I realise how difficult it is to be creative every single day preparing meals. Canteen catering meal prep must have some form and structure to it. I remember my mother thinking about what to make for lunch and dinner and what Cantonese herbal soups to boil at breakfast time. Sometimes my brothers and I would pull a long face when it would be the same thing as what we had last week. She ran out of ideas so many times and we spoilt brats just sort of ate less or not at all.
I also remember her killing chickens, scaling and gutting fish, stabbing crabs and pulling them apart, spending hours by the charcoal stove for the double boil soups. What I’d give to have that winter melon soup. the soup in a melon steamed over a big metal pot, full of medium rare pig’s liver, almonds, pork ribs and dried scallops for flavour.
So, I cheated on my project. I haven’t been eating in the canteen at least 3 times a week because I was bored of the uninspiring variety. As you see below, same old thing week after week. No wonder my Chinese colleagues stay so slim throughout the seasons. Part of the reason of canteen diaries was meant to go towards a grander scheme of my savings plans and prevent my overeating from stress and overall downtrodden spirit from the pollution and a weekly occurrence of severe migraines. I am scheduling a brain scan to make sure that I am young, healthy and carefree like the positive affirmations I say every morning whilst brushing my teeth.
July 15, 2010 Overall Satisfaction:5/10
July 21, 2010 Overall Satisfaction: 5/10 and bored
July 22, 2010: Overall satisfaction 5/10, I love fish fragrant everything, but after I threw this up from my migraine attack, I’m not sure if I am still a fish fragrant fan. We had shredded pork in fish fragrant rice sauce, leftovers egg tomatoes stir fry and the two pieces of braised pork belly was courtesy of my colleague.
July 23, 2010 Overall satisfaction of Traditional Beijing noodles (炸酱面) hot instead of cold: 5/10 This one unlike the cold noodles （凉面） has pork in the sauce.
Variety is the spice of life, but not so in the canteen. I might update them at one go to show the monotony of our meals. At least there is no melamine in our yogurt and the eggs we eat are real.
