A Shallow Halloween Meal

Let's start with the bad.

Since the salad contained both spinach (not exactly one of my favorites) and katsuobushi (definitely not one of my favorites!), what do you think I did with it?

If you guessed that I gave it away, give yourself a big pat on the back!

The soup wasn't much better. It was of the thick, starchy variety that I don't especially enjoy, and it had mochi in it, which is a big no-no.

Needless to say, I gave that away, too.

Now on to the good.

As you can see, my cabbage was topped with sesame dressing, which is always a big plus. As a matter of fact, there was so much dressing, I grabbed some rice and topped that off with the stuff, too.

Bonus points there, for sure.

Finally, we have the fish, which was neither bad nor good. I mean, I normally really like fish, but look at that piece that they served me. It looks rather over-fried, wouldn't you say? I'll say!

Yeah, so add it all up and you still come out with only a half-decent meal.

The main problem I had with this one, however, is that it had absolutely nothing to do with Halloween, which is definitely good for minus 1!

Wouldn't it have been awesome had the Lunch Lady gone out of her way just a bit and busted out the pumpkin pie? Or how about a pumpkin cookie? Or how about pumpkin soup? Pumpkin salad? Pumpkin decorations?

Sheesh!

I would have been happy with pumpkin anything...

C'mon Lunch Lady!

Total points: 4

(Note: I will be on vacation for the next week, so please be patient until the next time I post, which will be on November 9. Thanks!)

An "X" Factor Meal

Those of you who actually read my blog regularly can probably guess how many (or should I say "few"!) points this meal is going to get.

The main dish had to go and indeed it did.

The soup had to go, too, and indeed it did.


Hmmm...

In other words, this was one of those meals that consisted entirely of rice and salad.

I've heard of soup and salad, but rice and salad?

Not a good combination.

Picture me making a big, fat "X" with my arms.

Total points: 2

When Thursday = Friday

Today is Thursday, but we are going hiking tomorrow (rain or shine?), so this was basically this week's Friday meal.

Not only that, this was "Lucky Friday," the one Friday of the month that we get curry, which is by far one of the better meals that is served in the dorm.

Today we got what is called "dry curry," whatever that means, but I don't really care what it's called, because curry is curry and I like curry.

Except for the ham, the salad was even of the better variety, because it had almond slivers, which I really like and which we rarely get. Kudos for that!

Finally, we even got dessert, which you can't always count on, and this dessert, though rather plain, was still much better than some of the desserts we are served, so I was quite happy with it.

Yeah, so this meal was especially good, which is especially rare!

Hooray for the Lunch Lady!

Total points: 8

(Note: Although we don't have school tomorrow, we actually do have school on Sunday, so that's when you'll see my next post.)

Hungry Meal 2

Today's meal should have been called "Hungry Meal 2."

That's because when I left the cafeteria I was, you guessed it, hungry.

Actually, I can call plenty of our meals Hungry Meals, but because this one followed a "real" Hungry Meal, the name fits.

After giving away the main dish, which primarily consisted of tofu and "alien" potatoes, all that I was left with was a tiny, tasteless salad to go along with four, forgettable drinks (soup, water, tea, and juice).

Nuff said.

Total points: 2

Hungry Meal Strikes Again

This is a repeat meal, which we last had on June 17.

The big difference is, this time I remembered to ask for a spoon, which made eating the "rice soup" that much easier.

There's really not much left for me to say about this one.


As I've said before, it's actually not all that bad compared to some of the other meals we are served.

I mean, at least this one is safe to eat and I'm not afraid to get seconds.

Total points: 4

The Not-So-Magnificent Seven

This meal was one of the more pathetic ones, on several levels.

For one, this was a "Family Meal," which explains why I have both chopsticks and a spoon, as well as why my bread is on a plate.

For two, unlike many Family Meals, this one didn't come with dessert.

For three, the bread was boring ol' white bread and it didn't come with a spread, such as honey or chocolate, as it usually does.

For four, the soup was about as close to hot water as you can get while still calling it soup.

