Entree Kibbles: Tom Yum Kungfu Mookata (Thai Steamboat BBQ) @ Serangoon Garden [Singapore]

I only heard the word "kungfu" and thought the Great Kon was suggesting "Kungfu Paradise" for dinner until he started mentioning "mookata"; the Thai steamboat BBQ that i was pretty obsessed with at one time!

Anyway, Tom Yum Kungfu, decked out in cheerful Thai style decor coupled with Thai music, was apparently quite popular among diners despite being a new face at the food-competitive Serangoon Garden area. With the premise filled with patrons, we were hopeful this would be a good meal.

Siam Chicken

There were quite a number of side orders on the menu and since our food was mainly concentrated on the barbecued and boiled, it would be nice to have "deep fried" added to our guts.

Similar to KFC popcorn chicken, these were quite good with an added spicy flavour that set them apart from the fast food version.

Garlic Squid

Thinking this would be similar to the fantastic fried cuttlefish at Taste at Thailand, we were disappointed to find the batter to be on the thick, puffy side; obviously not the type i like.

Mookata

Using traditional fuel (as in charcoal) for the steamboat, this would be welcome by those who insisted that charcoal based steamboat / BBQ brings out a better flavour in the meat and broth!

Our meat ingredients for the 3-4 persons Mookata; marinated pork, pork belly, scallops, fish cakes and tiger prawns! They were sufficient for the Gang of Four although you may opt to top up the meat (squid, chicken, venison etc) for a nominal fee.

The non-meat in a basket; seasonal vegetables, mushrooms, fried beancurd skin and a pack of Thai Mama Instant Noodles! My mom's friend actually bought us a whole pack and we were delighted with the well-balanced tom yam broth that wasn't too spicy yet sufficiently flavoured to deliver a punch on our taste buds.

Soup at Tom Yum Kungfu needed improvement as it was a bit thin on flavour even after the meat juices from the barbecued items had flowed into it. The flavour improved marginally after the instant noodles were added though.

Oiling the convex metal pan with a natural lubricant; pork lard!

Here goes the meat and vegetables! At this point, i was anticipating a taste that would be comparable or even better than the ones i had at New Udon Thai Food and Pure Restaurant.

Sadly, i was less than impressed; marination of the pork was very normal tasting and almost alike to what i had at home (to be honest, mom's meat marination was passable with hardly any excitement). Seafood also didn't come by as being super fresh.