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Motormouth From Ipoh

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

R U Lohas - Ipoh's First Organic Cafe?

Let's take a hiatus from all the Hong Kong posts. In case someone's lamenting about the lack of real LOCAL food reviews. Here we go ....


Let's go ORGANIC today !!! R U Lohas? =P

The constant travelling-and-indulging cycle took its toll on me. Finally felt the wrath of one too many Nasi Briyani (Benaz Briyani Cafe), Thai Spicy Fried Noodles (Noodle Station) and Kam Heong Mantis Prawns (Hai Nan Village), rendering me incapitated the whole day, & a short anorexic spell ensued.

Operating since not too long ago, R U Lohas has been attracting a steady stream of patrons with its brand of healthy food

Been tempted to give this restaurant/cafe a try ever since reading Dine & Health's take on the place. In fact, I noticed this place during my visits to Onix Jun Korean Restaurant, which is located next door. But somehow the word "ORGANIC" brought to mind an image of chomping on bland & tasteless greens and grains, while STILL paying an arm and a leg for them. No?

But since Motormouth's suffered the impending doom of eating haphazardly, it struck my mind to dine healthily for once, as dining out with family normally translates to Mega-Feast for Carnivores. Yup, we LOVE our meats.

Clockwise from top left : (a) Healthy Blooming Tea (for 2 pax) & Red Dates+Pear Tea (for 2 pax), (b) The funky looking flower/plant in the Healthy Blooming Tea, (c) Strawberry Vinegar Tea, and (d) Hawthorn Rose Juice

The cafe's (let's call this a cafe for the remainder of the post, to ease things a little) alien-sounding name is derived from their motto, aRe yoU Lifestyle Of Healths And Sustainability? Yeah I know, broken English in some parts, but at least the name'll stuck in your head for aeons to come.

The menu's quite impressive, offering items from rice to noodles, and Korean style Bibimbap to healthy snacks, desserts and beverages. As if you're not confused enough with the "healthy-sounding names", you can pick from their set menu as well. Needless to say, by the time we started to decide on our orders, our eyes were crossed (*o*) ... the yellow and dim lighting did not help much either. But no qualms.

The organic teas came in a jar, that serves two. At only RM5.80 per jar, the Pear with Red Dates tea is sweeter yet soothing, while the strange-sounding Healthy Blooming Tea contained a funky looking plant/flower, but tasted smooth and fragrant, without sugar. Quite tasteless in fact, resembling Chinese tea. My Strawberry Vinegar Tea (RM4.80) was served chilled, and gladly not too sour nor sweet. Refreshing. Bro was having second thoughts with his Hawthorn Rose Tea though, claiming the taste to be slightly overpowering (whatever that means).

Drunken Chicken Noodle (RM10.80)

They use their self-made organic noodles in their noodle dishes. Stole spoonfuls of mum's noodles' soup. A strong hint of ginger, and subtle tone of Chinese wine, this serving reminded us of that famous dish concocted specially for women in confinement.

Set of Minced Organic Pork Dry Noodle + Soup + Gui Ling Gao (Tortoise Jelly) + Shot of Kombucha/ Enzyme Drink @ RM9.80

Grandma A had the Set above, and gave her thumbs up. But of course, she has a strong aversion to noodles, in whatever forms. But from the looks of it, the noodles served with braised peanuts, halved egg, and strips of carrots, yambean (Sengkuang) and cucumber, appeared to be healthy, yet savoury.

Japanese Udon Set + Green Tea/Red Bean/Glutinous Rice Ball + Shot of Kombucha/ Enzyme @ RM10.80

BBQ Sakura Pork Rice Set + Soup + Gui Ling Gao + Shot of Kombucha/ Enzyme Drink @ RM9.80

Their BBQ Sakura Pork Rice sounded marvelous, thus Grandma B ordered the set. Sakura pork is a rather revolutionary method of raising premium pigs, feeding them with Lactobacillus (yup, THAT famous strain of beneficial bacteria) thus avoiding the use of antibiotics and chemicals in the animals' feeding grains. The meat is red-der, not so tender but instead leaner and less fat. Somehow they tasted rather artificial, but it could be because the meat was marinated in a sauce that was a tad too sweet.

Nasi Kerabu + DQ Curry Chicken @ RM7.80

The DQ Curry Chicken

No wonder the waiter who took my order warned me beforehand of my Nasi Kerabu's abundance of raw vegetables as garnishing. But stubborn me stick to my choice, and was overwhelmed by the amount of raw vegetables served with the blue rice.