For five, the soup contained a random piece of ham. (What up with that?)

For six, the salad was a disgusting mix of cucumber (what else?), ham (what else?), and other unappetizing foods. Believe it or not, I gave my salad away.

For seven, the chicken was deep-fried, so I gave that away, too.

In other words, my lunch consisted of a big piece of white bread (or should I say, a giant hamburger bun?), watery soup, and a small pile of cabbage.

Joy joy.

Total points: 2

To Give Is Better Than To Receive

Right after I took this picture, I looked for someone to give my main dish to. Well, right after I took this picture and right after I picked out the few pieces of mystery meat that were buried in there, that is.

I also gave away my soup, but I gave that away without tasting it, since that wouldn't have served any purpose.

All that was left to eat was that salad, which wasn't very good, either. At least it had tuna, though, a fact that saved this meal from being a zero. I even got seconds, because I had to eat something.

Total points: 2

(Note: I'll be on a business trip tomorrow, so the next post will be on Monday.)

At Least It Wasn't Deep-Fried

Unlike yesterday's meal, rice really wouldn't have helped much.

The salad was the usually big question mark. This time, my question was: What do apples, cucumber, and ham have in common? Answer: They don't belong in a salad together.


The soup was also more or less a big question mark. Someone even decided to toss a piece of ham in there, probably just to annoy me.

The main dish, chicken was covered with mushrooms, which I'm not really of fan of, so that took away from it. Nevertheless, I can't ignore the fact that the chicken wasn't deep-fried, which is a huge bonus.

Why can't the chicken be broiled every time?

Total points: 4

Stomach-Not-So-Happy Food

(Apologies for the long layoff. I'll be adding pictures in reverse order...)

Today's lunch looked pretty normal and harmless upon first sight.

As soon as I took a bite of the salad, however, I was quickly reminded that this was dorm food, not restaurant food.

Let me put it like this: "Have some salad with your salt."

I looked at some of the students who were sitting near me and gave them this look like: "Are you kidding me? That salad is salty!" Most of them seemed to agree, with one even giving me the two thumbs down in the form of the ol' hand wave in front of the face.

The soup was just OK, but I do have to admit that I did enjoy the two fish balls that it included. I can eat those things all day, even though I have no clue what they really are. Perhaps they are the Japanese version of Spam?

The main dish was some sort of Chinese concoction that included chunks of fish. I figured it would probably taste OK, but as you can see I topped it with some rice in an attempt to keep it "safe." You know, the rice was supposed to soften the flavor, if you will. I can't really say I liked it, but I didn't dislike it, and, since I was hungry, I even got seconds of it.

That probably wasn't such a great idea, however, because my stomach doesn't seem to be very happy at the moment.

What else is new?

Total points: 5

You Say You Want A Revolution...

What a great way to start off the week in style. Not.

Just look at this food. What's with the fascination with white? Can a brother get some yellows and reds for a change?

The salad was OK, and, since it included tuna rather than ham, I actually had seconds.

The soup was just OK, too, although I have to say I did like the chunks of potato.

The main dish was pathetically bad, and I didn't even have to taste it to know that. No, sirree. I gave that food away in a big hurry.

The funny thing is, the kid I gave it to often gives me lip when I give away my food ("You should eat your food, not give it away!"), so I was actually shocked that he took it off of my hands. It took him about ten seconds to think about it, too, and while he was doing so I would have bet a million bucks that he was going to reject my offer. Amazing things happen, I suppose.

You can see that I also took rice, because it wasn't just plain rice but rather rice plus chestnuts. I thought the chestnuts would help give the rice some flavor, but I was wrong.

Plain + plain (still) =  plain.

About the only good part of today's meal is that drink with the green lid that is sitting on my tray.

It's some sort of yogurt drink. The reason I have it is that I'm lactose intolerant and therefore don't drink milk.

For the past few weeks, I've been giving my milk to a student who asked for it, but, since I'm actually still paying for the milk, it only makes sense that I get a drink that I like instead. That's where the yogurt drink comes in.

