Moo ka ta is very popular among Thai people, but many people who travel in Thailand never discover it because the signs are usually only in Thai and not in English. In Thai, “Moo Ka Ta”
On the bottom is a bowl of burning charcoals or gas and on top of that is a sombrero looking barbeque plate, with a dome and a moat around it. A soup is placed into the moat and you get a kettle with more soup so you can keep adding more.
A piece of pork lard is placed at the center of the dome, which works as cooking oil. As the lard melts its oil drips from the top of the dome down to the soup area. This oils the dome to so that meat will not stick to the dome and burn and it also drips into the soup making it even tastier.
There is a large buffet area of meats, salads, vegetables, and deserts and you can eat as much as you want. There are choices of chicken, pork (there are also Halal restaurants that don't do pork but have beef instead), seafood including squid, fish, mussels, prawns, sausages, fish balls, tofu, cabbage, morning glory, mushrooms, some other leafy vegetables, and seaweed. You fill up your plate and return to your table where you can fry your food on the top of the dome, or cook it in the soup, sukiyaki style.
Moo kata is very sociable, big groups of relatives or friends, sit for hours talking and laughing and slow cooking and eating. It really is a great time. If you’re visiting Thailand, definitely try Moo ka ta, it’s cheap and delicious!
