This was not our last mookata for the year.
But it was the last we had at Zenso in Sunshine Plaza.
The mookata set here probably has to be one of our most favorite food discoveries of the year.
It is at this place where we decided that we didn't necessarily need unlimited servings of beef, pork, chicken, crayfish, crabs, prawns or hotpot foods to call it a good mookata.
Neither did we need a free flow supply of drinks or fruits or ice creams for dessert.
All we needed was a suitable portion, a good selection of variety, and a fun dining atmosphere.
Zenso has it.
I've come to appreciate the food here.
No, that's not true.
I fell in love with it after the very first time.
One thing I truly appreciated was how aesthetic they had made the ingredient tray out to be.
Everything was beautifully arranged, nothing like those places where the meats are dumped so untidily that the customer feels like they're eating raw leftovers frozen twenty times over.
They didn't stinge on the portions either, and best of all, everything came out fresh and chilled from the freezer.
Over the months we've figured out how best to eat some of the foods presented on this tray.
It's almost automatic.
First thing we put in the center of the dome are pieces of the frozen lard.
After that we lay out some of the meats, quick-cook ones first (because we're usually hungry)
Following that we chuck most of the lala clams into the clear chicken soup.
Around this time the first batch of meats are ready and we start eating.
More meats on the grill immediately follow.
So do the prawns, which, to my surprise, cook really fast and are really sweet.
The crabsticks we place at the corners of the dome.
And the sausages we line them all along the edge so they don't roll off.
We've made several new discoveries along the way.
Like how sotongs are better cooked when you boil them in the soup before placing them on the grill.
And you can place your corn in the soup or on the grill, it's nice either way.
There're some foods that go straight into the moat.
Like the fish balls- because grilled ones somehow become hard and dry.
And cheese tofu- because it's quite nice seeing them all plumped up after they're boiled.
I tend to boil the dory fish as well- they're less dry and softer that way.
And of course, nothing beats interposing your palate of freshly grilled meat with a steaming bowlful of mama instant noodles, a heap of lettuces, cabbages, mushrooms and green leafy vegetables, and some warm, tasty, lard-enhanced, naturally-flavored soup.
Maybe one day I'll try placing some of these little mushrooms straight onto the grill.
Or maybe I'll keep some of the unmarinated meats for the moat and cook them in the style of shabu shabu.
Either way I think they'll make the meal taste just as good.