From Green Road, turn into Jalan Pisang Barat. Go straight till you reach a cross road. Here, turn right into Jalan Tengah. Immediately after that, there is a road on the left and that is Jalan Intan. The Lui Cha house is the first house on your left.
Business starts from 10.00 a.m. onwards. I was there bright and early at 10.30 a.m. First, state whether you wanted a large or a small bowl of rice. Small was RM5.00 and large was RM6.00.
RM5.00 bowl of vegetable goodness & soup
In my rice bowl was brown rice - soft but not mushy, And topping the rice were diced french beans, chopped cangkuk manis, finely shredded leek, minced tofu, and chopped preserved radish. All the vegetables were separately and lightly stir-fried in garlic and very mild seasoning, hence, retaining their original taste and flavour. In a small saucer was the mandatory roasted peanuts. Mix everything up before you tuck in. Very textural and delicious.
Next, specify whether you wanted the green herbal broth (looking so much like matcha, huh?) to be bitter or sweet. I've always preferred the bitter version for a more full-bodied flavour. So I would recommend that. The broth is quite thick in consistency, but it's not really that bitter .... but a bit minty and pleasantly astringent, what the Chinese would call as "gan". What I like about the soup is that it's served boiling hot .... so it soothed my stomach right away as I sipped it from my spoon.
This very enjoyable Lui Cha was what kept me awake last night. In fact, it's the only Lui Cha that I had eaten in Kuching ... many stalls at many coffee shops sell it, and different people have their own favourites. D's friend DS had once recommended me a stall at Jalan Ang Cheng Ho. I've yet to try it. Maybe soon. :))
Very graphic descriptions, stimulating my appetite.
ReplyDeletethis bowl of lui cha has lotsa ingredients....looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteHi. I wanted to try, but I'm scare if I can't finish the whole bowl. I never try before. Is the taste bitter? Hmmmmm. .....erkk...
ReplyDeleteInteresting to see how a house transform into a niche food stall. I think people regard them highly for the extra fresh looking very green soup that they can produce where most lui cha operators can only come out with a dark green or brown soup. As for Yatty, there are some lui cha operators who can control the bitterness by separately applying the bitter ingredients based on your preference, but I'm not sure about this operator though.
ReplyDeleteOh, and do you know that in some places in Chinese world, there are other types of Lui Chai? One is only a sweet beverage made of probably the ingredients used to make this soup too, but minus the salt and is sweetened. There is no vegetables or rice or anything like that. Basically can imagine it as the lui cha soup only but is sweet. Then it is drank as like a herbal tea of sorts.
Yatty, this particular stall's Lui Cha is very much palatable! The soup and the rice are served separately, and there was nothing bitter about the rice. Only that the soup may be an acquired taste. I've only started eating this a couple of years back and like I said, I have only ever tried the one sold at this particular stall. Not sure whether I'd find the ones sold at other places just as enjoyable, though ....
ReplyDeleteHans, yes I might have heard of the Lui Cha tea served as a beverage ... but have never had the opportunity to try it. Years ago, I would have probably turned down any offer of this tea, as the mind associates Lui Cha with bitterness.