-10, Mount Faber SAFRA
Singapore 098803
Tel: +65 6274 0092
Website: http://porns.sg/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pornsexythaifood
Opening hours: 11.30am to 10.00pm (Mon-Sun)
Definitely a place I’d like to go and eat at with my husband one day! My sister is going to Singapore for the first time next February, I’ll give her the address and your restaurant review link here!
Sure! If she needs recommendations for any other cuisines, just give me a shout 🙂 Singapore is a food paradise – ask your sis to bring along a huge appetite! 🙂
haha! I’ll tell her 🙂 and thanks!!!