White Oaks Saloon - Prahran

On a Tuesday night a few months ago (okay October), we ventured out to Prahran to try Tex-Mex inspired Southern American food at White Oaks Saloon. A perusal of the extensive menu gave us a very bad attack of choice paralysis, so we decided to stick with the classics.

To start, we ordered the Sweet Southern BBQ Baby Back Ribs ($16). Described as beef ribs with classic dry rub, served with our choice of spicy Carolina BBQ sauce, picking this was a no brainer. The thiccc (triple C) hunk of meat fell seamlessly off the bone. I would've loved more of the sauce. Is it too much to ask for a pot of that sauce so I can dip the tender meat in it?

We also ordered the Carolina BBQ Pulled Pork Chimichangas (2pcs/$14). Twice cooked pulled pork, Carolina style BBQ mopping, green bell peppers, fresh jalepenos and creole spices wrapped and baked in a tortilla. I picked this because of its Mexican flavour profile, he just like saying the word, chimichangas. This was the least impressive dish of the night. It was a bit on the bland side with no promised creole spices shining through. The salsa was fresh enough to balance the heaviness of the meat and tortilla. 

He is an absolute sucker for shoe string fries so the Cajun fries and Cajun tabasco mayo ($16) was a much anticipated dish. To his delight, and okay mine too, the fries were hot and crispy and generously loaded up. The Cajun seasoning was great but were not as generously coated on the fries at the bottom of the bowl. The mayo while deliciously creamy, was missing that spicy kick I was craving. 

How could we not order the Buffalo Chicken and Jalepeno Ranch ($19). They came in cute bite-sized nuggets of boneless chicken. It was a very generous serving. I did miss the fun in devouring buffalo chicken wings but this did the trick with absolutely zero mess. The tangy sauce is just so complementary with the cool ranch. 

Overall, I had a fantastic time at White Oaks Saloon. It was a haunt we stumbled upon and I would definitely come back to try the other dishes on their menu. They have quite a few restaurants from the same owners as well. It doesn't hurt that it is partnered with Zomato Gold which meant our Beef Ribs were not charged. The service was warm and friendly. The interior has saloon touches which we enjoyed and the bar is a sight to look at. The food was great and definitely left us feeling full and satisfied. I just would've loved an extra notch on the spice levels. 

Taste: 8/10

Presentation: 7/10 

Service: 8/10

Value for Money: 7/10