// canteen food that lives up to its name //

food, no matter how unappetising it is, appeals to the very hungry.
well, it applies to the majority but not me.
or maybe it's because i'm fortunate enough never to have experienced such hunger torment yet.
at the risk of sounding like a disdainful, spoilt brat, canteen food is unbearable!
whew, i've let it out. Finally, at the end of week 6.

In week 1, the agonising transition from the all-time scrumptious hawker fare to the limited choice at the food court style canteen was perfectly normal, i suppose.
Even though I couldn't enjoy the gratifying wanton noodles or that luscious duck rice or mouthwatering yong tau foo (just to name a few) anymore, I was looking forward to the fare that saw me through at least 4 semesters before, like the teriyaki chicken, salmon pate, grilled chicken with curry, bak chor mee and ban mian. Or even that good-old vegetarian food.
With all the anticipation of revisiting a long lost friend, I was sorely disappointed when I ate those food again.

Quality had dropped rather drastically, although quantity was still maintained.
I used to like the Jap stall a lot, partly due to its efficiency, but perhaps efficiency also played a part in the decline in food consistency, especially during peak hours.
How can I even swallow the rice which is so clumpy and sticky that I can't even differentiate one grain from the next using my naked eye?
Maybe they should just serve rice balls next time.

Our canteen's bak chor mee has a newspaper clipping saying that it's a franchise from the famous hougang stall.
Maybe the only common thing is that they shared the same factory supplier for the fishballs, which still had the same smooth texture and sufficient bite.
By looking at the noodles which surprisingly, is still yellow in colour despite I ordered it with tomato sauce, you would have never guessed that the stall had won several culinary awards, which the cerificates were displayed prominently at the stall front.
And the most dreaded was observed again, clumpy noodles, obviously devoid of moisture and taste. I would have like them springy instead of so brittle that the strands broken even before i could put them inside my mouth.
Well, anyone who's reading this, I'm so sorry that I spoilt your appetite for lunch or dinner.
But i really have to rant.

On the bright side, at least the Indonesian stall and ban mian folks did their best to maintain the taste of the food.
In fact, the grilled chicken set from Indonesian food is something I'll eat every week without fail.
On the other days, I'll survive on Subway (which is expensive so I can't eat very often) or have very late lunches (before that, a heavy breakfast) at pitstops on my way home.
Two weeks ago, I decided to revisit the vegetarian stall, one of my friends always say that vegetarian food can't go wrong.
Well, she couldn't be more wrong.
I ordered a takeaway, and when I first opened the packet and took first few bites, I was instantly gratified.
This is real food, I thought.
However, I notice some pale yellow liquid against the white styrofoam container.
It was oil. I realised the whole egg was drenched in oil.
So were the kway teow, though the bee hoon looked perfectly ok.
Sigh sigh sigh.
Even if this was the only edible food in the whole canteen, I wouldn't eat it often.
Not at the risk of clogging my arteries.
All I wish for is just a handful of stalls serving edible, relatively healthy food which I can subsist on to replenish my energy loss in travelling to school.
Is it something too much to wish for?

Universities always advocate academia, making sure we have sufficiently qualified lecturers and professors.
Billions are also spent on building state of the art laboratories, advanced equipment and cutting edge technology.
What about the gastronomical well-being of students?
I don't think anyone actually bothers to put in much thought or funds into looking into it.
Studies have shown that some natural food are supplements to the brain, although some are not exactly proven.
Of course, ideally we should only take in healthy food and food that are claimed to boost brain power. After all, even if those claims are actually untrue, placebo effects might occur, we'll never know.
But I know, to achieve that is practically impossible.
On the flip side, it is really alarming to see how MacDonalds and Old Chang Kee have never-ending queues. It just goes to show how many students are depending on fast food to satiate their food cravings since the canteen didn't really do a good job.

Oh well, canteens are notoriously for poor tasting food, aren't they?
At least the one I frequent lives up to its name.