Healthy thunder tea rice at Jurong West makes the journey time price it Traditional Hakka Lui Cha

Born and raised as a Hakka, I’m ashamed to say that I’ve by no means eaten thunder tea rice, a quintessential Hakka dish that’s well-loved by the Hakka individuals and a dish that’s distinctive in its style. Hidden within the far nook of Singapore at Jurong West 505 Market and Food Centre is Traditional Hakka Lui Cha, a retailer promoting wholesome thunder tea rice bowls that intrigued the curiosity in me.

Breaking down the phrases, the Hakka phrase Lei, ‘擂’ refers to grit in Chinese, paying homage to the standard grinding of greens and herbs in a round movement. The iconic dish consists of boiled rice that’s blanketed over many alternative greens, tofu, preserved radish, and peanuts. Some shops even embody minced meat of their bowls however with this retailer, it’s vegetarian. From that, you recognize that this dish is completely customisable to no matter elements obtainable.

Amidst the group on the hawker lies the standard retailer that patiently served every buyer regardless of the frenzy hour. Notably, Traditional Hakka Lui Cha was one of many extra well-liked stalls, entertaining the incoming inflow of consumers with each look.

Their signage is unassuming, and it blended in with the remainder of the shops. But after I took discover, I figured why not give it a go?

The retailer prides themselves for prioritising well being with out compromising on flavour with out using MSG. They additionally reduce the portion of oil and salt of their dishes, so that you’re assured that you simply’re consuming actual well being bowls.

What I attempted at Traditional Hakka Lui Cha

I ordered their Hakka Thunder Tea Rice, and opted for brown rice as an alternative of white as a result of I wished the complete wholesome expertise. Their regular bowls are normally priced at S$4, however this went for S$4.50, fifty cents extra due to the alternate change in carbohydrate. Your meal is accompanied a myriad of greens over your rice and a bowl of thunder tea.

While most would possibly hesitate away from having brown rice, I selected that as an alternative as a result of it has been ingrained in my weight-reduction plan since younger. I just like the grainy texture that brown rice offers!

To zoom in on the primary dish, I used to be introduced with chye sim, Chinese cabbage, inexperienced beans, tau kee and peanuts, and it additionally had preserved radish within the center. All meticulously chopped up.

First look and I do know that it’s price my cash— the portion of every part is sort of massive. I attempted to gauge how a lot elements they gave, and every part was multiple huge spoonful.

Time to combine it up! Now for the style check— one mouth in and I used to be hit with an abundance of earthiness. This is really one thing I’ve by no means tasted earlier than. Interesting!

Generally very herbaceous in nature, the radishes have a tinge of sweetness that elevates the entire earthy palate of the thunder tea rice bowl. Some of those even had a slight char, which tasted a bit like caramelised onions for my part.

With most elements being greens, the opposite parts like turnips, tofu and peanuts introduced it up a notch. If I needed to determine a star ingredient out of the bunch, I’d say the roasted peanuts made a superb key ingredient. Its salty flavour brings out bursts of saltiness alongside the crunchy layer of all the opposite parts, transcending the dish to a different stage.

The greens added layers of crunch to every chew. The chopped up lengthy beans particularly made the crunch texture tenfold. The chye sim alternatively was tender and gentle, working effectively with the remainder of the greens because it complemented one another. The combine of soppy, crunchy, and tender textures resulted in a stunning harmonious mix. 

Shortly after I devoured about half my meal, I began including spoonfuls of the thunder tea in my bowl. It was superior! The tea broth added a lot extra flavour than earlier than, simply due to the hints of mint and basil leaves blended into the soup. Furthermore, the moisture from the tea made the method of consuming a lot smoother. Little did I do know that that is truly the standard Hakka method of consuming thunder tea rice, by pouring your complete bowl of tea into the rice bowl!

The tea is made predominantly by inexperienced tea leaves, basil leaves and a load of coriander. If you look at, you’ll be able to even determine some sesame seeds contained in the tea bowl. As such, there are two dominant layers to this: at first, you’re first launched to the nuttiness of the grounded herbs and nuts from the tea-soup. But it fades out into this tangy, minty flavour that may be a actual acquired style!

Please keep in mind to offer it a stir earlier than consuming although, as Traditional Hakka Lui Cha makes their tea-soup from a concentrated paste that’s later added with scorching water to dissolve it right into a broth-like consistency.

Final ideas

A look up and one other queue was shaped. It’s actually insane witnessing the fixed circulation of consumers coming in at Traditional Hakka Lui Cha. On second thought, truly, I’m not stunned in any respect. The herbaceous meal is a dish that’s incomparable to different another Singaporean dishes on the market and the shop offers a scrumptious vegetarian rendition of their very own.

Who stated hawker meals can’t be wholesome?

Expected injury: S$4 – S$ 4.50

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