So the same friend who introduced me to the Mookata at Kaki Bukit discovered another one at another industrial estate somewhere near MacPherson, and suggested we go try.
There was no reason for me to refuse.
I am always game for any reason to explore industrial estates, wherever they might be, so happily I agreed.
As with all industrial estates go, I had expected a long walk in, but it soon became clear that the only long walk we were taking was thanks to Google Maps who redirected us from what was supposed to be a short route to a longer one, where instead of just walking straight in and seeing the canteen, we made our way down Irving Road, then a bit of Playfair Road before finally finding ourselves at the very same canteen in Trivex building, but on the opposite side.
LeThai Mookata sits at the section quite close to Burn Road, by the way, but the seat we chose was not close to the airy side of the canteen.
Instead we'd taken the table closest to the stall.
It made things more convenient.
We settled down, the stall brought out the dome-shaped equipment, and we had our orders placed.
Before long, a couple of plates appeared in front of us on the table, and we began.
First up first, though, we made for ourselves our homemade dip of Greek-style yogurt and miso. It is the dip that has accompanied us on many a hotpot and many a grill, and we wanted the same dip for the Mookata today.
The meal today wasn't a buffet.
It was a set meal that had several varieties of meat.
We weren't able to choose what we wanted, but to me, it didn't matter- the plate had beef, chicken, and pork all the same.
One thing a bit of a pity is that I cannot remember just how much of each type on the plate there were.
My guess is that there were more pieces of pork and chicken than there were beef.
My friend was quietly disappointed- he had hoped there would be more of beef- but I didn't mind.
I liked that the chicken and pork had more than enough pieces, all of which had been conscientiously cut up so that they became easier to grill.
If you're wondering why that's important, well, then there's one thing about Mookata that you ought to know.
Meats on the Mookata dome tend to harden and get dry very easily.
I'm not sure if it is due the shape of the dome, or if it is the quality of the meat.
More often than not I have found myself trying hard to chew through substantial, but thick, pieces of meat whose textures don't make it most enjoyable on the jaw.
Here, there was no need to worry whether one part of the chicken piece would be harder than the other- they all got cooked quite evenly.
There was also no need to worry if the pork might remain too long on the grill whilst the chicken and beef sat on the other side still half raw and unready.
On this grill everything got put down and taken off at the same time.
Except that we didn't.
We chose to alternate- our chopsticks worked the cooked pieces same time the tongs worked on turning the semi-cooked meat on the grill.
It made for a consistent rhythm, an easy flow.
And the rhythm was felt on the stomach too.
Of course, I didn't forget my vegetables.
There weren't that many choices to be had in the set meal- you took whatever they gave you- so whilst at another place i might have chosen my favorites of lettuce or cabbage but here I just dunked all them green leafy vegetables into the soup, dropped in all the other fun foods from the same plate, and let them bob.
Gotta admit, the green leaves made the moat look bright, clean and fresh, and what with all the fats from the grilling pork and chicken dripping down the dome into the soup, even them usually green-tasting leaves took on a slightly brownish hue.
The set meal afforded us fun foods for both the moat and the grill.
Offhand now I can't recall just what fun foods there were for the soup, but I think there were a couple pieces of tofu, and some of those balls that I do take, if I know I can finish.
For the grill there were hot dogs all neatly, cleanly sliced.
You know I had thought the soup be enhanced enough by the pork fat lard and the fats of the meat, but the hot dogs made it two times saltier.
I don't think I had ever drunk such a distinctively salty soup before.
I can't say whether the hot dogs did wonders for the flavor, but they weren't too bad, and since I don't have hot dogs very much- nowadays almost never- I ate them few pieces up anyway.
There're very few things of a Mookata meal that I tend to miss.
But there is one thing I like and I will always go for- as much of it as possible.
The lard.
The pork fat.
Grilled lard has to be one of the strongest, yet best things to be had when eating grilled meat. The taste changes everything, I tell you, even if you can't get used to the chew of the fat.
But I like it.
And since there weren't that many foods included in this set meal that I could help myself freely, it were the pork fat I went for, and the stall generously let me have more.