Possibly the Best Mookata in Singapore - Moojaa

Battle of the Moo Ka Ta in Singapore

Over the weekend I set out on a MooKata adventure, eating MooKata with my friends from Thailand everyday till we find one that we like. In Thailand, MooKata is very much the social thing, and friends would gather and sit around the pot, talking and having beer. It's one of the more entertaining highlights of eating out in Thailand, and now, it has gotten popular in Singapore as well, with MooKata joints popping up all over. So which is the best I've been to? MooJaa at Keong Saik Rd, due to the service, ambiance, food quality, soup base (with no MSG!) and choice of ingredients. MooJaa is a clear winner, so it wins my full review! What's even better, they close only at 6am, so you can eat there anytime you want, from 11am onwards.

MooJaa at 25 Keong Saik Road, Singapore 089132
Call 6536 4780 for reservations or click here.
(Third place I tried and now it is my favourite!)

MooJaa in Keong Saik Road was a clear winner with the fantastic service - here you see our server placing the food in the pan for us. 

MooJaa has two sauces available, one great for seafood and the other for meat. I also enjoyed the amazing soup (Made from Chicken and Pork) and the really tasty Thai Tea and lemongrass drink. 

One set is $45 but you have the option to get the buffet at just $32 + $5 for free flow of drinks of your choice per person. 

Waiting for the charcoal to arrive felt short, as we had the fish skin and the delicious pork balls with cheese oozing out as a starter. It took about 15 - 20mins for the charcoal to be hot enough for them to bring out the pot of coal and the pan.

Air conditioned, you get to eat in comfort.

Golden Mile Level 1
( First place I tried, No.2 on my list of favourite Moo Ka Ta places )

My thai friends raved about this place in Golden Mile and took me out for dinner. The food was good, and if I didn't try MooJaa, I would think it is probably the best in Singapore. 

The thai tea that they have as well as the flexibility to order thai dishes from the neighbouring stalls were a plus point too. 

Their dipping sauce is spicy with peanuts mashed in, delicious! Service is better if you speak thai, but one set that comprises pork, chicken, seafood, liver and vegetables go for $39 and the portions were really small. 

Reordering pork or liver sets you back by $10 per plate, and the portions are small, so be forewarned. 

Air conditioned but you will sweat while eating.

Geylang Lorong 8
( Second place place I tried and if I return, it would only be for the Fish Head Curry )

We went to look for durian in Geylang and chanced upon the Mookata at Geyland Lorong 8. We waited so long that we ordered their Fish Head curry (FANTASTIC) and were overwhelmed by the HUGE portion of meat thrown haphazardly on top of a mountain of cabbage. 

Mookata was ok, but not as good as their fish head curry. The set here is $39 and the prawns, though big, were not really fresh. It could also be due to the fact that they brought the raw food out of the fridge and set them on our table while waiting for approximately 20mins for the black charcoal to be hot enough.

The staff only speak Mandarin, so if you speak English or Thai, you will probably have to gesture.

Outdoors and set next to the road.

The MooJaa Reveal Review

I went on a "bbq steamboat", "Le Yang" or "Mookata" binge from Sunday to Monday, but it was the very last Mookata Place I went to that really stood out from the rest. MooJaa, pronounced as "Mu Jaaaaaaa", explained in the menu to mean, my "Lovely Pig", a common pet name for couples in love. 

" Moo Ka Ta, for the uninitiated, literally means "Pork Skillet" in Thai and refers to the special cooking apparatus created to enjoy both barbecue and hot pot at the same time. A trough of soup sits on a crock of charcoal, and a dome shaped grill is placed on the trough. This allows the smoke from the charcoal to waft up to the grill, perfuming the meats with some seriously fragrant "wok hei" (wok's breath)."  Written by MooJaa, this accurately sums up what Moo Ka Ta is all about, and at the same time, gives you a little insight into the little details that help set MooJaa apart from the rest of the Moo Ka Ta places in Singapore.

Before walking into MooJaa, I brought my friends on a tour of Chinatown and we walked up the historical Keong Saik Rd  which was really nostalgic especially for me, as I remember coming to one of the houses when they were still houses, as a child of 3 or 4 years old. They were gorgeous and big, but only had one toilet and washing area for the 6 or 8 families living in that huge house in which everyone had one room. The old lady I visited lived in one of the rooms, and I remember her bed was made of wood, with no mattress. While the houses have since been converted to offices, shops and restaurants, the largeness or rather, the depths of the houses remained the same. Keong Saik Road also used to be the "red light district", way before Geylang became popular. I remember as a child, I sat at the entrance of the house marveling at all the pretty "aunties" and "jie jies" that walked in and out of houses marked by red lights or lanterns. Of course, it has radically changed and no semblance of that history is left here.

The place looked classy and when I stepped in, I was wondering how much the meal would cost. I was immediately put at ease after looking at their menu. Both their servers were simply wonderful - they took the time to explain each set, the buffet and then their ala carte dishes. I can't help but wonder if they had a properly scripted explanation, as both described everything systematically and clearly. What is even better, you can log on to their wi-fi network for FREE and order online by keying in menumoo.com on your internet browser. By ordering online, you get a free drink as well! If you would like to check out their menu before heading down, here it is. Click "Like" on their facebook page and get a FREE Cha Yen ( Thai Iced Tea). Coupon instructions appear after clicking Like. Talking about the Cha Yen, it's super tasty with the lovely perfume of black tea sweetened with milk. This has to be the best Facebook page for a restaurant, peppered with special promotions and FREE stuff.

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