Sesame Gets The Save

Today's lunch was pretty average.

A lot of students were still absent, but today there was apparently plenty of food to go around.

The pumpkin soup was rather disappointing, because it was so thin.


The salad was okay and I ate it all.

The fish was good but not very healthy, since it was deep-fried.

I actually saved the rice for last, because it was the best-tasting part of the meal, since I put that delicious sesame dressing on it.

When you save the rice for last, though, you know you're not having a good meal.

Total points: 5

Plan B For "Blah"

Today's meal was a near disaster.

Many of the high-school students were absent today, because they were participating in various sports competitions throughout the prefecture, and quite a few of the junior-high-school students were also absent, for various reasons, so the amount of food that was prepared was far less than normal.

I went to the cafeteria at my usual time, around 12:35, but as soon as I got there, I realized something was wrong, because very few students were waiting for food and the line wasn't going anywhere.

It turns out that the servers ran out of the main dish and were quickly trying to come up with a Plan B. Unfortunately for me, that main dish happened to be something I actually like called "nikujaga," which is basically meat and potatoes, and Plan B was something I don't particularly like, boiled beef.

The breakdown:

There's rice on my tray because the servers gave it to me. I think they even ran out of the kind of rice they were serving and tried to make up for it by covering my rice with a bunch of "sprinkles," but I'm not sure.

I ate the salad, but it had a slightly strange taste.

I didn't even try to see what was lurking in my soup and ended up chucking it.

I gave away the boiled beef. Just look at it. It looks dead. Why would I want to ingest that?

Luckily, the watermelon saved the day. I even had seconds of that. It's hard to ruin watermelon.

Another thing: Look closely and you'll see that I have a spoon on my tray but no chopsticks. Whenever I see that we are supposed to take both, I skip the chopsticks. I kind of got thrown a curveball this time, though, since I had no idea what the spoon was for. I later realized that the spoon was for eating the watermelon! Give me a break! What a waste! Since when does anyone need a utensil to eat watermelon? Ugh!

Total points: 3

Can We Please Stick To The Menu!?

What a disappointment.

The menu for today, as far as I could tell, called for some sort of (not deep-)fried chicken, which I imagine I would have been quite happy with. When I walked into the cafeteria and saw what everyone was eating, however, I knew I wasn't going to enjoy my lunch.

No, sir, there was no way this was going to be a good one.

I should have just turned straight around and walked right back out.

This meal was so bad that I was already trying to come up with a title for today's entry as soon as I was picking up my salad.

Here's the breakdown:

The rice was plain and white, but I ate it, because I purposely took it for the extra calories. (Ha, ha, ha!)

The soup was scary, so I didn't touch it. It went right down the drain.

The main dish was terrible, except for the precious few chunks of potato and teeny-weeny pieces of chicken that I scored. I gave away as much of the rest that as I could and chucked everything else.

If for some reason you need confirmation that I wasn't happy with this meal, check out the entry for May 18, which was just over a week ago. Same lousy meal, same lousy review.

Total points: 2

Pork Luck

I wonder if the "lunch lady" is reading my blog, because, for whatever reason, the food seems to be slowly improving.

Truth be told, I know that these better-than-normal meals are just a temporary aberration.

In any case, today's salad was pretty good and, once I got rid of the omnipresent ham, the soup wasn't all that bad, even though it was pretty much a boring repeat.

As for the pork, well, it was much better than normal, for two reasons. First of all, the pork was covered in a (barbecue) sauce, rather than being served plain, as usual. Second of all, the pork wasn't served cold, as usual.

Like I said, I wonder if the "lunch lady" is reading my blog. (Fat chance!)

I'm not sure why we were given so little cabbage and why there was no dressing for it, but, primarily because the meat tasted pretty good, I didn't let that bother me.

Total points: 6

Currying Favor By Favoring Curry

I should probably celebrate today, because lunch was pretty good for a change.

The two sides, the soup and the salad, were only satisfactory, but the main dish, the curry, was a winner.

They didn't even run out of rice by the time it was my turn to take some, which was a plus.

Unlike many students, I took a fairly restrained amount of rice and was basically full after finishing my plate. Nevertheless, because I knew I probably wouldn't be having another good lunch for a long time, I went for seconds. That's always a good sign.

Strangely enough, before getting my second helping, I actually hesitated, because I didn't want to overeat, but I just couldn't resist.

