Hakka specialties by Volcano Thunder Tea

Ever since my Kulai makan-kakis introduced me to the Lei Cha or Thunder Tea rice meal at Volcano Coffee House in Kelapa Sawit Village, I developed a taste for this Hakka specialty.

Facade of Volcano Thunder Tea at Indahpura, Kulai

For a long time, I refrained from eating this specialty simply because I was turned off by the colour of that green soup served with the bowl of rice.

But at Volcano in Kelapa Sawit, I became a fan of the green soup.

I learned that its rich flavour is made with ingredients like toasted peanuts and sesame seeds, mint leaves, basil leaves, sweet potato leaves and tea leaves, all traditionally ground together in an earthen bowl, using the trunk of a guava tree.

Now only the green soup by Volcano will do for me!

Having acquired a taste for Hakka Thunder Tea rice, I also got better acquainted with Lew Lee Lee and her sister, Lee Lin, who were taking the lead in running the business at Volcano in Kelapa Sawit, with the help of their mother and family members.

Lew Lee Lee preparing the soup base
for their signature green soup

I had the privilege to share the story about the Lew family business in Kelapa Sawit village and their popular Hakka rice meal – also known as Ham Cha – published in Johor Streets, the Southern section of the New Straits Times, way back in 2011.

Over the years, as Volcano garnered more fans for their food, their elder brother and his son opened an outlet in Taman Bukit Indah in Johor Baru.

Then I began to see the next generation working alongside older family members in this business.

In fact, on subsequent visits to Volcano in Kelapa Sawit village, I discovered that Lee Lee’s son was often busy at the counter serving customers.

When I considering the contents for my book sequel, My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People, I decided to include the Lew family and their Volcano Thunder Tea business under the section for Heritage Trades.

To flesh out this story, Lee Lee and her sister were delighted to share more details about their family business with me and they even contributed Food Vouchers for Lucky Draw (held at my book launch event) winners to dine at Volcano Thunder Tea.

The counter within resembles that in their parent shop
in Kelapa Sawit village

After my Book 2 was launched on 1 December 2018, winners of their Vouchers had the opportunity to experience the exciting flavours of Volcano Thunder Tea rice.

They found their way to Kelapa Sawit village to meet with the Lew family members, enjoyed their Thunder Tea rice meals and even took photographs of themselves and their food to show me…

Then in April 2019, I received a call from Lee Lee who was happy to tell me that Volcano has opened a new outlet, located at Bandar Indahpura, near Kulai.

This location is much closer and more convenient to reach, if diners were driving from Johor Baru or Kulai.

Lee Lee said that if I was in the neighbourhood, I should drop by at their new outlet.

Months have passed since April, but I did not forget Lee Lee’s invitation to visit their restaurant at Indahpura.

In fact, I tried to go there one Wednesday and discovered it was their weekly day off, so I headed directly to Volcano Kelapa Sawit for my Thunder Tea rice meal.

Add-on items include [Clockwise] Stuffed Tau Foo Pok,,
the new addition to the menu, stuffed vegetables and
tofu, Cha Yok and stuffe bitter-gourd and brinjal

Recently my family and I finally found our way to the Volcano restaurant at Indahpura.

The signboard on the shop’s façade had the same brand identity as Volcano in Kelapa Sawit village and even the large counter within, looked virtually the same.

Lee Lee was overjoyed to see me again and proudly announced that theirs was strictly a family business, manned by herself, her husband, their son and two daughters!

She invited us to sit down and place our order as the restaurant offers table service.

Besides the must-have meal of Thunder Tea rice with a side of healthy green soup, we also wanted Hakka specialties like deep-fried yong tau foo, bitter-gourd slices, ladies fingers and whole chilles, all stuffed with minced meat, and cha yok, deep-fried, chewy slices of pork belly marinated in nam yee, fermented red beancurd.

A Lei Cha or Thunder Tea rice set with a side of soup

A new addition to their menu is tau foo pok or deep-fried tofu stuffed with minced meat, where each serving comes with three pieces.

We politely requested for smaller portions of steamed rice because we preferred a low-carb meal and save space to savour the seven types of chopped vegetable toppings!

A great deal of work went into the preparation of these vegetables as each type was cooked separately and then added as toppings on the rice.

These vegetables are sayur manis (sauropus androgynus or star gooseberry), long beans, cabbage, dried beancurd, pickled radish, red beans and toasted groundnuts.

Lee Lee and Yours Truly at their new outlet in Indahpura

I noticed that the groundnuts are served separately so that diners may add as much or as little as they wished.

I’m pleased that the meal tasted exactly like that which was served at the parent outlet in Kelapa Sawit village.

This was probably because the Lew family strictly adheres to the family recipe so there was hardly any difference in its taste wherever the Thunder Tea rice was served.

The main difference here – we all agreed – was that we dined in air-conditioned comfort.

This Volcano Thunder Tea outlet is located at No. 279, Jalan Kenanga 29/9, Bandar Indahpura, 81000 Kulai, Johor. [Non-Halal]

Open daily from 7am to 3pm. Closed on Wednesday.

For enquiries, Tel: +6018 968 1831.

Important Update:

Volcano Thunder Tea is one of the featured stories under Heritage Trades in My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People, which has expanded its business to a new outlet since my book was launched.

I’m pleased to learn that more Heritage Traders have also developed their businesses after I shared their stories in my book.

The next generation of the family that serves popular Haji Wahid Mee Rebus has opened in food courts within the Aeon Malls in Johor and beyond to serve their family recipe of noodles.

Mee Ho Seng Kee located on Level Six of Johor Baru City Square is currently renovating the adjoining premises to expand their business with a wider menu. They plan to launch the new menu by end November 2019.

JB’s famous place for traditional banana leaf rice, Kerala Restaurant, will be moving to new premises, due to open for business in January 2020.

Read their heritage stories and more in My Johor Stories 2: Interesting Places and Inspirational People, available from MPH bookstores nationwide and online at mphonline.