I didn't actually get to choose what to have as a substitute, however, so I may have to ask for yet another substitute, because this drink has a really odd flavor.

Who has ever had grape-flavored yogurt, after all?

What's wrong with strawberry yogurt? Or how about raspberry yogurt? Banana yogurt? Plain yogurt?

Hmmm...

Just the fact that I can even have something other than milk is a minor miracle in itself.

About a month ago, I noticed that a girl had the yogurt drink instead of milk, so I asked her why. It turns out she is allergic to milk (or is perhaps also lactose intolerant) and was therefore allowed to switch to this yogurt drink.

Voilà!

The idea then sprung into my head that I could probably get the yogurt drink, too. It just took me a while to finally ask for it. (Truth be told, it took me more than four years to ask for it!)

The Lunch Lady approved my request in a heartbeat, but I guess she had to ask for official permission, anyway.

I know that because this morning the high-school vice-principal came over to me, sat down, and said, "Yama-san, starting today you're getting yogurt for lunch."

On my way to the chow hall, I got the same message from the principal. As he walked past me, I expected him to say his usual "Otsukare sama desu." ("Thanks for your hard work."), but, instead, he said, "Yama-san, starting today, yogurt?"

Several of the kids noticed, too, and some of them seemed jealous.

Revolution, anyone?

The Missing Soup That Wasn't

It's amazing how often we get cucumber in our salads.

Has the Lunch Lady never heard of bell peppers, tomatoes, or croutons, for instance? I guess those are just too expensive, so watery cucumbers it is. Don't forget to throw in some ham, though, that staple of all dormitory lunch salads...

Yuck!

One good thing about today's lunch was that we had bread instead of rice, but for some reason we didn't get soup. Maybe the bread costs too much?

Then again, check out the main dish. It's soup! I could have done without the "creamy mushroom" part of it, and I wasn't sure what the chestnuts were doing in it, but I did enjoy the potatoes, as well as the carrots (that belonged in my salad). I can't say I was a big fan of the "soup," but I was hungry enough to get seconds.

As for the dessert, well, I didn't even attempt to taste that and simply passed it on to the first taker.

Total points: 6

Naked Rice

This meal was a disaster.

For starters, I don't want to eat fried food, especially fried chicken, so I gave away the main part of my meal. Just imagine I've airbrushed the chicken out of the picture and look at what's left:

Nothing but bland, bland, and more bland.

I finished the soup, but it was practically flavorless and full of mushrooms, which I don't like. Rather than giving away the soup, though, I told myself what most Japanese people say about their food: "It's good for you." and ate it.

The salad was a big disappointment. All that shredded daikon ruined it and no amount of "It's good for you." helped me eat it.

Just about all that was left was the rice, which turned out to be the biggest joke of the meal.

As you know, I almost never take rice. One of the few times I do is when there is goma (sesame-seed) dressing. Because there was goma dressing today and I knew I'd be passing on the chicken, I took a bowlful of rice.

Little did I realize the goma dressing wasn't goma dressing.

Nope. That goma dressing was more like oil-and-vinegar dressing.

Dear me.

Naked rice.

Not good.

Total points: 2

Cucumber: The New Rice

First things first: The only reason I took the rice this time is that I knew this was yet another meal that was going to leave me hungry.

The soup simply wasn't that good, but what else is new?

The salad was decent, because it had tuna fish in it.


What I want to know is, what's with the cucumber again? I have a feeling cucumber is the new rice.

As for that piece of fish: It tasted about as bland as it looks, and I don't like daikon, so I gave that away.

Overall, this was your average blasé meal.

Total points: 3

Flavor-less Flav

This meal is weird on several levels.

Just check out the salad, for instance.

Cucumber? Again? You've got to be kidding, right? And ham? Again? I repeat: You've got to be kidding, right?


Oh, I see you tried to liven things up by tossing in some corn. Gee, thanks. That sure is a lot of corn. Not.

And what's with the stringy, slimy, white stuff? Ugh. More flavorless flav...

