Monday, March 2, 2009

School lunches in China

I love reading the elementary school lunch menu my youngest brings home.

We packed school lunches in the past, but because bread, cheese, peanut butter, and the other mainstays of packed lunches are uncommon and expensive here, we now buy school lunches. My youngest has to pre-choose Western Menu or Asian menu for each day of the month.

One interesting thing is that in this area of China (Guangzhou) soup is necessary for a meal to be complete. Soup is served with every lunch option. Also--Lotus is water lily. It actually tastes pretty good.

She attends an international school.

Here are a few examples of meals from the Asian menu:
  1. Lotus Root soup, Grilled chicken breast with Ginger and Lemon, Thai Fried Rice, Spinach
  2. Sea Weed with Egg Soup, Chicken Satay, Vegetable Udon Noodles, Bok Choy and Black Mushroom
  3. Steamed Rice in Lotus Leave [sic], Winter Melon Soup, Stir Fried Bean Sprouts.
  4. Lotus Root Soup, Char Kway Teow (Malaysian Fried Noodles), Spring Roll, Chinese Cabbage
  5. Water Cress Soup, Beef w/Broccoli, Spring Onion Chinese Pancake, Cauliflower
These dishes also looked interesting: Chicken and Bean Sprout Soup, Braised Tofu.

Here are a few meals from the American menu:
  1. Cream Mushroom Soup, Grilled Duck Breast, Hash Brown, Broccoli and Sweet Corn
  2. Grilled polenta, pumpkin soup, Mexican fajita, Fish fingers, Snow peas and Cherry tomato
  3. Russian Soup, Sauteed Beef Cubes, Crispy Potato Ball, Ratatouille
  4. Broccoli Soup, Mixed Peppers w/Beef Potatoes, Rissoles, Mixed Diced Veggies w/Butter
  5. French Onion Soup, Roast Pork, Loin Pasta w/Garlic Ratatouille
This sounds good to me: Pan-fried Fish fillet with Tomato.

3 comments:

cafenowhere said...

Wow, it sounds like they go all out for both sides of the menu. (I can count the number of times I've eaten duck on one finger.) What beverages do they offer?

Lisa B.

Sarah Blake Johnson said...

I asked her today. They offer bottled water and box juices--orange or apple usually. Their is only one type of juice per day.

Milk is not available.

Rose Green said...

I think I'd eat the Asian menu every day!