If you're tired of many restaurants' superfluous service, Ah-Chih Lei Cha offers a unique chance to serve yourself by letting you make your own tea.
Lei cha, or pounded tea, is a traditional Hakka beverage. Legend has it that during China's Three Kingdoms era, when General Chang Fei (張飛) led his troops into the then capital Chengdu and was about to capture it, a plague broke out among his men. An old doctor prescribed a tea brewed from pounded sesame seeds, peanuts, tea leaves and fruit kernels. It cured all the ill soldiers and was handed down from generation to generation.
Lei cha was later used in traditional tea ceremonies to welcome guests. "If you visit a Hakka house and they let you pound your own lei cha, that means they respect you," said Chiu De-chih (邱得治) or Ah-chih (阿治), co-owner of the restaurant.
PHOTO: DAVID VAN DER VEEN, TAIPEI TIMES
At present, Ah-Chih Lei Cha is the only place in Taipei that serves the traditional drink.
A Hakka himself, Chiu tried to combine his long-time dream of running a coffee shop and his ambition to introduce people to Hakka culture. The Hakkas' characteristic perseverance and work ethic are manifested in the making of lei cha, which involves a lot of pounding. The finer the ingredients are pounded, the better the tea tastes. The concoction tastes refreshing and is nutritious and rich in fiber to boot.
Ah-Chih Lei Cha's dishes are mostly defined by their strong flavors.
"The Hakkas endured a lot of hardship in history. Often there wasn't enough [money] for dishes -- only rice to eat. So the dishes were made heartier to go with more rice," said Su Chang-wei (蘇章瑋), who also owns a stake in the restaurant.
Spicy tofu pork chunks (NT$250) may repel some people with its excess of fat. But its preparation -- first frying the meat, then stewing it in spicy tofu for an hour and serving with lemon grass -- rid it of the greasy taste. Also, the process leaves the pork with an intriguing taste of tofu and is not spicy at all.
The relaxing restaurant also offers a variety of Hakka desserts to choose from, including sweet lei cha masu and salty turnip cakes. They go well with the pomelo tea that combines dried pomelo processed with Chinese herbs to create a smooth taste and delightful fragrance.
At present, the restaurant is offering several kinds of set meals with special prices in celebration of its second anniversary.
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