Thursday, July 20, 2006
7/20/2006 08:36:00 AM

Best “Lui Cha” – Best Kept Secret in Kuching

posted by FH2o

Ivy and Stephanie dropped by my office late yesterday morning to say hello as it had been a while since we all last got together and I suggested that we can catch up over lunch. I’m partial to good food and good company so when Ivy insisted that we must try this place which according to her serves the best Lui Cha in Kuching and which was introduced to her by yoga friends about a month ago and after which she had been back there weekly since; who was I to argue.

So with me behind the wheels, Ivy directed us to this double storey corner terrace house in an old housing estate in the Green Road area. We were there early and managed to find a parking space right in front of the house and a table right next to where they were preparing the food. Perfect.

Lui Cha is basically a vegetarian dish that is mainly eaten by the hakkas but is now popular with all the other dialects as well. It consists of chopped/shredded vegetables in a bowl of rice and eaten with a thick herbal/vegetable broth/soup that is green in colour looking and smelling almost like a thick green tea! The name Lui Cha translated in hakka literally means ‘grinded tea’. The old fashion and time honoured way is to grind the herbs in a ceramic bowl with a wooden pastle. As it's tedious work, most people just use the blender these days.

I eagerly waited to taste the Lui Cha prepared by Mr. Lee and her daughter where they had been selling from their house for the past four years. This is truly one of the best kept culinary secret in Kuching as I had not heard about this place until now! I had tasted Lui Cha at various places in Kuching but they paled by comparison with what was served here. You could eat the vegetables (chopped long beans, radish, etc) with bean curds, peanuts and white rice or the green soup on its own alone. It's that delicious and the servings including the all important soup were generous. Most Lui Cha are quite bitter in taste and is an 'acquired' taste to most; but not the Lui Cha here as the soup was actually quite sweet. Mr. Lee explained that the sweetness of the vegetables is attributed to the choice of radish used and the sweetness of the soup is due to the quality of the high-grade 'ikan-bilis' they used. The taste of crunchy vegetables mixed with the earthy musky taste of the broth is simply sublime. Now I know why people get fat but not on Lui Cha as it is so healthy being basically a vegetarian dish. It's so good it could probably wean a carnivore off meat! I'm salivating dreaming of it even as I type!

They are opened daily from 10am onwards till 5.30pm in the afternoon except on Sundays. The normal bowl is RM3.50 and the bigger portion is only one ringgit more. Truly a bargain for such a healthy and delicious home cooked meal. I am definitely coming back to this place for more.

I’m putting the recently updated Kuching aerial photo in Google Earth to good use here on the location of this “must-go-eat” place in Kuching. It’s the first corner terrace house at Jalan Intan when you turn left at Jalan Tengah. You turn right into Jalan Intan driving along Jalan Pisang Barat at the traffic lights from Green Road. And if you still cannot find the place, give me a call and I’ll gladly bring you over - if you’re driving and buying! Do yourself a big favour – go and enjoy the cheap, healthy and delicious Lui Cha from Mr. Lee! I do not normally blog on food; so if I do, you should know that it must be very good as I am a very fussy eater being spoilt at home by a very good chef! I know (and love) my food as well if not better than my paddling! Don't just take my word for it and go check out this best kept secret in Kuching for yourself! Then be thankful! Go eat!

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26 Comments:

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  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Blogger Selba said:

The Lui Cha looks pretty yummy!

Hmmmm... where can I find it in Jakarta?

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Blogger watercolourdude said:

Hi FH2o, great! I'll try it when I'm back home next month... from your direction, I think I know where it is, but you've pointed at the wrong site on google earth. Jalan Pisang and Jalan Pisang Barat should form a X-junction with Green Road, but on the map, it's a T-junction.

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Blogger FH2O said:

selba - its a traditional dish eaten by the chinese hakka. track down where the hakka's community are in Jakarta and you'll find it.

watercolourdude - hmmm. was too 'excited' to share this gem of a find with you all. I'll 'double check' the photo when I have the time later. its the corner of Jalan Tengah and Jalan Intan. Jalan Tengah is off Jalan Pisang Barat.

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Anonymous Laksa said:

aiyer...although i'm hakka, the thought of eating it absolutely petrifies me!

never did like the stuff...i prefer teochew dishes!

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Anonymous QuaVadis said:

For a moment I tot I was in Aunty Lilian's Malaysia Best blog :P

Err..Uncle..follow your google earth map..I sesat lah..hahahaha

Anyway..never touched the dish but my mom loves it..so might bring her there one of this day...Do they allow ta-pau?

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Blogger w.e.n.d.y said:

Hmm...and I thought that Lui Cha was only found at the quaint littleplace opposite my house in KL!

