At Mr. Baan's Bar and Mookata in Phoenix, Thai ingredients are shaken and snacks are grilled
Less than two years after Khla cocktail bar opened on Portland Street in downtown Phoenix in tandem with Alex and Sunny Martin's regional Thai restaurant Lom Wong, the James Beard Award semifinalists have taken over the neighboring space to open Mr. Baan's Bar and Mookata.
Mr. Baan's is named after Sunny's uncle, who Alex described as the life of the party and, despite not speaking much English, the family's defacto tour guide in Thailand.
The bar's patio pays homage to her family's lifestyle as farmers who lived within walking distance of each other and shared meals cooked in outdoor kitchens on their farms. The smell of tiny campfires wafts through the outdoor space, where tables are set with charcoal grills called mookata, which roughly translates to pork on a grill.
"Mookata is a unique and delicious dining experience that we do at Sunny's parents' house or out in restaurants," said Alex.
"A lot of people go to Thailand and focus on street food," Sunny said. "But what they should focus on more is mookata."
And the style of dining has a special meaning for the couple — Alex proposed to Sunny at a mookata.
What's on the cocktail menu at Mr. Baan's Bar and Mookata?
The bar menu, described as an ode to Thai drinks, was designed by Dustin Doan, who has worked behind the bar at Khla and Little Rituals.
Guests can expect "lots of highballs and whiskey sodas and cocktails that showcase the flavors of Thailand," said Alex, who added that wine and spirits are also available.
Alyssah Padua, who previously tended bar at Khla, now leads Mr. Baan's mixology program.
On a recent visit, she muddled cherry tomatoes to create a Som Tum Smash. Som translates into sour and tum refers to the pounding of the pestle. The drink is inspired by a salad of the same name for which the cook uses a mortar and pestle to break down the ingredients and release their flavors.
The cocktail is made with Bacardi white rum, tamarind syrup, lime juice, muddled cherry tomatoes, fish sauce and a tincture of Thai chili. It is topped with a cherry tomato and shredded green papaya. It's a refreshing sip that packs some serious umami thanks to the fish sauce and little tingle from the chilis. The tart-savory combinations makes it feel like a distant cousin to a bloody Mary.
But the actual Northern Thai bloody Mary on the menu is called Mon Dham, which translates into black magic. The hickory-colored drink incorporates squid ink and comes in a tall clear glass topped with sour pork sausage, cherry tomato and pork rind.
The Khao Soi Cowboy is a slightly more savory version of a pi?a colada, made with turmeric syrup and salted coconut cream, Thai spices, tequila plus fermented shrimp paste and a tincture of Thai chili.
The idea is to showcase typical Thai ingredients in unexpected ways, and this cocktail delivers. It's sunshine in a green glass, topped with a slice of pineapple and pineapple fronds.
In addition to the inventive bar offerings, you can also order Chon Kaew, which is essentially a choose-your-own-cocktail-adventure. Just tell the mixologist your preferences, and they'll take it from there.
What's on the bar snacks menu at Mr. Baan's Bar and Mookata?
Aside from the namesake mookata, the nightly bar menu offers charcoal grilled skewers or Ping yaang to pair with cocktails.
Some examples include gai grilled chicken skewers with nam jim sweet chili sauce; mu pork skewers with nam jim, seafood skewers and tao-hoo grilled tofu skewers with peanut sauce.
But at Mr. Baan's, experiencing mookata is a must.
What is mookata?
While pieces of black pepper chicken, soy pork and coriander beef sizzled on the dome of the grill, Sunny ladled pork broth into the moat around the dome and added green onions, egg tofu, cabbage and glass noodles.
Alex poked two holes in a raw egg and let the yolk drip around the moat. Once the egg it cooked, your meal is ready to eat, he explained.
I pulled bites of meat from the dome and spooned broth and vegetables in my bowl. As I waited for more meat to cook, I spooned some of the broth over the dome to deglaze it and add more flavor to the soup below. According to Alex, as time passes, the broth becomes more flavorful.
A green dipping sauce, made with Thai chili sauce, sugar and Thai basil along with a suki sauce accompany the mookata.
I dipped my smoky meats in the green sauce and added a bit of it to the broth as well. I took a bite of my bowl and the textures of wilted vegetables, the softness of the eggs and tofu contrasted perfectly with the slightly crispy meat. The dipping sauces adds a punch of spice and bright tang that elevated what could have been a heavy meal.
I'm a big fan of coriander, so of all meats, I found myself going back for the beef over and over.
The mookata includes a set amount of pork, beef and chicken with an option to pay extra for seafood like shrimp and squid, when available. In addition to the pre-sliced meats, the mookata is served with a pitcher of broth to replenish the grills.
"We are trying to let Phoenix see how diverse Thai cuisine can be, while being dedicated to traditional techniques and sincere representation of the food as well as quality of food and service," Alex said
Mr. Baan's serves mookata by reservation on Tok.
How to visit Mr. Baan's Bar and Mookata
The bar soft opens on Friday Nov. 10. Cocktails and a light bar menu are available Wednesday to Sunday. The mookata is available on Friday and Saturday nights.
Prices: Drinks are $16 to $18. Bar snacks $8 to $12. Mookata is $50 to $60 per person with an option to add seafood for an extra fee.
Hours: Wednesday to Thursday 5 p.m.- midnight; Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. - 1 a.m.; Sunday 5 p.m. - midnight. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
Details: 218 E. Portland St., #B, Phoenix. 602-675-0522, mrbaans.com.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mr. Baan's Bar and Mookata in Phoenix gives cocktails a Thai twist
