Mookata

For full writeup and pics please go to www.thenewadventuresofoldelis.blogspot.com.

It’s been raining an awful lot recently hasn’t it? Perfect weather for steamboat!

 

We googled a (relatively) new Thai BBQ/steamboat place along East Coast called Mookata and decided to check it out. “Mookata” means pork BBQ – the boys were excited and looking forward to a meat fest.  Finding parking was a bit of a challenge but we made it. The restaurant is a coffee shop-ish setup – simple décor, no air-conditioning and poor ventilation (seriously, be prepared to smell). Service seemed a tad sluggish and disorganized.

 

Luckily the food was good. It’s difficult to go wrong, when you put lard on a hot BBQ – everything tastes good! We ordered the meat platter and the “healthy” veggie platter, together with some ala carte sotong balls, squid and otah etc. The quality of the food was fresh and good, though the ala carte order quantity was a bit small for the 4 hungry boys at the table. I rather liked the accompanying sourish chili sauce, it gave the food some kick.  

 

I was craving for wholesome comfort soup and was initially disappointed by how shallow the “steamboat” compartment of the BBQ stove was. Clearly, BBQ was the focus here. I later cheered up. Because, dear readers, you get some REALLY kick-a** soup post lard-BBQ – not the best idea if you are on a diet but omg I just kept pouring soup into the sinful stove and thoroughly indulged.

 

The bill came up to about $250 (including 12 beers) for the 6 of us. Not exactly cheap but oh vell, it was an enjoyable meal. Priceless, the look on A’s face when he mistook the piece of lard as squid and popped it into his mouth!

For photos, please visit Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow.

Mu means “pork” and “kata” means BBQ. So “Mookata” means thai Bbq over charcoal. You rub the lard over the exposed metal surface. This will serve as your BBQ area. Then leave the lard at the top so that it will drip down all over the plate. Put your meat on the BBQ area and other things in your steamboat. There are some in between items such as prawns and squid which you can either bbq or put in the steamboat.

We had the two-person set ($24.90++) which include chicken, pork, tofu, egg, golden mushroom, veg, two prawns, three otahs, corn, etc. The ingredients were really not a lot, so we ordered the XL plate of sukiyaki beef($12).

While the meat was very delicious and very well marinated, and the cabbage-based soup was very tasty after the meat juice dripped into it, we thought that the food was quite expensive. Look at the sukiyaki beef?! At first we thought, “Wow, the portions are so generous!.” And then we flipped open, it was all cabbage underneath. For $4, you can buy eat-till-you-puke sukiyaki beef at NTUC. And don’t order the beef because it’s not marinated so it didn’t taste good when BBQ. The other meats, marinated, tasted superb, retaining the sweetness of the meat.

There are three levels of homemade chili, which are very awesome and go very, very well with the meat.

When I told Hookerlily, the food was too expensive, she observed that we were the only unhappy ones in the restaurant. She said, “We are the poor HDB dwellers, the rest of those who will spend 800K on a HDB flat lor.” Sad but true.

The service was very friendly and prompt although when I asked to move out to the front of the shop, so that there was more ventilation, the waiter said it was reserved. But we sat there till the shop closed, and no one came. That wasn’t very nice.

Overall:

Good points: delicious and fun food; friendly service

Bad points: you smell like BBQ pork yourself after leaving the place; and too expensive for too little.

This was a pretty interesting steamboat concept, because I've never tried steamboat over charcoal ever!

My friend and I tried the Mookata set for 2 - about $25. It comes with shredded and marinated chicken thigh, pork, squid, 2 prawns, otah fish, and the a whole host of vegetables ie kang kong, cabbage, mushrooms etc. The corn soup broth was pretty good as well.

The not-so-goods:

- If you are very hungry, the set for 2 does not fill you up. You need to do side orders for more meat.

- The place is really noisy because there is a cooker-hood/chimney-looking thing above every table, since the restaurant operates only indoors. You gotta speak loudly for your partner to hear you.

On the whole, its a place worth checking out, but my taste buds wouldn't insist on visiting again. And you probably shouldn't go there on a first date ;)

The 1st time I've been to Mookata was their grand opening weekend. Even with the the busy crowd, the staffs never fail to put on a smile and are always attentive to your needs. My 1st impression of the menu was that it is pricey compared to the cheap steamboats you get in Chinatown or Liang Seah street. Although I felt very satisfied with the meal, I decided that it would be my last meal at the shop. However months after, I still remember the freshness of the prawns which I can't find in any of the cheap steamboat shops elsewhere. The specially made Thai chilli sauce is definately a must-try. I really feel that this place is a quality for money restaurant. Due to the size and depth of the hot pot. It is recommended for 4 pax to 1 hot pot.

Happen to go past this place and went in with partner. Order a set for 2 with additional 2 more dishes!! 

the steamboat is kinda different and it was our first time trying, the curve (Pop up) area are use to grill meat and they provide chunks of fats. Great experience to see the oil sizzling while you attempt to put slices of meat neatly. =P as it runs on charcoal, patience patience is much needed, the broth part of the 'boat' is a tad too shallow for you to throw alot of veg in. the portion was just nice for us 2, and we had 4 cups of drinks. One red, One Green -- syrup drinks which my partner seems to enjoy more than i do  and the usual ice milk tea, ahh. the tea is wee bit too sweet and they are nice enough to change for us. i like the savory flavor of the meat and the nicely chopped veg. Complete with corn, egg, tofu, prawns, crab stick, ball(S), squid, and vermicelli, me and partner were stuffed to the max by the end of the evening. the people are friendly and they even shift a fan since we are complaining hot and stuffy. what i like to see is that perhaps you can have more variety of food and drinks?