I would take this curry just about any day.

Total points: 7

When Simple Equals Good

Check out this meal. Compared to what we are usually served, there's really not much food there. I don't understand why the amount of food varies so greatly from day to day. I guess today's meal must be packed with calories, because it's certainly not going to win many points on the quantity scale.

Anyway, amazingly, it was all edible!

The salad was probably the worst part of the three-course meal, but it really wasn't that bad, since it was basically just some tuna fish tossed in with some greens.

The soup was actually pretty good, although I'm not sure if it was healthy. I think those are some sort of processed fish balls, despite the fact that today's menu said they were made of chicken and pork. In any case, the soup tasted good enough for me to get a second helping. Pretty amazing, huh?

As for the main course, those chunks of fish, well, they were a mixture of bad and good. On the one hand, they were deep-fried, which was a big letdown. On the other hand, they were actually full of flavor, especially some sort of lemony something, which is a rarity with regard to the food that is served in the chow hall here. Let's just put it this way: Had they not been deep-fried, I would have gotten seconds.

Overall, I was rather happy with this meal. I didn't have to give anything away, which is really unusual, and there was nothing that really grossed me out, which is also pretty rare.

Unfortunately, I can only expect worse tomorrow.

Total points: 6

Another Hungry Meal

Today we had another "Hungry Meal." (April 22 was the last time we had one.) Unlike the McDonald's "Happy Meal," this one doesn't come with any toys.

The first thing I did with this meal was give away that  tiny plate with the umeboshi and the green "pickles," better known as tsukemono.

Next, I actually ate that stuff that, from afar, looks like worms. I'm not sure exactly what was on that plate, besides some gobo (burdock?) and some meat (I think). I think I ate it without thinking about it, so I managed to finish my plate. It wasn't very good, but it was obviously edible.

(I'm actually wondering why we even had that plate of food, rather than the standard of three dried fish. Were the fish unavailable for some reason? Do the fish cost too much? I have no idea.)

As for the "cat food" that was left, well, that really wasn't all that bad, actually, but how could it be? After all, it was just a bowl of "wet" rice and a few bits of meat and veggies(?) thrown in. I'd even say it tasted good. Nevertheless, I wouldn't go so far as to say I was satisfied with it or that it qualifies as a meal.

I guess that's the point of the "Hungry Meal," though, right?

Total points: 4

A Hamburger Is A Hamburger Is A Hamburger

Luckily, hamburger is a pretty safe bet. Of course, the quality of the hamburger they serve here is probably along the lines of a fast-food hamburger, but still, it's a hamburger.

I don't understand why anyone would want to cover a hamburger with mushroom sauce, though, unless they were trying to hide something... Ahhh, that must be the reason it's there, because the hamburger without the mushroom sauce looks even worse than it does with the sauce.

Next, check out the puny amount of sesame dressing on my cabbage. Once again, the bottle was 99.9% empty by the time I got to it. The kitchen staff is obviously still oblivious to the fact that they need to put out more dressing!

As for the salad, well, I didn't even attempt to taste that and simply gave it to the first taker, which happened to be one of the girls I was sitting with. I think you're crazy, but thank you very much, Natsuko! I mean... Just look at that thing. Baby (canned!) corn? Ham? Some green stuff? Forget that!

Oh, and check out the soup. See those short, pinkish/brownish things floating in it? In case you can't tell, those are baby wieners, which, unfortunately, show up in these meals about as often as ham does (except that wieners are way, way worse!). Not surprisingly, however, I also found a taker for the wieners right away, but that left me with only several chunks of potato. At least those were good!

What really sucks about today's meal (Ha, ha, ha!) is that, according to this month's menu, today's two side dishes were supposed to be asparagus sautéed in butter and corn chowder. Had they really served those, however, that probably would have been too good to be true!

After all, why should they serve good food?

Total points: 5

The Many Uses Of Rice

Today's meal was pretty much back to normal. In other words, we didn't have a ridiculous amount of food, we didn't get dessert, and we didn't have a terribly awful meal, either.

Today's meal was simply average.

The salad was good, except for the ham (like I said before, "What's with the ham?") and except for the fact that my salad bowl was starving for more food! (Can we perhaps get a bit more consistent with the portions, folks?)

The soup was, well, watery. Just look at it. Soup should not be 75% water, it should be 75% food, for crying out loud...

