Chi Tai Bao Mookata @ Koufu HQ Foodcourt in Woodlands [Singapore]

The paddle-pop sky was beautiful but I couldn't stop my jog to take more photographs as I had to concentrate on clearing the eerie Gambas Avenue before the descent of darkness. 

Most importantly, however, was the destination in Woodlands, where I had arranged to meet my friends for dinner. They took cab whereas I used my legs; which would infer an earlier arrival time for them and I must make haste since I had the intention to blog about this new eatery! 

After 32 minutes and across 5.65 kilometers, I reached Koufu HQ. My friends were actually later than I as they waited a long time for the cab. Lesson learnt; they should have accompanied me for the jog. 

Our star today -  Chi Tai Bao Mookata @ the Koufu foodcourt within the building! If you understand Chinese, the name "chi tai bao" sounded a lot like "eat too much" although it's a play of word on the character tai which means Thai. 

It's my first visit and I didn't know what I should do. The boss, a young chap, was friendly, and suggested the meat platter (chi meat bao) as their November promotion then was to give a complimentary vegetable platter (chi cai bao) with every meat platter when you 'like' their facebook page or follow their instagram! 

Deliberating on the order while waiting for my friends. There might be changes to the order list as I noted from their facebook that a seafood platter was on their mind. In mookata, I am actually keener in meat than seafood though.

Confirmed the order as above! The meat platter consisted four types of pork belly and four types pf chicken thighs with the following marination; original, garlic, black pepper and mala. So I added both with the last marination; teriyaki, plus minced meat patties, beef shortplate and of course, mama tomyum noodle! 

The setup with gas-powered grill plate; was so glad to see the pack of tissue paper! When it comes to eating mookata, good marination is as essential as good chilli and it's heartening to see three types of chilli here at Chi Tai Bao; sweet & spicy, sour & spicy and spicy! Bet there will be one you like. 

Our table could barely hold all the food; eventually, we had to place our drinks on a separate chair so that there was sufficient space for our bowls. 

Meat Platter (Chi Meat Bao) - as mentioned previously,  four servings each of pork belly and chicken thighs with original, garlic, black pepper and mala marination, and pork meatballs, cheese tofu, crab stick, luncheon meat and chicken hotdogs.

Vegetable Platter (Chi Cai Bao) - with xiao bai cai, chinese cabbage, sweet corn, enoki mushroom, oyster mushroom, eggs and vermicelli. 

Our meaty add-ons; chicken thigh teriyaki, pork belly teriyaki, mini minced meat patties and and beef shortplate. Among all, the least recommended would be the underwhelming meat patties. 

Time to oil the grill with pork fat and load the food! 

Grilling and boiling in process; to ensure we don't confuse the meat, the decision was made to finish each marinated meat before we start with the next one. I am not particular with the vegetables though; if I were to have my way, it would be 95% meat with the rest allocated to eggs, and maybe noodles. 

Personally, I had the greatest affection for the mala which had its slight numbing spiciness kicking in after a few seconds! One man's meat is another one's poison as Alex absolutely detested the mala marination. Among the four marination, original (with sesame) was the most bland whereas garlic and black pepper were surprisingly delicious! 

In terms of chilli, my favourite had to be the sweet chilli and my love for it was so intense; I think I returned to the stall to top up at least three times! 

Another thing you can top up from the stall was the pork lard. Do you discard the pork lard from the grill once they shriveled to become a crispy bit? Not for me; my mouth would be their resting place. 

For the add-ons, teriyaki chicken / pork was expected to be great but they were just okay. Strong recommendation for the beef shortplate; well marinated with a sweet tinge and they were insanely juicy! A bit pricey for three slices. p.s. I have no idea what the acceptable market rate would be.

Ending the meal with noodles! For the perfect conclusion, the mama tom yum noodle is a must! Stupid me forgot to add in the key ingredient though; the tom yum powder! 

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In summary, my friends and I were 101% satisfied with the mookata at Chi Tai Bao; meat was of quality, vegetables were fresh, and pricing was reasonable, thanks to the promotion, at below S$40.00 for three of us! In fact, I had arranged to go again this weekend; hence the need to publish this review so that I can link up on my instagram. =P

Address

1 Woodlands Height, 

Koufu HQ Foodcourt,

Singapore 737859

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

5.00 pm to 11.00 pm

(Last Order - 9.30 pm)

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/ChiTaiBaoMookata/

Pricing

Platter Promo - S$28.80

Pork Belly (Teriyaki) - S$1.90

Chicken Thigh (Teriyaki) - S$1.90

Beef Shortplate - S$3.90

Mini Minced Meat Patties - S$1.90

Mama Tomyum Noodle - S$1.00

(No Service Charge, No GST)

Additional Information

Special promotion on weekdays (Monday to Thursday) for students, nsf, nsmen and front-liners; a 20% discount off total bill.