The Addiction Bistro's Sembawang branch — known locally as Charcoal Mookata 1018 Sembawang — sits at 1018 Sembawang Road, Singapore 758495, and does exactly what its name promises: Thai-style mookata, the grill-and-hotpot combination cooked over charcoal. It's a heartland spot in Singapore's north, serving the surrounding neighbourhood rather than chasing the city crowd.
Mookata is built for sharing. A dome-shaped pan sits over the coals at your table, food sizzles on top of the dome, and the moat around the rim bubbles with broth for vegetables and noodles. The charcoal in the branch's name points to the traditional heat source, which lends everything a gentle smokiness — the quality mookata regulars tend to come back for.
Tables can be reserved in advance through the booking option on this page, and the restaurant posts updates on Facebook and Instagram (@addictionbistrosg). Opening hours aren't listed here, so check the socials or the booking calendar before you visit.
In Singapore's north, along Sembawang Road, The Addiction Bistro runs a branch dedicated to one of Thailand's most sociable eating traditions: mookata. Locally it goes by the name Charcoal Mookata 1018 Sembawang, and that name is the pitch in miniature — Thai barbecue, done over charcoal, on the doorstep of the Sembawang estate.
The brand name sets a certain expectation, and it's a fitting one. Mookata is the kind of meal that produces regulars: unhurried, hands-on and shared, the sort of dinner people plan their week around and return to again and again. An addiction, in other words — in the best possible sense.
Mookata is built around a shallow dome that sits over the heat source at your table. Food cooks on the dome while the surrounding moat holds simmering broth for vegetables, noodles and other soup-friendly additions. The result is a hybrid of barbecue and hotpot: smoky pieces straight off the dome, one after another, alongside whatever has been bubbling away in the broth. Everything cooks as you eat, so the meal unfolds at its own pace — usually a long one, in good company.
The style has roots in the Chinese hotpot and griddle traditions carried into Thailand, and it has since become a street-food staple there and a firm favourite on Thai restaurant menus across Singapore. That journey from Bangkok street corners to Singapore heartlands is exactly what this Sembawang branch channels.
A lot of modern Thai barbecue setups run on electricity or gas, for the sake of convenience and cleaner air. This branch puts charcoal in its name, and that choice matters to people who know the style. Charcoal gives a dry, steady heat and a faint smokiness that seeps into whatever is on the dome — the quality longtime mookata fans consider the whole point of the exercise. Charcoal is how the dish grew up in Thailand, so the name reads as a statement of intent: mookata the classic way.
The address — 1018 Sembawang Road, Singapore 758495 — puts it among the residential streets of northern Singapore, which shapes the character of the visit. This is a heartland mookata stop rather than a city-centre destination: easy to reach if you live or work nearby, and reason enough for anyone else to point their GPS north.
For Sembawang residents the appeal is straightforward — proper Thai charcoal barbecue without the trip into town, close enough to become a standing weekend ritual.
The listing runs through the Quandoo booking platform, and the Book now button means a table can be reserved online in advance — worth doing if you're planning a group dinner, since mookata is at its best with a full table.
The restaurant also keeps a social presence on Facebook and Instagram under @addictionbistrosg. Because this listing page doesn't publish opening hours, menu details or prices, those channels — together with the booking widget's availability calendar — are the most reliable ways to confirm times and the latest offerings before heading over.
A few practical notes for first-timers. Mookata is cooked at the table, so plan for an unhurried meal rather than a quick bite; the format rewards pacing yourself, alternating items off the dome with spoonfuls from the broth. Book ahead through the online reservation link if you're visiting in prime dinner hours, and check the socials for current hours and updates. The listing itself keeps things light on detail and lets the charcoal do the talking.