Teacher’s Dinning Hall

I have two options for dinning, cook my own ( yeah right ) or the school’s Catina. The only real draw back to this second option is the fact that the food is, well, Chinese.  I was never a huge fan back in the States and assured my self the Americanization of most food slaughters the true taste. I am beginning to doubt this assumption. Although the food is very different from Panda Express’s Orange Chicken or Sweet and Sour Egg Fu Yung, I am not finding the food here much more appealing.

This is my first time eating at a Caffeteria at school and having set meal times is going to take some getting use to.

  • Breakfast: 6:30 – 8:00am    
  • Lunch: 11:30 – 1:00pm
  • Dinner: 5:00-7:00pm

For Breakfast and Dinner I must go to the Student’s Dinning Hall.

For Lunch the Teacher’s Dinning Hall is open.

Dinning Card

Dinning Card

Dinning 002

Back - Thats my number, still means nothing to me

 

 

It costs 8¥ but the school pays 5¥ as a teacher perk. So I get a heaping plate of Chinese for 3¥ or 50¢. Talk about a steal.

 

 

Wendy helped me find my way around the Teacher’s Dinning Hall. So here is the breakdown.

  • Main course: one of two selections (today’s: Chicken and Bell Peppers or Fish)
  • Carbs/Sweets: three of nine selections
  • Rice!
  • Sides (no limit, various stir frys and noodle dishes)
  • Soup/Broth/Rice Water/Drink  (I’m still forming an opinion)

 

Look Mom, Chopsticks! Now bets anyone as to if I will make it to my mouth? 

Look Mom, Chopsticks! Now, bets anyone as to if I will make it to my mouth?

What do you have for lunch? Wanna trade?

What do you have for lunch? Wanna trade?

 

Nathan you will be happy to hear my favorites are the veggie sides and the Tofu pancakes! 

Let me just take a second to explain the chicken. Originally I was excited hey chicken how bad can you screw that up? Well lets see, leave the bones in, the skin on, and cartilage attached oh and no silverware to separate this just CHOPSTICKS!! My meat in take is definitely dwindling quickly.

 

 

The three breads you see in the foreground are starting from the bottom up, tofu pancake – pastry filled with tofu and leeks (favorite so far but that is not saying much), corn meal bread stick, and a steamed bun with brown sugar in the middle (not as tasty as it sounds).

The side dishes are great! Longbeans and bacon, cucumbers and tomatoes in a spicy garlic sauce and the ever present rice.

On to the soup/broth/rice water/drink. I really just don’t know what to call it. It is considered the soup/drink for the meal and it is quite literally rice water. They cook the rice in 10x more water than normal and then serve the water, so it is just a starchy warm broth. There is white rice water or brown rice water, which do you think I go for?

Chopsticks, oh I could write a whole post on these two little twigs! I have yet to conquer the chopstick thing. To be honest I do use them at the apartment instead of a fork. I figure I might as well make a fool of myself in the privacy of my own apartment if I’m going to do so in public anyway. Hey and in the Dinning Hall at least my attempts provide the floor show. Again Wendy offers tons of encouragement.

As to the amount of food I have only eaten lunch at the cafateria and usually skip dinner on those days.  I did find out I can take my lunch to go which I might start doing so I can eat half for lunch and half for dinner.

Well everyone pray my taste buds have a drastic change of heart or the weight I intended to lose will start coming off faster.