Soi 18 Thai Mookata: Giant platters & affordable BBQ meat from $1.90 at Toa Payoh
Mookata is my one true love, and I’m happy to share that there’s a new authentic mookata joint in Toa Payoh that’ll seriously make you go “aroi mak mak”. Soi 18 Thai Mookata, located in a coffee shop next to Kim Keat Palm Market & Food Centre, serves all your favourite mookata items and more, from as low as S$1.90 per plate!
You’ll find Soi 18 Thai Mookata in a coffee shop called Prime Court, nestled at Block 18 Lorong 7 Toa Payoh.
Admittedly, the cluster of blocks around Kim Keat Palm Market & Food Centre are always a little tough to navigate (I actually walked one entire round before locating the coffee shop), but you’ll identify it from the coffee shop’s bright green signboard.
While Soi 18 Thai Mookata’s actual storefront is hidden in the corner, you can order directly from its cashier at the centre of the coffee shop.
Ordering is pretty straightforward. Grab a piece of paper and pencil, and tick off what you’d like to order.
Apart from your usual mookata items, I noticed several interesting dishes on the list, such as Garlic Pork Collar (S$1.90), Seasalt Pork Belly (S$1.90) and even Premium Marbled Beef Striploin Steak (S$23)! There’s even a snacks section selling Karaage Chicken (S$4.80) and French Fries (S$3.80).
After you’ve ordered, take a seat at any table in the coffee shop and Soi 18 Thai Mookata’s friendly staff will set up the iconic mookata grill at your table.
What I tried at Soi 18 Thai Mookata
While I was tempted by the XXL Set (S$88) on Soi 18 Thai Mookata’s menu, I was advised that it was a huge platter that could feed a party of eight people, so I ended up going for its Set B (S$38) instead, which came with 15 items and was more appropriate for three to four pax.
Served in two silver trays were items such as BBQ items like Original Pork Belly, Original Pork Collar, Original Chicken and Original Smoked Duck, and seafood ingredients like New Zealand Half Shell Mussel, Boiled Scallop, Tiger Prawn and Squid.
Of course, there were your usual mookata vegetables and miscellaneous meat items like Luncheon Meat, Pork Ball, Cabbage and White Radish.
All the meats are marinated in-house by Soi 18 Thai Mookata, and the one item I was really impressed by was its Original Pork Belly.
Though it was sliced thinly, it still remained juicy and springy, and it was polished off in an instant. The natural juices from the pork belly came through in a sweet yet slightly roasted manner, with a slight touch of fragrance from the sesame seeds and marinade. Super yummy!
Note that the Original Pork Belly is also available à la carte at S$1.90 per plate.
The Smoked Duck was also another highlight of the platter. The duck meat’s iconic gamey flavour wasn’t very strong, which I greatly appreciated, and after being grilled on the mookata hotplate, each slice of Smoked Duck was delightfully savoury and tender.
If you’re ordering the Smoked Duck off the à la carte menu, each plate will cost you S$2.90, which is still pretty cheap!
Be sure to make use of Soi 18 Thai Mookata’s homemade chilli sauces as well. There were two types of chilli available: Spicy Chilli and Sweet Chilli.
I enjoyed the Spicy Chilli for its piquant and tangy flavours, and it was addictively spicy and aromatic from all the Thai spices and sauces that had been used. Meanwhile, in terms of heat the Sweet Chilli was less intense, but it had a tasty and sweet saltiness that paired well with the meat dishes.
Soi 18 Thai Mookata recommended that we try its Garlic Chicken (S$1.90), as the garlic marinade is made in-house. Upon it being served, I was pleasantly shocked to see how much minced garlic had been used to marinate the chicken!
This is a serious must-try. Because of how much minced garlic had been used in the marinade, it ended up being grilled on the mookata hotplate as well. Not only did the large chunks of minced garlic add an intense aromatic fragrance to each bite, you’ve got these tiny crispy bits of garlic that go super well with the tender and juicy chicken too.