Finely-chopped long beans, four-angled beans, parsley, LEMONGRASS (!!!), various leaves and bean sprouts were all sitting atop the serving of rice shaded with blue dye from bunga telang/clitoria flower. Yup, such healthy choice huh? I love my Lui Cha Rice, but the Nasi Kerabu was simply too dry to be eaten on its own. And the overwhelming scent and taste of freshly chopped, raw lemongrass was indeed, intimidating. Fortunately, the rice is served with curry chicken. NOT your average curry chicken, but DQ Chicken. Fed with unpolluted grasses, and raised in an environment with clean air and pristine mountain water, the chickens are classified as "CLEAN" ones, without any growth hormones, chemicals and the like. (www.dqcleanchicken.com)

Korean Bibimbap + DQ Curry Chicken @ RM7.80

Bro's a fan of Korean food, (so am I) and picked the Bibimbap with the curry chicken. But this one was Bibimbap with a twist. No Korean chilli sauce (gochujang) was served together. But instead the moisture came from the curry chicken. The rice used in all their rice dishes is of organic nature, and definitely healthier choice compared to processed white rice. But the coarse texture may not be everyone's cup of tea.

DESSERTS - Green tea Ice Cream+Red Bean+Glutinous Rice Ball, Red Bean Rice Ball in Ginger Soup, Gui Ling Gao aka Tortoise Jelly, and a shot of Kombucha to aid digestion

The Gui Ling Gao deserves a mention, as the slightly bitter jelly was tampered with some sweet and sour syrup, not overly/sickeningly sweet unlike most dessert outlets. The "tang yuen" like rice balls with red bean fillings, served in ginger soup got the thumbs up from bro and Grandma A. The rich and creamy green tea ice cream with red beans and rice balls was served a tad too early, thus was fully melted by the time we finished our mains. Yet, that plate of sweet temptations was too much to resist, and I finished off a lion's share when everyone was still digging into their mains. Muahaha .... =P

Those who ordered set meals got a shot of Kombucha, either lemon or pineapple flavoured. A tangy drink with ice to end the meal.

Total for 6 = RM79.80, including 5% service charge. Being possibly the first organic cafe in Ipoh, they sell organic produce as well. Deserving of subsequent visits? A definite yes. Especially when I'm feeling under the weather from all the binging. LOL.

Location : R U Lohas @ 33, Jln Medan Ipoh 4, Bandar Baru Medan Ipoh. Tel : 05-5453454. Website : www.rulohas.com

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Whoa... organic shop in Ipoh!

Anonymous said...

I try to eat organic food on a daily basis (I am paranoid about all these medications, hormones etc. they put into our food these days and plus I tend to eat my meat quite rare) so its nice to see a shop in Ipoh selling organic food. Trust me it is a big difference eating organic meat as your meat actually tastes so much better. After all when you think about it back in the early 1900s, there was no such thing as hormones, medication krap. Animals and crops were properly bred as is. Ok so most ppl will say that organic = expensive. which is why, by choice i try to eat less meat as they tend to be the priciest item.

That said, I do wonder to what extent the food here is organic. Is every ingredient organic or bits and pieces. A good example would be the green tea ice cream - is the milk/cream used to make it organic dairy? regular milk? powdered milk?

Another interesting word on their company line is SUSTAINABILITY. This seems to be the hot topic at the moment with food supplies running low and food costs going up. In addition, with fishery, for example, cod is on the endangered list of fish because of overfishing. Hence why I try to avoid eating Cod where possible and seek alternatives (e.g. Pollock)

backStreetGluttons said...

the spread looks fresh and cheerful , and if its good enough for Grandma shud be great for BSG !

One of our friends has a 3-4 acre farm near the healthy foothills in Cenderiang where he grows everything naturally, with beautiful jungles n waterfalls nearby.

Time to organise a healthful reorganic-detox stayover for the overworked overloaded Food Bloggers !

HairyBerry said...

i've tried sakura chicken but not pork...hehehe...
and got DQ chicken somemore!
woah! organic galore or what, eh? haha.....

Anonymous said...

wa... all food look nice, especially those desserts... yeah.. we should practise more on 'LOHAS' in order to stay healthy... will definitely go for a try here... ;)

cariso said...

Kinda surprised to see the "nasi kerabu" in their menu oh. It's a normal dish at malay stall but cafe?!

