We decided to head together to Star Vista Mall as we have a craving to try out PORN'S restaurant. On top of that it was also our once a month celebration, where we would indulged ourselves in yummy food and in each other's company.

We arrived at about 8.45pm and waited for at least 15 minutes before we were being shown to our seats, with the restaurant at full capacity. The staffs were generally friendly and I noticed that most of them are Thais.

Aesthetically, the restaurant is very nicely decorated and I love the design and layout of it. Picture tells a thousand words. Here are some photos that will show why I think it's nice.Don't you think the interior of the restaurant is nice and unique. The great visuals and colors will certainly brighten up any diners day. I am simply impressed and awed by the ingenuity and creativity of the interior designs.

The first dish of the day is Stir Fried Minced Pork with Basil Leaves, that cost me $8.50. Stir Fried Minced Pork with Basil Leaves presentation was nice, with a slice of cucumber and a slice of tomato with a few slices of carrot to serve as its decoration. I highly recommend this dish for the great fusion of the minced pork, chili and basil leaves, which made this dish greatly aromatic and not forgetting that it tasted awesome when you placed the first spoon into your mouth. Simply heavenly. So far, this is the only time I don't get sick and tired of eating Stir Fried Minced Pork with Basil Leaves, compared to those from other restaurants where the first mouth tasted nice but I would get sick and tired after a few mouthful of it. Also, the food portion was just nice for the both of us. Out of a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 as mediocre and 10 as very yummy, I would rate this dish on a rating of 9. I would definitely order this dish again on my next visit.

Our next dish is the Prawn Tom Yum soup that cost $12.90. The Tom Yum soup was clear and filled with lots of spices and prawn. It is indeed sour and very spicy and I think this will appeal more to spicy food lovers. For those non-chili people, I would suggest you to avoid eating this dish as it's simply too spicy. But I simply love the taste of the prawn tom yum soup, where the sourness and spiciness of this dish are just right and the prawns are succulent, though there weren't many prawns as we had expected. Also, the food serving portion was quite huge as it can be sufficient for even 3 to 4 people although the serving size was stated for 2 person. I would rate this dish on a rating of 7. Although the soup tasted great and the portion is a lot, but on a side-note, both of our stomach couldn't take the spiciness of this dish, which caused us to visit the toilet 2 hours later. I would think this dish would be better if they reduce the amount of spiciness or perhaps it's because both of our stomachs are not yet conditioned to take this amount of spiciness. Would I order this dish again on our next visit? Maybe, maybe not? I certainly do not wish to upset my stomach again due to the spiciness of the soup.

Our next dish was the Seafood Pad Thai, which costed us $10.90. I think that our Seafood Pad Thai dish serving size was slightly small and for a price of $10.90, we certainly expected it to be of a bigger portion. Nevertheless, our disappointment in the serving size were quickly appeased when we tasted this dish. It was very nice and the noodles were silky smooth and sweet. Although the color of this dish looked plain and it only had a couple of prawn and egg, but I think it's worthwhile to order this dish again on our next visit. I would rate this dish on a rating of 8. A highly recommended must try dish for any diners who eat at PORN's at Star Vista mall.

However I think that this outlet was understaffed. As most of the service staff are too engrossed in serving the dishes to the various tables that they not only forgot my initial order for ice water, but it also took me very long before I can get one of their attention to bring me the ice water, which took a while before it arrived at our table, in 2 small cute silver looking cups, which is cold to the touch. Yes the cups looked nice but on a practicality note, I would rather prefer the service staff to give me a normal glass of ice water instead of a small cup which requires constant refills, especially when the Prawn Tom Yum soup was so spicy.

Here's a copy of our receipt, which added up to the total cost of $36.65, inclusive of 10% service charge. Reasonable price for a meal for 2 persons, but I think the portion was slightly small as we still feel a little hungry after our meal.Interior design decorations ratings = 7 out of 10

Service staff ratings = 5 out of 10 (due to the experience we faced in obtaining ice water)

Food = 8 out of 10

Overall Satisfaction = 8 out of 10

I would visit this restaurant again and if my friends wants me to recommend any nice Thai food, PORN'S restaurant would certainly be in my list of recommendations. But do take note to make reservations in advance if you are going in a big group as it will be packed. Do try out their Stir Fried Minced Pork with Basil Leaves and Seafood Pad Thai. I won't recommend you to try their Tom Yum soup as it was simply too spicy for both our stomachs to take. But should you wish to try out this fiery dish, be warned. Don't attempt to drink too much of the soup. Take in moderation!

