Traditional Hakka Lui Cha

I’ll be honest. I am a carnivore and I don’t like to eat vegetables at all.
This however means that I am not left with much choice when I go back to my grandmother’s house to eat. You see, she is Hakka, and she eats lei cha almost every day. Lei cha, for the clueless, is a bowl of white rice, 5 different sorts of chopped up vegetables, some dried radish and roasted peanuts, topped off with a bowl of soup which is apparently some sort of tea — hence, the ‘cha’ in ‘lei cha’.
My grandmother attributes her old age to this diet. At 96, she is a ferocious character. She is able to hold a cane and chase her great grandchildren around the house, nag at her grandchildren for anything and everything.
Her lei cha is the traditional sort, which I have never liked.
I must however say that this lei cha here is pretty good! The vegetables are less sparsely salted, they are more generous with the peanuts, and the dried radish sends a piquant kick to the back of your throat. Best of all, the tea (i.e. the soup) is less overpowering than traditional versions.
In short, this version is more suitable to the tastebuds of the younger generation. For me, it was the stepping stone to accepting my grandmother’s version of lei cha.
If it helps kickstart a habit that could help you live until a ripe old age, why not?

One of the best Hakka Thunder Tea Rice (Lei Cha or Lui Cha) that I have ever eaten in Singapore. Forget about the chains in Food Republic, those are frauds compared to the authenticity of this stall in Boon Lay. They have since started to franchise but this is the original stall. They only open for breakfast and lunch (6am-​2pm), a testament to their popularity. Working folks from around the area will drive here just to eat this. The queue can get pretty long but thunder tea rice. It is also healthy, not too oily and their home made tea is just the right flavour. You can choose white rice or wholemeal rice, to have it as a porridge, or have your tea in a separate bowl. Some like to mix it all in while some like to drink it like a soup. If you want to beat the long queue, call in advance to order and go pick it up at the agreed time.