Chinese Heritage Dish 'Hakka Lei Cha' Gaining In Popularity In Malaysia

Living in a multicultural nation, Malaysians are fortunate to enjoy the cuisines of various ethnic groups throughout the year without having to travel far.

However, some traditional dishes are less commonly found as they are popular only within certain ethnic communities or prepared exclusively during specific celebrations or festivals. One such dish is ‘Hakka Lei Cha’, or ‘Thunder Tea Rice’ or ‘Pounded Tea’ in English.

Made from a blend of tea leaves and herbs ground together with various nuts, grains, vegetables and rice, this dish is popular among the Hakka Chinese community. It is traditionally served on the seventh day of the Chinese New Year or ‘Ren Ri’, which symbolises the birthday of mankind.

This traditional dish is believed to be over 2,000 years old and was said to have originated during the Three Kingdoms period (220–290 AD) in ancient China.

The Chinese Hakka clan's tradition dish - Lei Cha

According to legend, ‘Hakka Lei Cha’ was created by a healer to boost the strength and immunity of soldiers from one of the kingdoms who had fallen ill due to a mysterious epidemic.

Over time, due to its complex preparation process, this dish become increasingly rare. Today, it is usually found only in Hakka restaurants or prepared as a “home-cooked” dish by the older generation.

Moreover, knowledge of how to prepare the dish is mostly limited to the older generation as younger people often show little interest in learning the recipe.

So, when James Wong Ing Chieng, 29, and his friend Jenny Yeo Sze Ying, 28, decided to start Jamboo Story, an online home-cooked food delivery business, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, they added ‘Hakka Lei Cha’ to their menu.

Interestingly, both of them are not of Hakka descent. Wong is from the Foochow clan while Yeo is a Teochew.

Yeo said the idea of serving ‘Hakka Lei Cha’ was inspired by her mother who “often prepared the dish for us since our childhood”, adding that learning to make the dish taught her to appreciate the culture and artistry of traditional heritage cuisine.

“It’s not easy to preserve the traditional recipes of the Hakka community,” said Yeo.

Jamboo Concept Store co-founders James Wong (left) and Jenny Yeo (right)

GUAVA TREE BRANCH

According to Wong, in the past, most traditional ‘Hakka Lei Cha’ was sold by the older generation at food stalls or hawker centres but it was only available seasonally because of the complexity of preparing the ingredients which need to be finely chopped – a laborious task.

“We decided to preserve this heritage dish by introducing it to the younger generation and making it accessible to people of all races,” Wong told Bernama recently.

The overwhelming response from customers inspired the two young entrepreneurs to open a physical restaurant in November 2021 called Jamboo Concept Store, specialising in ‘Hakka Lei Cha’. Today, the eatery has two branches, located at Jalan Tun HS Lee in Kuala Lumpur and Ara Damansara, Selangor. They have since discontinued their home-delivery business.

This cafe had a cool concept of having their drinks served through a literal hole in the wall

Explaining why the word ‘Jamboo’ was incorporated into the name of their restaurant, Wong said it was inspired by the guava tree as its branches were traditionally used to grind tea leaves into the broth base for ‘Hakka Lei Cha’.

“This is why traditionally made ‘Hakka Lei Cha’ has a hint of guava flavour in its tea broth, enhancing its aroma and making it more flavourful,” he said.

MAKING ‘LEI CHA’ AN ART

Recalling how they started their food delivery business in 2021, Wong said they did so just “to pass the time” during the pandemic. At that time, Wong had just returned from the United States following his work stint there, while Yeo was in “standby mode” as a flight attendant for Malaysia Airlines (she has since resigned from the airline to fully focus on their restaurants).

Wong and Yeo, however, never thought their ‘Hakka Lei Cha’ dish would become so popular.

“(For our delivery service) we also offered other dishes like chicken rice, but the demand for our ‘Lei Cha’ was so high that we struggled to fulfill the many orders at once.

“I still remember having to rush down the stairs of our 19th-floor condominium to hand over orders to delivery riders and even having to buy rice from ‘mamak’ shops after running out of rice to prepare ‘Hakka Lei Cha’,” said Wong, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Hotel Management.

He added that preparing ‘Hakka Lei Cha’ is an art that requires patience and takes a considerable amount of time to complete.

“Many customers have commented that our ‘Hakka Lei Cha’ is quite pricey but there’s a reason for that. The preparation is complex and labour-intensive, and more than five types of vegetables are needed to make the dish.

“Usually when we eat lunch or dinner, the vegetables, meat and soup are served in separate bowls. However, ‘Hakka Lei Cha’ combines everything into one dish, making it a healthy ‘poke bowl’.

“We also use organic ingredients and avoid adding any artificial flavouring or preservative to ensure the authentic taste of the ‘Hakka Lei Cha’ soup,” he said, adding they also sell ‘Hakka Lei Cha’ paste.

Customers can customise their own 'Lei Cha' ingredients through play cards

This dish is also growing in popularity among non-Chinese, particularly younger generations, likely due to its reputation as a healthy vegan-friendly meal.

“We also offer customers the option of having it served as a soup or as a paste because preferences vary when it comes to ‘Hakka Lei Cha’.

“We’ve noticed that older customers prefer the tea soup to be more bitter, while some enjoy the aroma of blended mint leaves in the soup paste. There are also those who avoid peanuts due to allergies, so we adjust the recipe accordingly,” said Wong.

He added that they are currently working on setting up a central kitchen and are in the process of obtaining halal certification.

UNIQUENESS OF ‘HAKKA LEI CHA’

Meanwhile, Nur Fatnin Md Ghaus, 25, a waitress, said she did not know about the existence of ‘Hakka Lei Cha’ until her Chinese friends introduced it to her a few months ago.

“I found it very unique. The rice dish is beautifully topped with a mix of vegetables, peanuts and dried fish, and served with a thick green-coloured herbal tea soup.

 “When I tried it for the first time, it was incredibly refreshing because all the ingredients in one bowl are mixed with mint-flavoured tea soup. It’s perfect for anyone who enjoys healthy food.

“These days, it is my go-to comfort food when I’m unwell because it feels like eating porridge,” she told Bernama.

The 'Jamboo Concept Store' co-founders James Wong (two from right) and Jenny Yeo (right) with their staffs from different races and ethnicity

For Jahanzaib Rehmat, 20, a chef from Pakistan, his first experience with ‘Lei Cha’ was about a year ago when he began working at a Chinese restaurant.

“‘Lei Cha’ is one of the signature dishes at that restaurant, and I was taught how to prepare the ingredients first since it involves over six types of vegetables that need to be finely and carefully chopped.

“While the preparation of the ingredients seems intricate, the cooking process is relatively simple, and it’s a very healthy dish,” he said.