Caitlin O'Mara's Blog

Japanese School Lunch: Week 22

Dec 01 2008 • Japanese School Lunch

Please note that the American menu provided is from my middle school in the US. It is meant to serve as a comparison.

It’s almost embarrassing to say this but whenever the “ethnic” lunches pop up, it really makes me miss Chinese take-out back in the US. Yes, I know it’s not real Chinese food and it’s loaded with unhealthy ingredients but I can’t help it. As much as I like Japanese food, I like the diversity of flavors the US has more.

October 27, 2008
098
Japanese Menu American Menu

Barley rice
Mapo Tofu
Szechuan spring roll

Curry and soy sauce bean sprouts
Milk

Domino’s pizza
Garden salad
Crackers
Pears
Milk

Other Notes
I think the lunch center is really on a roll with the curry and soy sauce sprouts…this is the third of fourth time they’ve appeared and everyone still hates them. I wish I knew if they had a complaint card but somehow I doubt it.

October 29, 2008

099
Japanese Menu American Menu
Mixed vegetable rice
Tofu and seaweed miso soup
Tuna and miso cutlet
Plum marinated salad
Milk

Hamburger steak with gravy
Mashed potatoes
Green beans
Roll
Milk

Other Notes
I rarely say this but the US menu wins. The Japanese lunch was pretty bland.

October 30, 2008
100
Japanese Menu American Menu

Milk bread
Egg and seaweed soup
Spaghetti with chili sauce
Green salad with dressing
Milk

Chicken noodle soup
Crackers
Cheese sandwich
Peas
Mandarin oranges
Milk

Other Notes
Three people were absent today so everyone got extras. I couldn’t finish my bread because there was so much spaghetti.
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Comments

Look at all that spaghetti! That one looks like it would be really filling.

That’s some interesting-looking mabodofu.

Is that Broccoli salad (top left) in the last photo? I’m wondering what “Green Salad” is?

Sadly, I find that diversity isn’t a prominent trait with Japanese food. -_-”

@Ryan A: Some days, they really load up on the carbs. I never understood spaghetti with bread.

@Erin: I’ve never had authentic mapodofu so no idea what it’s supposed to look like. This one also suffers from being in a food program - yes, I know I say the school lunches are delicious but it’s only in comparison to the US school lunches.

@Hynavian: I checked the menu and it says, in katakana “Green salad”. It tends to be a mix of broccoli, cucumber, and cabbage though, with the cabbage and broccoli blanched.

@issa-sa: I think Japanese food within its own category is very diverse, maybe not with ingredients but with regional dishes. But it’s hard to compete against a country so multi-ethnic as the US. There’s just more food styles I’ve taken for granted back home that are rare/non-existent in this part of Japan.

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