I enjoy eating this WITHOUT the green tea looking herbal broth. That is so yucky. Everything tastes better without it!

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Blogger FH2O said:

laksa / QV - actually the LuiCha there tastes quite different from the normal far you get elsewhere in Kuching. It does not taste 'bitter' or 'raw' like the other places. I find the broth to be actually quite sweet by contrast. Actually I never really fancy LuiCha until I tried it there!

U guys owe it to yourself to try this one out! If not, u really do not know what you're missing! ;)

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Blogger FH2O said:

w.e.d.d.y - I used to avoid the broth like you did until I tasted the one there and I FINISHED the entire bowl! It's that good. No kidding!

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Blogger Robin said:

haha.. u neber bring me there one.. but hmmmm... I am not good with drinks that have a green green taste

hgaha.

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Blogger FH2O said:

robin - how to bring u there before when I only just 'discovered' this place yesterday? But don't worry, I'll bring you for sure to taste it now I know that I can have your portion of the green soup! hehe ;)

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Anonymous QuaVadis said:

Hmmm...will take your word on it..but if I dnt like the green soup taste..can I return it to the owner and ask them to keep it for u for the next time you go over and makan their lui cha? :P

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Blogger The Moody Minstrel said:

I wonder if the green broth tastes anything like the aojiru (lit. "green juice", i.e. kale extract) I've been drinking every day for my health. That tastes kind of like grass smells, only more bitter. I've learned to live with that, so I'm sure I'd probably like this liu-cha.

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Anonymous rachel said:

mmm~ lui cha.. *thinks dreamily*
my grandma makes the best lui cha i know..
but i'll give this one a try when i get the chance.. can't deny it looks yummy..
to those of you guys who have not tasted lui cha, u seriously don't know what you're missing.. till u've tasted GOOD lui cha.. haha:)

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Blogger FH2O said:

QV - ahem! I went there for lunch again 2 days in a row! Tell Mr Lee to give u a tablespoon to try first. If u don't like it then he'll save your portion for me. Why waste good stuff on the uninitiated? ;)

mm - Proponents of the LuiCha (the hakkas) claimed that it is good for your digestion and helps to cleanse your system.

rachel - any chance for me to try your grandmother's Lui Cha? now that I'm hooked on this stuff! ;)

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Anonymous QuaVadis said:

True true..I totally agreee...aiyoo..u went there to makan ah..never tell me..or else i go also and if i dnt like the soup can pass straigt to u hahahaha

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Blogger Robin said:

come to see it up close and personal.. (I click on the pics to enlarge the photo)..

It looks yaky..

Did u have diarrhoea? How many times har?

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Blogger FH2O said:

robin - wah! within the space of 4 to 5 hours u have a sudden change of heart!

good! then I don't need to bring you there next time!

d 'sensitive' one also has a sensitive tummy as well? ;)

a case in point that we chooses to see what we want to see??

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Blogger Chen said:

looks yummy..
I must try this when next week :P

  At Thursday, 20 July, 2006 Blogger Wuching said:

hmm..looks like the water in my fish pond when i forgot to clean it out for a while! hahahaha!

  At Friday, 21 July, 2006 Blogger 13th Panda said:

I'm a hakka but I never tried to have it..:-p WHY? cos ppl said its a bit bitter...:-p

  At Friday, 21 July, 2006 Blogger FH2O said:

chen - if u don't try it, it's your loss! ;)

wuching - I'm surprised u didnt comment that it looks like the drains in Sibu!

13th panda - shame on you! ;)
the LuiCha at this place is NOT bitter; i actually find the broth to be a little 'sweet'!

  At Friday, 21 July, 2006 Anonymous QuaVadis said:

I think u can see the connection...as we all know..the rain in sibu does look that colour and now wuching says it looks like the water in his fish pond...

Connection here is....foochows have a tendency to turn their drain, ponds, rivers and lakes into the awful green colour :P

  At Tuesday, 25 July, 2006 Blogger sLenZieLiECioUs said:

the lui char there is the BESTEST in town!!!

saturday is Lui Char day for me!!

f2ho, i live nearby lah...


love
slenz

  At Wednesday, 26 July, 2006 Blogger FH2O said:

slenz~ - haha! confirmation from a sexy nearby resident! ;)

  At Friday, 20 April, 2007 Anonymous Kuching folk said:

Yes, this is the Best Lui Cha in this part of the world.

  At Tuesday, 28 August, 2007 Anonymous delia said:

tried this lui cha, it's not bitter at all and doesn't really taste like the original lui cha. my hubby still prefer the original taste.


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