As you may have figured out from the name of the restaurant, the specialty of this place is cooking the chicken to the point that the bone is soft. So soft that you can eat the bone.
But why would you want to eat the bone anyway? Well, they say it's good for you, full of calcium and other nutrients.
That's less important for me, the deliciousness is more important.

So we tried the salted egg for $7.9 and grilled soft bone chicken for $6.9. The chicken was served golden brown and slathered with salted egg gravy so rich and delicious I could have eaten a bowlful of it. Never would I have imagined salted egg sauce would go well with fried chicken, but I think this plate of chicken easily beats most ayam penyets in Singapore. The chicken was still crispy underneath the deluge of salted egg sauce and the meat easily fell off the bone. It was finger lickin’ good. Add the plate lickin’ too as this is one chicken dish that would leave your plate clean as the bones are so soft and crispy they’re good enough to eat and leaves nothing on the plate. Yup, I was in calcium over drive that day thanks to all those yummy chicken bones.

I ordered some vegetables dish as well. I didn't expect to find that the kangkung with sambal sauce from this restaurant would be the best one I'd ever have. But, there it was!
The kangkung was fresh and still slightly crunchy, the sambal was addictively spicy.
And what better to wash it all down than with a thick avocado juice.

Date : 2012-11-03
Time of visit : 9pm
What/Where : Guan Chee @ The Kitchen (Kou Fu) @ The Star Vista
What we had : Charsiew Rice
Average cost/pax : $4.50
Ambience : Very clean, there was a floor pipe leak and some guy in office wear w/tie (floor manager maybe) rolled up his sleeves and stepped in personally to attend to it before
Service : Fast/immediate.
Portion : Charsiew rice tasted great. a little steep for $4.50 as I often eat at $2.50/$3 stalls but I'm guessing it's due to the high rent. The meet is very sweet and tender.
Location : Buona Vista MRT connects to The Star Vista. Convenient. Lots of parking lots. Many varieties of food.
What's good in particular : No comments.
What's bad in particular : No comments.

ABiteOfEverything.com

Date : 2012-11-11
Time of visit : 12pm
What/Where : Shi Wei Tian @ 39 Joo Chiat Place
What we had : KL Hokkien Noodles,Chao Tar Bee Hoon,Signature Guinness Stout Pork Ribs,Signature Home-make Tofu,Signature Golden Pumpkin,Chai Poh Fish,Herbal Drunken Chicken Soup,Salted Egg Crab
Average cost/pax : Open Rice Makan Hunt sponsored. Didn't check.
Ambience : Well, Joo Chiat has little trees/wind so I'm guessing that's the reason this area is always hot as hell, but when we first stepped into the place, the fan/aircon combination made all the dining difference, you could even feel the "wall" of hot air whenever the glass doors open but staff quickly close the doors to maintain cool temperature. Too bad there's an 8 photo upload limit otherwise I got more to post. The ambience is excellent and brings you back to a memory lane of vinyls/vintage items/70s/80s/90s, Vinyl player, foot powered sewing machines, typewriter etc. It's the youth of uncle/aunties and the museum of the "good ol days" for the youth/young. Family after family comes in for a nice gathering as well as those business men dining at this location. Place is clean as well.
Service : Staff was attentive and responsive in clearing tables and making room for more "ho liao" as well as ensuring our glass drinks doesn't stay empty for long.
Portion : KL Hokkien Noodles - this is my first time eating this "udon-like" noodle, it's very soft and the sauce is just nice. not too salty nor plain.Chao Tar Bee Hoon - This caught my attention, it's very "dry" (ah boh, chao tar mah..) , "bitter" (chao tar) , and surprisingly "sour" (from the lime) . I didn't understand the concept behind it at first, but after when the pork ribs and the golden pumpkin came in, the combined taste is very appetizing!Signature Guinness Stout Pork Ribs - Perfect. Taste Smell Texture. Went so well with the Chao Tar Bee Hoon.Signature Home-make Tofu - Tofu was normal, the fried mushroom on top had this weird taste like you "overused the cooking oil" to fry other stuff then fry this. Could be an isolated incident cos I think the other OpenRicers may have enjoyed it more than I did. Signature Golden Pumpkin - Again. Perfect. Crispy on the outside and satisfying salt (egg) and sweet (pumpkin) on the inside. At the end of the makan, more than 30 mins upon being laid on the table under aircon+fan there were a few left , I washed my hands from eating the crab and got back to eating it again, surprisingly, it still tastes great / crispy.Chai Poh Fish - The fish is fresh, crispy , tender and not over cooked, the sauce isn't overpowering like some places really abuse their "fish sauce" inaccurately like I'd be trying to eat the non-sauce-soaked parts or avoid eating the fish all together.Herbal Drunken Chicken Soup - the soup had a light refreshing taste and the chicken meat is very tender. The "oil" on top looks intimidating at first but after a few sips it was fine.Salted Egg Crab - Generous use of the salted egg here. Taste is alright, the only disappointment here is "shell big but meat small".

