I had to drop by Sri Petaling recently for a get-together. After 3 hours of non stop yakking and several cups of flavored tea … we parted ways. It was no surprise that the drinks kept me full only for so long and in no time, I was hungry yet again.

I did what I always do whenever I was clueless as to where to head to. I got online and browsed the net for options and eventually came upon a new eatery named T42, located less than 10 minutes away from where I was. That sealed the deal, this was where I was going to head to.

The location and parking was not an issue. You can easily look it up on Waze. It is located within a relatively newer row of shops? That was the feel I got of the surrounding here . As I was driving around the block, I noticed that there were still plenty of shop lots for rent/sale. It is a recent, up and coming business park of some sort, I suppose. Parking was pretty easy too. There were plenty available all around T42.

T42 was bright, cozy and welcoming. As soon as you step in, you’d be greeted and seated. They also took the time to point out rather quickly which ones were their popular dishes before they left me to make my decision on what to order. I was pretty impressed. Usually, I’d have to ask them for recommendations but here, they put it all out there before I make a choice.

Lei Cha with add ons, 19 ringgit + Love in Provence, 13 ringgit

Lei Cha or “tea rice” is a traditional Hakka dish, if I am not mistaken. It basically consist of rice and several vegetables, usually served in a bowl, with a side of soup. Prior to eating, one will pour the soup over the items in the bowl and drench it.

It has been a while since I’ve indulge in this particular dish. It certainly isn’t one that is common and readily available everywhere. The one served here includes a serving of rice, 4 variety of vegetables – (long beans, black eye peas, leek, sweet leaf) + peanuts, with a side of Mint Basil soup.

I opted to add on the fried anchovies and dried shrimps simply because I enjoy the added flavor. Loved it!!

Once you pour the soup over the other items in the bowl, this is basically what you’d get and see. It was a refreshing change, definitely. I think I’ve eaten so much processed food of late, oily and greasy meat, food that are loaded with artificial flavorings and preservatives that I’ve forgotten what healthy taste like. I also usually overlook soups but with this particular dish, the soup is the star, the item that holds the other ingredients together. The basil soup was very pleasant, I slurped and slurped to my hearts content. Overall , I truly enjoyed this dish. It was surprisingly wholesome and filling.

Before I left, I thought why not conclude my visit here with a refreshing drink. I opted for Love in Provence. When it arrived at the table, it looked beautiful… a nice blend of purple and yellow. The drink comes with a nice chunk of passion fruit, with lavender jelly at the bottom and blue pea extract.

The drink by itself is made up of sparkling water, which provides the frazzles and frizziness. As a whole, the drink wasn’t sweet but I had no issues with that. In fact, I liked the lack of sweetness. It allowed the other flavors to pop, the ones usually overlooked when the drink is laden with sugar. The passionfruit offered a rather peculiar, unique taste and when you start stirring it, the fruit starts breaking away from its chunk resulting in you eating it individually. That was fun – biting into the seeds, it was similar to watermelon seeds except bigger. Every time you bite one, there would be a short burst of saltiness from the fruit bits surrounding the seeds. Nice. The lavender jelly did not add anything in terms of taste but texture wise, yes it did. A lil chewiness. I enjoyed sipping on this drink, especially given the blazing hot weather. It was refreshing.