Christina Kim said...

Hey organic food is great...cool stuffs and healthy for your body (or at least that's what they made us think anyway:p)

Hehehe....so who's been hinting that you talk too much about HK and not blogging about LOCAL food?
awwww...so mean....I still enjoy your HK trip posts too!~:D

Ciki said...

i thought you meant a SHOT of SAMBUCA.. muahahaha! thx for educating me on what Kombucha is...

Anonymous said...

the food looks delicious and the price seems to be reasonable too. just wondering, what will be the taste for Green tea Ice Cream+Red Bean+Glutinous Rice Ball?

mycroft said...

ya, pass tru tis shop, looks posh, n expensiv so didnt try....prob with the choices in ipoh garden n medan baru... tis doesnt come up in the list?

Anonymous said...

I always had an impression that Organic food is pretty expensive and emm tasteless :P But I guess I am wrong lol

J2Kfm said...

jason : yeah, and it's fine time we eat something healthy for once?

genuiness : rest assured no near-extinct species are being served. hence the sustainability part. anyway, I'm not really sure about the whole organic concept, but I doubt everything's organic.

nic : me no idea on what DQ was, thought short for disqualified or something.

kca : we go there on Fridays lah ... instead of MP most days.

cariso : nowadays nasi kerabu is listed in most menus, even in normal cafe, just like nasi lemak.

christy : haha, none yet, but I felt as though I was concentrating way too much on HK stuff, thats all.

cumi & ciki : hahaha, healthy food lah, what sambuca. =P

allenooi : its rich, creamy green tea ice cream mixed with puddle of sweet red beans. satiate your sweet tooth, definitely.

mycroft : the setting's intimidating, but in fact most stuff in the menu is less than RM10

vkeong : agreed bout the pricey part, though the food by no means, is very tasty/delicious. a bit bland, but calms the mind knowing you're eating something good for the body.

choi yen said...

I just saw the blooming tea in Taiwan TV program, what flavor u had?

J2Kfm said...

mimid3vils : it was simply named Healthy Blooming Tea. nothing more nothing less.
taste wise, like flower tea, a slight hint of bitterness I rmbr.
but i had a few sips only, cant judge. :)

Anonymous said...

thanks for posting this up..hehe another place to bring my parents

J2Kfm said...

you're most welcomed. at least something healthier for a change?

Anonymous said...

I didn't see Denis Jazz Bistro in your Ipoh Food Guide. It is in Ipoh Garden, Pesara Ipoh Satu, just behind Anika Selera. Closed on Monday. Worth trying, good food, friendly atmosphere, nice jazz music, etc. etc.

J2Kfm said...

thanks kristine. I've been there few times, before they moved to the new location in Ipoh Garden even. the shepherd pie and lamb chops are rather good.
but I hasn't started blogging back then. =)
will do so in near future.

Anonymous said...

wei.. we went yday.. not bad the food there.. PK ordered drunken chicken noodles too.. but, she couldnt finish it, leaving half bowl of the noodles 'unattended', claiming too strong of the chinese wine...

we ordered their choc + banana pancake or crepe?? (forgot wat they named it).. tasted good.. can have a try nxt time.. :)

Denis Jazz Bistro?? :) heard tat it's a bit pricey compared last time.. dunno.. long time din go there liao..

frm REAL KCA

J2Kfm said...

the REAL KCA : tot you all went Olivenz? :) strong wine taste? so-so only the time we went. like normal dish for women in refinement after birth.
the crepe we tried order, but the waiter said have to wait an hour! so ended up we didn't. hmmm ..
maybe he was lying?

Anonymous said...

yeah.. raining tat time.. so changed venue to tis cafe, but, after tat we went Olivenz too coz we got a super VIP to meet up ma.. hehe..

@Liya said...

huh~ i don't know that ipoh already have LOHAS cafe. Thx for introducing!

J2Kfm said...

@liya : it's rather new itself. and you're most welcomed!

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Hope you don't mind I linked to your post on R U Lohas in my blog, http://dqfarm.blogspirit.com on my post, Restaurants Using DQ Chicken.

Thanks

HS Wong

J2Kfm said...

HS Wong : sure, no problem! :)

Rina~ blooming tea said...

Wow, This cafe is awesome, not only the food looks delicious but the interior design and ambiance is so cool. I also love the variety of tea drinks they serve. Fantastic cafe. :)