Side note - Lime juice drink was great too, good for digestion/detox, so can keep on eating.

Location : Those not driving, the nearest MRT is Eunos then it's a quite a little walk in. It'll be hot mostly, so bring an umbrella and a makan mate to chit chat on the way with. those driving - Parking opposite at the public carpark where the temple is, Don't play play, the summon auntie here damn on the ball , trust me. Put an hour or two coupon and spend the good money on the food.
What's good in particular : Guinness Stout Pork Ribs and Signature Golden Pumpkin
What's bad in particular : A little ulu for those not living in the area or convenient mode of transport I guess.

Thank you OpenRice for organising the Makan Hunt event!

ABiteOfEverything.com

Tucked away in a cosy shophouse along Joo Chiat Place, 食唯天 Shi We Tian is one of the many restaurants you will find along that lively street. But one of the distinct features that sets it apart from the rest is an alfresco dining area that transforms into a cool hangout place for you and your soccer buddies to kick back and watch a match over some beer. The crowd that you will find here are mainly residents who live around the area and regular customers who frequent the restaurant for family gatherings.As you step into 食唯天 the first thing that catches your attention is the huge collection of antiques - an old sewing machine that my grandmother used to have sits beside a 19th-century vintage gramaphone. And as you venture deeper into the restaurant you'll find lots of old posters, paintings and even more antique items used to decorate the interior. Like taking a stroll through time, the decor of the place is very reminiscent of colonial Singapore.As you would imagine, the food served here is based on the heritage recipes that were passed down from the owner's grandmother, giving it a very homely and unique flavour. The Drunken Chicken Ginseng Soup was one of the dishes we had and the soup base was sweet with a rather strong ginseng taste to it. I rather enjoyed the soup since I had not eaten ginseng chicken in a long time, but it pales in comparison to the ginseng chicken soup that you get in Korea.

One of the more unique dishes that they served, and also a favourite of mine, is their Golden Pumpkin which is basically slices of pumpkin coated with salted egg yolk and fried in a light batter. The combination of the salted egg yolk and pumpkin leaves a very refreshing taste, and you can't help but want to eat more of it.To end off the feast was a magnificent Salted Egg Crab! You can tell just by looking at the size of that pincer that the crab is full of juicy, succulent meat. I'm not much of a crab lover, mainly because most of the crab dishes are spicy (Chilli Crabs, Black Pepper Crabs, etc.) and I'm one of the few Singaporeans who don't take spicy foods. Anyway, I took a smaller piece of the crab and while I had a difficult time prying open the shell (another reason I don't like eating crabs), the salted egg sauce was fantastic and probably very sinful. The thick yellow sauce was glistening under the light and its texture was velvety smooth probably because of the butter base. I completed my meal with a piping hot mun-tou (fried bun) dipped into that thick, creamy sauce.They even have a candy floss machine and will make one for you on request. It's one of those childhood snacks that you used to buy from the "pasar malam" (flea market) and you don't see many of these around very often nowadays. Having candy floss definitely adds to the whole nostalgic feel of the restaurant and the kids definitely love it too! Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at 食唯天 and will drop by again if I'm ever in the area.