The main dish was basically really spicy tofu. Spicy is good, but really spicy is bad. Tofu is just OK. Bad + OK = Not very much.

But wait... There's a bowl of rice on my tray. Why? Well, I dumped the rice in the bowl of spicy tofu to take it down a notch and make it more palatable. That's an old trick of mine.

See! There are so many things you can do with rice.

Just don't eat it plain!

Total points: 5

筑前煮 -- Not For Me!

Whenever I look at the monthly lunch menu and see the words "筑前煮" (chiku zen ni), I know I'm in for a bad lunch.

My only saving grace today was that the lady serving up the food into the bowls somehow managed to scoop up a fairly good number of potatoes for me, which made the dish at least partially edible. Luckily, I was able to give the rest away to a hungry student (a junior).

The salad was edible (and back to normal, size-wise!).

The soup was not edible, so I gave it to my usual vacuum cleaner. I actually offered him my main dish, too, but he turned that down!

Total points: 3

A Day Of Gluttony

Check out this meal. Now check it out again. Do you see all of that food? That's a lot.

We almost always have a main dish, a salad, a soup, and rice, but we usually don't have all that plus a dessert.

You also know by now that I rarely take the rice, so I usually only have three "plates" of food on my tray. Today, however, since we had a special kind of rice, I took some. That's why there's so much food in the picture.

Unfortunately, the "baby"bamboo salad was not very good, for two reasons.

For one, there was simply way, way, way too much of it in that bowl. (Remember that one meal with the "lonely" salad? Well, this salad was the exact opposite. There was enough bamboo in that bowl to feed an army.)

For two, the bamboo was mixed with katsuobushi, which I just don't like. The result: After a couple bites, the salad became and instant giveaway to a vacuum cleaner! Thank you, Mr. Honda (the student, not the teacher)!

The soup wasn't very good either. I don't think I need to do much explaining. Just look at the picture and you can see for yourself. Does that soup look appetizing? I think not!

As for the rice, well, it was certainly better than plain, white rice, but not by much. I did eat it up, however, especially since I went out of my way to take it!

As for the main dish, well, I was able to add some sesame dressing to the cabbage, so that was a plus, but the chicken was a bit disappointing. Why? Because it was mostly flavorless and chewy.

If you take a close look at it, you'll see that quite a bit of fat was left on the meat, as usual for my not-so-favorite kitchen. That fat simply has no business being there. Cut it off, folks!

The dessert was OK, but, as is typical for Japanese desserts, not very sweet. I'm almost always happy when we get dessert, but, still, I prefer sweet desserts.

I'm also not really sure why they served ohagi today, since it's usually served only twice a year, in March and September, around the time of the spring and fall equinoxes.

Also, notice how the ohagi rests on that aluminum foil "tray," yet is served on a plate. Why is it served on a plate? Ugh!

For whatever reason, today was a day of gluttony. Lunch ends at 1:00, and by then there are usually very few students left in the cafeteria. Today, however, at 1:00 there were still about 30 students eating. Why? Well, just check out some of the portions in the other pictures.

The giant bowl of rice is actually not all that unusual, but the amount of seconds that were dished out were simply ridiculous!

See that plate of chicken? That was served to a kid as second. I kid you not! Isn't that ridiculous? Sometimes, they don't even let you have seconds, but today you could have a portion that could feed five!

Another student sitting at my table was given just about as much chicken when he went for seconds, and he's the one who had the two extra desserts!

Some people tell me I eat a lot, but I cannot compete with these youngsters! The good thing is, they're Japanese. In other words, they won't get fat!

Total points: 6

p.s. Bonus points to all of you out there who can name the student in the rice picture! Who is it?

Lesson of the Day: Eliminating Waste

Can you tell by looking at the picture of today's meal what "day" it was today?

Consider yourself a Gokase School Lunch expert, pat yourself on the back, and award yourself one giant, red and white star if you answered: "Yes, of course! It's family-meal day!"


For those of you who are still rookies, here are the hints, once again:

Bread, not rice; a spoon as well as chopsticks; dessert.

Today's salad was not very good, because of all the beans and the ham, but I found a willing "customer," so it didn't go to waste.

You can't really go wrong with bread, so that roll alone is worth a couple of points.

As for the main dish, well, it included potatoes (the right kind, not the "alien" kind!), broccoli (always a good choice), carrots (also a good choice), and good-size chunks of my favorite fish, salmon! Can you guess what that means? Yes, indeed, I got seconds! I'm not saying the food was fantastic, but heck, if I get seconds, you know it was good.