After being impressed by the Garlic Chicken, we decided to try the Garlic Pork Collar (S$1.90) and Garlic Pork Belly (S$1.90) as well.
Similar to the Garlic Chicken, I was pleased to see that both meats were marinated with a generous amount of minced garlic. Not to mention, for just S$1.90 per plate, these were large portions of pork and chicken, making it an incredibly value-for-money option.
Both garlic pork dishes were excellently done, and my dining companion and I were blown away by how well it had been marinated.
Both the Garlic Pork Belly and Garlic Pork Collar had their own plus points: the Garlic Pork Belly was tender and juicy, while the Garlic Pork Collar had just the right amount of fat and meat to create a satisfying bite.
All in all, these are two must-try dishes that I’ll definitely order again the next time I’m here.
As for soup bases, Soi 18 Thai Mookata offers two types of soup: Clear Soup and Tom Yum Soup (+S$3).
In all honesty, the Clear Soup was so transparent and clear that I thought it’d not have much flavour. Yet, my first sip proved me wrong.
This was really good soup that was already naturally sweet on its own, and I was super impressed with its light tastiness, which had no hint of MSG at all. Trust me when I say that this delicious sweetness only got better once we added in the cabbage, corn and other vegetables. According to the stall, the Clear Soup is made entirely using only vegetables. No wonder!
The Tom Yum Soup was spicier than expected, and reminded me of tom yum goong thanks to its tangy brightness. The soup, which had hints of lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves, was yummy enough on its own to have been served as a main dish. As the spice level got more intense throughout our meal, I ended up pouring the Clear Soup into the Tom Yum Soup to balance the peppery heat out.
We decided to order Soi 18 Thai Mookata’s Premium Marbled Beef Striploin Steak (S$23), and was pleasantly surprised to see that it came with several knobs of corn, sliced onions, and a tub of cheese dip.
Each slice of beef was beautifully tender and juicy. I loved how it had been generously sprinkled with grounded black pepper, such that it tasted like something out of a western restaurant. Not to mention, being able to grill these gorgeous slices of striploin yourself made it super easy to cook it to our preferred doneness.
While most mookata places tend to serve a variety of shredded cheeses in their cheese dips, Soi 18 Thai Mookata’s Cheese Dip was primarily made up of mozzarella. This was something I appreciated, as the mild sweetness of the mozzarella paired incredibly well with the strong roasted flavours from the grilled meat.
You can also order the Cheese Dip from the à la carte menu for just S$3.
Before you leave, remember to take Soi 18 Thai Mookata’s reward card, as you can get one stamp for every S$30 spent.
There are cash discounts at several stamp intervals, such as S$5 off after your third stamp and S$10 off after your sixth stamp. This goes all the way up to S$20 off your twelfth stamp, so be sure to keep a copy of your reward card in your wallet and bring it with you whenever you’re dining here!
Flash this article to enjoy 1 free stamp!
Final thoughts
I’ve got nothing but praise for Soi 18 Thai Mookata, and this is a place that I’ll definitely return to if I’m ever craving mookata.
I was seriously impressed by all three garlic-marinated meat dishes and will be sure to order that the next time I’m back. While I’m someone who typically goes for Tom Yum Soup whenever I have mookata, Soi 18 Thai Mookata might’ve just converted me with its Clear Soup, which was naturally sweet and super tasty.
All of its dishes are super reasonably priced— even its XXL Set averages out to about S$11 per person if you’re dining in a group of eight— and to top it all off, all its prices are nett and they don’t charge GST or service charge.
If you can’t tell, I’m officially sold. Not gonna lie, I’m counting down the days until I’m back here for mookata again. Note that you can call them at +65 9055 1325 or +65 9439 0356 to make reservations.
Expected damage: S$10 – S$20 per pax
* This article was brought to you in partnership with Soi 18 Thai Mookata.
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