A less bitter pill to swallow

One day as Cumi & Ciki were out wondering the streets of Bandar Puteri Puchong, on the prowl for some delectable food, they chanced upon, Fu Gua Thong. Fu Gua is the “bitter gourd” and thong is “soup”.This shops is super crowded even on a weekday evening and the food is excellent. The owners hail from Johor and they have been running this restaurant in KL for just over 20 months now. They also have a branch in Kuchai Lama. We highly recommend the Fu Gua Thong of course (boiled with pork meat and liver) and something called the “twice cooked pork” (resembles sliced up crispy pork chops). The bitter gourd here is actually prepared really well with hardly any trace of bitterness in it. However, the Chinese actually crave this bitterness and I remember as a teenager, my mum used to force me to drink up my bitter gourd juice or to finish the horrible green vegetables at the dinner table. I used to hate it with all my heart and soul. So, why on earth do the Chinese like to torment their taste-buds with something so bitter, you wonder.

Well, the bitter gourd looks like a cucumber but with ugly gourd-like bumps all over it. As the name implies, this vegetable is a melon that is bitter.

Health Benefits of Bitter Gourd and the reasons why you should take it:

It is one of the healthiest vegetables known to man. Apart from being eaten mainly as vegetable, it is particularly reputed as a folk medicine due to its therapeutic properties. Although the bitter taste can turn you away, but it can really improve your health. It has numerous vital vitamins and minerals including vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin C, Iron, Calcium, Phosphorous, Copper and Potassium. There are many health reasons why you should take this bitter vegetable seriously. Here are a few:

1. Diabetes

The bitter gourd is particularly used as a remedy for diabetes because of its hypoglycemic action. It contains insulin-like peptides, alkaloids and charantin, all of which act together to lower blood and urine sugar levels without increasing blood insulin levels.

2. Blood Purification

It has blood-purifying properties. As a result, the juice is used in the treatment of blood disorders like blood boils and itching due to blood poisoning.

3. Piles

Fresh juice of bitter gourd is good for patients suffering from piles. Take a mixture of bitter melon juice and buttermilk every morning for about a month and you will see an improvement. You can even apply the pulp straight onto the affected area!

4. Good for stomach

It contains cellulose which is a very good source of fiber thus preventing constipation. It also good digestive agent and helps in stimulating the secretion of gastric juices.

5. Aids weight loss

Girls and boys take note! It stimulates liver for secretion of bile juices that are very essential for metabolism of fats. Thus, if you want to have a perfect, slim figure, then bitter gourd can help you;)

6. Eye care

It has high amount of beta-carotene that helps alleviate eye problems and improving eyesight.

7. Alcoholism

It is an antidote for alcohol intoxication, and helps purify, restore and nourish liver. Its juice is also beneficial in the treatment of a bad hangover.

8. Cholera

Fresh juice of leaves of bitter gourd is also a useful medication in early stages of cholera.

9. Immune booster

A glass of bitter gourd juice in the morning can help to strengthen your immune system and increase your body’s fighting power against infection. Researchers hypothesize that bitter melon is as an immunomodulator. One clinical trial found limited evidence that bitter melon might improve immune cell function in people with cancer.

10. Skin care

Bitter gourd is also effective in treating skin diseases or skin infections, eczema and psoriasis. It also helps in keeping the skin free from blemishes and keeps the skin glowing. The blood purifying properties make sure that you don’t get acne.

11. HIV

Laboratory tests suggest that compounds in bitter melon might be effective for treating HIV infection. In one preliminary clinical trial, an enema form of a bitter melon extract showed some benefits in people infected with HIV. However, more research is necessary before this could be recommended.

All right guys. That’s it. But the next time you want to turn up your nose at the bitter pill or the bitter vegetable, remember what holistic, therapeutic effects the bitter gourd can have on the body!

More photos from Fu Gua Thong in Bandar Puteri Puchong:

the pulsating Fu Gua Thong, packed to the rafters

Liver in the “thong” imparts that murky texture to the broth. The super sweetness comes from the pork meat.

Deep fried pork chops. sinfully yummie

belacan fried vegetables (fan shee yip – sweet potato leaves)