The dessert was not one of my favorites, since it wasn't cake or yogurt, but rather what is called "zeri" (rhymes with "Jerry"), so I gave that away. (That's going to cost a point or two...)

As with all family meals, the main problem I have is all the waste involved. Why do we need both a spoon and chopsticks? And why do we need that plate for the bread? (How about using the zeri as a plate, instead?) And what's with the extra paper spoon just for the dessert (see the second picture)?

Our school prides itself on what is called "Forestopia," which basically is a program that is supposed to teach the kids (and teachers!) to have an appreciation for nature. Why, then, all the waste, folks?

When the new "lunch lady" arrived here last year, one of the first things I discussed with her was all this waste and how to easily eliminate it. Unfortunately, my speech fell on deaf ears.

Anyway, for all of you who are reading this, be sure to do your part to eliminate waste. OK? Thanks!

Total points: 6

Word Of The Day: Edible!

This meal wasn't really all that great, but... (drum roll, please...) I ate everything! Wow, it's been a while since that happened.

The soup wasn't that great, but it was edible.

The salad had a slightly strange taste, but it was edible.

The pork was nothing special, either, but it, too, was edible.

Oh, and do you see the (roasted) sesame dressing on my cabbage? Yeah, well, by the time I got my food, I don't think there was any(!) dressing left, so I had to ask for a new bottle. Once I put the dressing on the cabbage, that, too, was edible.

(There were about 4 or 5 bottles of various kinds of dressing on the counter, but they were all empty, or close to it. I don't mean to criticize, but the dressing is almost always all gone by the time I get to it, and there's simply no excuse for that. Either put more out or keep a better eye on the supply, folks!)


Oh, check out the "after" picture, "proof" that I ate everything...

Notice that I even grabbed a bowl of rice and put some of the sesame dressing on the rice, too. Why? To make the rice edible, of course!

Total points: 6 (I know, I know, that's kind of harsh, but trust me, edible doesn't necessarily equate to delicious...)

It's Hard to Screw Up Fish

I didn't eat very much of that salad. There was just something not very appetizing about it. I was able to avoid wasting it, however, by intercepting a vacuum cleaner (the one pictured yesterday) on his way to get seconds!

The soup wasn't very good, either, but I was able to eat just about the whole portion.

As for the fish, well, it was pretty good. It was actually broiled, rather than deep-fried, which was nice (it originally came wrapped in aluminum foil), and it was served with onions, which added to the flavor. That yellow stuff is mayonnaise, however, which is a big negative.

Total points: 5

Good Thing Somebody Likes The Food

I was so happy when I succeeded in giving away that pile of spinach. Normally, I don't dislike spinach all that much, but this spinach came with katsuobushi, which are fish flakes that I find rather unappetizing.


The soup wasn't much to write home about, either. I picked out most of the tofu, seaweed, and bits of bamboo, but did not eat/drink the miso.

As for the main dish, well, it's a good thing I like potatoes, because there were plenty of them. The rest of that dish wasn't so great, but for some reason (could it be I was hungry?) I had seconds!

There was a time last year when I couldn't remember the last time I had seconds. I might have actually gone the entire school year without having seconds, but I ended that streak on the last day that they served meals last school year. Since then, I've had seconds only about two or three times.

Total points: 5

p.s. As you can see, some people, unlike me, absolutely love the food that is served in the dorm. This isn't the guy I gave my spinach to, but he, too, is definitely a "vacuum cleaner," par excellence!

Another Yucky Meal

I can't say very much that's good about this meal.

I nibbled at the main dish (a repeat of April 19), picking out bits and pieces of whatever looked edible, before giving the rest away to a student who eats just about everything and who I therefore have nicknamed "Vacuum Cleaner."

I ate the salad, but didn't necessarily enjoy it.

I picked out a few semi-edible things that were in that soup but gave the mochi away.

I even took some rice, which clearly means that I wasn't happy with the meal.

Total points: 3

Back to School, So Back to NG

The main dish today was some strange egg and whatever deal. Many of the students sitting near me were not happy with it and I wasn't either. I give it a big NG (no good).

The soup was edible, but almost completely flavorless. NG.

Those odd dumplings seemed a bit undercooked and the main filling was corn. NG.

Total points: 4