The soup was OK, but I'm not saying that because it tasted good. No. I'm saying that because it was warmer than normal, so it was nice to have on this relatively cold day.

The main dish was a bit odd, too, because it was not all that appetizing and there was very little of it. That's why I took the rice.

I figured that if I at least added the rice to the main dish I'd have more food and I would be able to stomach it.

My plan worked. Hooray for me!

Total points: 4

Curry Friday!

Fridays rock. Most Fridays, anyway.

I don't remember having curry this often on Fridays in the past, but I am definitely noticing a pattern here, and it's a good one.

Besides steak, curry is the best food we get served here, and I'm always happy when we get it.

Too bad the salad wasn't that good (cucumber? ham?), but the good of the curry far outweighed the bad of the salad.

For whatever reason, we didn't get soup today, but I didn't really care, because the soup usually isn't that good anyway.

We even got pudding for dessert, which was an added bonus.

I wish we got food like this all the time, but then I probably wouldn't have a blog to write...

Total points: 7

(Note: We have Monday off, so the next post won't be until Tuesday.)

The Aliens Are Here! Run For Your Lives!

See the bowl of rice in the picture? That probably means I determined that I wouldn't be getting enough to eat and therefore was going to attempt to fill up on rice. That's not a good sign.

Soup: Pass!

Main dish: Pass?


You probably can't tell, but there are (what one girl who graduated in March used to call) "alien potatoes" in there along with the tofu. Alien potatoes are the soft, slimy type that are pretty yucky, if you ask me. The tofu wasn't much better...

Salad: OK!

I'm not sure why we keep getting served cucumber in our salads, but this time the salad included squid. I like squid, and I was hungry today, so I got seconds of the salad. Heck, the salads were my meal.

Not a very good meal, if you can even call it that.

Total points: 3

Bunless But Not Funless

When I went up to the counter to grab my hamburger, I quickly looked over the plates and grabbed the one with the most potato wedges.

Most of the plates had exactly three wedges on them, but somehow I scored seven.


Woo hoo!

They were cold as stone, though, which was a bit of a disappointment.

The hamburger itself could easily have been hotter and tastier, but overall it wasn't that bad.

The soup, as you can see, was pretty watery and therefore not a candidate for seconds.

The salad was OK, especially because it didn't have any cucumber for a change...

I guess about the only other thing that is worth mentioning about this meal is the fact that I had to eat the hamburger with a spoon, rather than a fork. I mean, I could have used chopsticks, but I chose to use the spoon for all of my food, rather than both a spoon and chopsticks.

I wonder if I've ever eaten a hamburger with a spoon before?

Total points: 6

Much Real Food - Some Bad Food = Success!

The bean and cucumber (no way!) salad was a disaster (that I gave away in a hurry), but the rest of the meal was actually pretty darn good.

I especially liked the stew, since it had normal ol' food like chunks of chicken, broccoli, and potatoes. It was so good (relatively speaking) that I was more than happy to go for seconds.

If we had more main dishes like this one, I'd be much happier.

Also, whenever bread is served with one of our meals I'm usually happy, because it means three things:

1) There is more food for me to eat, since I almost never eat the plain ol' white rice which we almost always have instead of bread;

2) The line for food moves fast, since there is no scooping and piling-up of bread as there is with rice; and

3) There is usually dessert, for whatever reason.

The dessert wasn't that great (potato-flavored yogurt?), but it really wasn't bad. It's not my favorite, but it beats many of the other desserts were are treated to.

Total points: 7

Boo Hoo Tofu

The reason I took the rice today was to "calm down" the spicy sauce that came with the tofu.

It probably would have been smarter to have put the tofu into the bowl with my rice rather than putting the rice into the bowl with the tofu, however, since all that spiciness was a bit tough on the ol' stomach.

I guess I'll just have to remember that for next time.

The soup contained two balls of mochi, which I happily gave away. I did eat (drink?) the rest of the soup, but I wasn't exactly blown away by it, to say the least...

The salad was yet another boring version of cucumber salad, so that didn't excite me, either, to say the least...

Total points: 4