School lunch - *NEW POLL!*

[flasyb]

Pork and egg in juices(/gravy?) - we're talking a lot of pork here (self-service)
Rice with beans in.
Octopus and cabbage soup.
Rice noodles and veg laced with chilli sauce.
Grated radish in chilli sauce.

Since I like all of the above and it was all nicely done, I'd give it an 8.

[justanotherwaygook]

Cold salty hard tofu
Radish kimchi
Cold wet boiled spinach
Salty soup with mushroom and flecks of beef
White rice
2 pieces of apple

[krazykorea]

I'm a vegetarian so I usually don't eat at school because the lunch price is pretty steep (KRW 60000). I think I will just bring my own lunch to save money and also be able to eat what I want and not have to waste. I feel like I should eat with the staff to get closer to the staff and students. I feel like I'm kind of on the outs with the staff right now.

[johannes]

Im still struggling with the chopsticks, but kimchi is growing on me! I love the rice, and the best... FRIED PORK BABY! KOREAN FOOD IS GOOD!

I dont know why some people dont like it.

[justanotherwaygook]

Im still struggling with the chopsticks, but kimchi is growing on me! I love the rice, and the best... FRIED PORK BABY! KOREAN FOOD IS GOOD!

I dont know why some people dont like it.

Because 90% of it all tastes the same.

[Frozencat99]

Mm... generalizations... the most common thing on the Waygook menu.

Today is a miss day with lunch. Kimchi, jasmine sticky rice, miso soup, tofu with pepper sauce, seaweed in vinegar, and banana. Oh well, I haven't had a banana this week.

[justanotherwaygook]

jasmine sticky rice

What's that?

Almost all the rice I ever get served in Korea is neither jasmine nor sticky (save for some ddeok and samgyetang, made with sticky rice.)

[Frozencat99]

jasmine sticky rice

What's that?

Almost all the rice I ever get served in Korea is neither jasmine nor sticky (save for some ddeok and samgyetang, made with sticky rice.)

I'm not sure, but it's what my co-worker translated for me when she made the English menu. I'm kind of finding it strange, though, since jasmine rice is usually less sticky than other kinds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasmine_rice

[justanotherwaygook]

That is a funny translation, as jasmine rice and sticky rice are 2 different animals.

Anywho, today I scored big (for real).  The fried part wasn't so healthy, but at least it was a tasty meal

Sweet and sour pork (with lots of pineapple)
Cucumber muchim (spicy vinegar sauce)
Dried fish soup with real vegetables
White rice with black beans
Factory kimchi.

[Sticks]

Maybe they cooked their rice with jasmine tea? hahahaha

@johannes, everyone goes through that period, then a few months afterwards you fall into either one of two groups:
1. Can't wait for the next meal.
2. Dread the next meal, because it's inevitably going to be some type of rice (a few grains of black rice to colour it purple does not make it any healthier...), kimchi type 1,2,3,4 or 5, soup, mountain weed sides and a carb/fried side (if you're lucky, it's meat instead).

Of course, going out to eat is heaven, since there actually is a large variety of Korean restaurants that cater to different things. Don't just stick with your local Kimbap Nara people. 

Kimchi/jeyuk bokkeum
steamed tofu
mountain weed
cabbage salad
radish kimchi
white rice
spinach/doenjang soup.

Also, does anyone else occasionally have a white rice but with bits of yellow grains mixed in it? I can't go within 2 feet of it since the smell will make me retch, reminds me of a very weak bleach.  :(

[Johnzorz]

Ive been lucky so far, I have only been here for a few weeks now, but they dont expect me at school lunch, i dont start until after lunch so I just show up part way thru lunch after having ate already at home  :D ... Im a picky eater and just take handle kimchi at all, lol

[LemonWater]

Perhaps we could start some different threads here. . . I am curious about the lunches at different levels of schools, and where people are located. I am in Jeollanamdo province (the self-proclaimed food-basket of Korea), I teach middle school and high school, and I am always overly satisfied with my lunches. Honestly, I look forward to them every day. But, I've heard from co-workers in the area who teach at elementary and are constantly disappointed.

Maybe there's someone on here that is good with online surveying and has some free time. I would be curious to see where the best lunches are. Province and level of school.

In addition, what are people paying for their lunches?? Mine used to be 2500/day, but this year they went up to 2900.  I still think it's a great deal for a quality buffet meal everyday, but I'm sure there are people that have a terrible experience.

This seems to be a popular thread and could probably be split up. . . obviously, many of us take our lunchtime meals seriously haha

[korr]

Reading through this thread, it sounds like other schools have companies deliver their food? Is that a thing with bigger schools? My school gets stuff like pork cutlets delivered, but they make pretty much everything else from scratch.

[Aventine]

Perhaps we could start some different threads here. . . I am curious about the lunches at different levels of schools, and where people are located. I am in Jeollanamdo province (the self-proclaimed food-basket of Korea), I teach middle school and high school, and I am always overly satisfied with my lunches. Honestly, I look forward to them every day. But, I've heard from co-workers in the area who teach at elementary and are constantly disappointed.

Maybe there's someone on here that is good with online surveying and has some free time. I would be curious to see where the best lunches are. Province and level of school.

In addition, what are people paying for their lunches?? Mine used to be 2500/day, but this year they went up to 2900.  I still think it's a great deal for a quality buffet meal everyday, but I'm sure there are people that have a terrible experience.

This seems to be a popular thread and could probably be split up. . . obviously, many of us take our lunchtime meals seriously haha

I think your middle and high schools take lunches seriously but the elementary schools don't want to spend as much on them.  The principal ultimately decides the quality of the lunches when he doles out the budget funds.   

[Jrong]

That explains why my elementary school lunch is crap. The teachers claim to like the lunch. If they think our lunch is good, then I definitely do not like Korean food. I suspect, though, that they're lying as some of the Korean food I've had outside has been great. Actually, just the meat (galbi).

[justanotherwaygook]

There's been some discussion that elementary schools have worse lunches than middle or high school.  Is there any truth to which level has better/worse lunches?

I know there's a topic on school lunch, but I wanted to make this poll get a better picture.

[Frozencat99]

Kimchi, black bean rice, bean sprout soup, spicy potatoes, smoked duck meat, mustard, radish, and milk.

I definitely think my elementary school cares.

[justanotherwaygook]

White rice
radish kimchi
dried squid covered in corn syrup and gochujang
Salt soup with red oil, bean sprouts, glass noodles, weeds and some flecks of beef
rubbery soy-sauce hard-boiled eggs

[flasyb]

White rice.
Radish kimchi.
Some kind of chicken and noodles in sauce - delicious! I mean really really good!
Steamed broccoli with optional spoon of chilli sauce.
Lumps of acorn jelly and seaweed spooned into a spicy cabbage (but not kimchi) soup.

The chicken was great, broccoli is my favourite vegetable and the rest was your average fare. A solid 7.5 because the chilli sauce from the broccoli made the rice less bland.


I'm curious to see how the other thread turns out and if elementary school dinners are considered worse.

[flasyb]

Today was superb.

Garlic roasted pork with bean paste dip and lettuce to wrap it.
Sliced courgette that tasted super buttery.
Kimchi.
White rice with purple bits.
Bean paste and green leaf soup but with the added bonus of some shell fish.

The Pork was simply delicious. 9/10 on the school lunch scale.