When I just want a simple meal or ran out of ideas on where to eat, I often settle for lei cha fun 擂茶饭 (thunder tea rice). Lei cha fun is a healthy choice that doesn't compromise on taste at all.
Lei cha fun stalls are everywhere in Johor Bahru and I can say that I haven't come across a bad one before in JB. In Johor, lei cha stalls are able to get the full complement of rather complex requisite fresh ingredients. So, there's only good, better and best stalls.
To me, the best lei cha fun stalls are the little mom and pop types as it is basically a Hakka home style dish that requires a lot of hand work - chopping, dicing, mincing, frying, boiling etc.
Johor Kaki list of Best Lei Cha in Johor 👈 click
This humble little, no name stall has been here at Restoran HNY Happiness in Desa Cemerlang for nearly 10 years. It's no mean feat as lei cha fun stalls are everywhere in JB and Johoreans are picky eaters. If you are not at least good, you will not survive long (much less for 10 years).
When I asked the lady boss how I may address her, she said everyone just calls her "lei cha auntie".
Lei cha auntie makes and cooks everything at the tiny stall, so everything is fresh (which is why I like small stalls).
I had a lei cha fun which come as a mound of boiled brown rice topped with a colourful blanket of diced and stir fried vegetables, ground nuts and a bowl of hot green tea. I also had two fried bitter gourd stuffed with fresh minced pork. All these for RM9.
Oh.. you know right... lei cha fun has nothing to do with the drama of lightning and thunder, even though it is often called "thunder tea rice'. Lei cha fun means "ground tea rice" in Hakka language. Translated into Mandarin, it sounds like "thunder tea rice", hence the fanciful but misleading moniker.
Besides all the usual long beans, fried tofu, spinach, toasted ground nuts etc, lei cha auntie's version has leeks and more than the usual topping of fried preserved turnip (chai poh).
Johor Kaki list of Best Lei Cha in Johor 👈 click
I am not sure of all the ingredients lei cha auntie puts into her hot green tea soup but as long as there is zesty refreshing elements like mint, I am happy already.
The hot green tea had a subtle green taste which was well balanced and complemented by a savoury flavour (so it didn't taste like vegetable soup). It was very delicious and drinkable on its own. (Hakkas more often refer to this dish as hum cha 咸茶 which means savoury tea rather lei cha.)
Most people politely scoop their green tea into the rice. I like to tip everything in, in one go 😜
Aftermath of the green deluge.
This lei cha was so delicious. There were soft, spongy, nutty and crunchy (from chai poh) textures. There were many complementary layers of green, savoury, sweet, and minty flavours. The fried vegetables were not greasy and were clean tasting.
Remember I said that there're only good, better or best lei char in JB? This stall would be among the best that I have tasted so far.
Lei cha auntie makes various yong tau foo as sides for the lei cha fun. I had these fried bitter gourd stuffed with minced pork. They were delicious - the bitter gourd was just mostly savoury sweet with hardly any bitterness. I liked the meaty gourd's squashy tender juicy texture which had a subtle spring.
Recommended for you 👍 If you need a simple no frills meal but is unwilling to sacrifice flavour, then check out lei cha fun in JB. If eating great food in unlikely places gives you more kick, then go to lei cha auntie's stall at Desa Cemerlang in Ulu Tiram. (The name already said it is ulu. Don't worry lah. It's just 10 minutes drive north of JUSCO Tebrau City mall or IKEA. WAZE or Grab will take you to the doorstep.)
Restaurant name: No name lei cha stall inside Restoran HNY Happiness coffee shop 興運美食坊
Address: 28, Jalan Johar 4, Taman Desa Cemerlang, Ulu Tiram, Johor Bahru
GPS: 1°33'54.8"N 103°48'54.4"E 🌐 1.565231, 103.815097
Waze: 興運美食坊 HNY Happiness Restaurant
Hours: 9:00am to 1:00pm (closed on Thurs & Sun)
Non Halal
Date: 10 Apr 2019
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