What are you eating?

[Sapphire]

Strange how habits and culture can vary so much across continents.
I like having multiple things to eat in small quantities.
I love those restaurant where you get like 10 to 18 (yes 18) different dishes, in very small quantities.
You start thinking you'll never have enough to fill yourself, but around 2 third of the dishes, you start getting full... and it keeps coming and is delicious.

Now we are only talking school canteens.
I have to say that quality varies a lot depending on schools and cities. But there's really a full course and they try their best to give a balanced meal.
Also, tables are often organised to help socialisation, talk and eat is very important here in France, so much that many work meetings are in fact done at lunch time.

Reminds me of when I was being babysat by a woman from Ukraine in the 4th grade. I completely resisted the idea of eating the small pancakes that she was cooking instead of just large ones because I thought I wouldn't get full. She made me eat them anyway and it turned out I was wrong lol.

The school lunches for America look particularly disgusting, but still within the bounds of reality if they only chose poor schools. I work in a school in Chinatown and the lunches look like that. I'll take a picture of it. The meals in the schools I experienced are more similar to what Buff described, pre-packaged and cooked in bulk in a single servings size. It was a main dish and a drink, and maybe a bag of chips as extra. Hmm now that I think about it, I never really experienced the sampling buffet style of eating on a regular basis until I came to college.

The Korean/Japanese foods look just like what they serve in the plastic bento boxes at the Asian stores. There's so much food that it's hard to finish...

In the dining hall at the dorm in my college, there is a huge variety of foods, so one's plate could easily look the ones in France (without that weirdass fruit). Or Brazil or Italy or Sweden.

Now I just think they were trying to make America look bad.

[David75]

In the dining hall at the dorm in my college, there is a huge variety of foods, so one's plate could easily look the ones in France (without that weirdass fruit). Or Brazil or Italy or Sweden.

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If you talk about the item in the bottom left corner, this is not a fruit, but an artichoke:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artichoke

I had to become an adult to truly enjoy it though, as it really has a special taste and smell.

For some reason, I really think that picture is more a stereotype, or at least carefully chosen, as I don't ever remember having artichoke as a choice throughout the 20 years I have been to school canteens (from kindergarten to Engineer degree). Mainly because it is not that easy to eat/handle.
A french humorist once said:
"Artichoke is truly for poor people. It's the only dish that has more of it AFTER you've you ate it"

It is also true that it looks like some edible food you'd find in a Star Trek or Stargate episode

[Animeniax]

For some reason, I really think that picture is more a stereotype, or at least carefully chosen, as I don't ever remember having artichoke as a choice throughout the 20 years I have been to school canteens (from kindergarten to Engineer degree). Mainly because it is not that easy to eat/handle.
A french humorist once said:
"Artichoke is truly for poor people. It's the only dish that has more of it AFTER you've you ate it"

Did you ever have a huge plate of freedom fries for lunch like in that picture?

[rockmanj]

R
In the dining hall at the dorm in my college, there is a huge variety of foods, so one's plate could easily look the ones in France (without that weirdass fruit). Or Brazil or Italy or Sweden.

Now I just think they were trying to make America look bad.

Yea, that was a whole artichoke, and even though I like it, I have never had a whole one put in front of me. Also, I agree with Shinta; while a lot of Filipino food is tasty, there were few things that I found to be healthy. I must have gained about 7 pounds a month when I lived there.

[David75]

Yea, that was a whole artichoke, and even though I like it, I have never had a whole one put in front of me. Also, I agree with Shinta; while a lot of Filipino food is tasty, there were few things that I found to be healthy. I must have gained about 7 pounds a month when I lived there.

Well, having a whole artichoke to eat and the appropriate dipping sauce for scales is very nice. And after a hard work getting every bits, you can finally get the heart.
Really a nice appetizer, although you have to pause a bit because it gives a false feeling of being full for some time.

[Buffalobiian]

Are you by any chance a slow eater David? (or well, a relaxed, easy eater, if slow sounds too extreme and bad, lol)

[David75]

Are you by any chance a slow eater David? (or well, a relaxed, easy eater, if slow sounds too extreme and bad, lol)

I'm a slow eater by US or english world standards... but too quick for french people
Truth is, with work, I tend to be way too careless and quick, although I have my addresses and try to find the optimum in price/quality and time.
And many times a year, I like taking my sweet time, with 2 3 or 4 hours lunches
I have had an incredible experience in France in a top quality restaurant in Annecy (French Alps) and another one in Venice, that come to mind in the very slow yet wonderful category.

[rockmanj]

I'm a slow eater by US or english world standards... but too quick for french people
Truth is, with work, I tend to be way too careless and quick, although I have my addresses and try to find the optimum in price/quality and time.
And many times a year, I like taking my sweet time, with 2 3 or 4 hours lunches
I have had an incredible experience in France in a top quality restaurant in Annecy (French Alps) and another one in Venice, that come to mind in the very slow yet wonderful category.

A 4 hour lunch? O.O

[Buffalobiian]

And many times a year, I like taking my sweet time, with 2 3 or 4 hours lunches
I have had an incredible experience in France in a top quality restaurant in Annecy (French Alps) and another one in Venice, that come to mind in the very slow yet wonderful category.

I can only imagine how miserable you'd be living here with half-hour lunch breaks. I try to make the most of it by microwaving my food before I take my break. (knocks 5 minutes off). I'm pretty quick, though I sometimes can still have trouble finishing off some meals in time because I'm web-surfing at the same time, or I simply brought too much food.

Even in university here we don't have the buffet-style lunches. You get introduced to the hot-tray on the counter, but you usually only mix 2 foods, if at all. If you bought some roast meat you might get a little bit more variety in the form of the various vegetables.

Now I just think they were trying to make America look bad.

Yeah, pretty much. Though I didn't find America to LOOK the worst, even though it's hands down the most unhealthiest. I might have had slightly adverse feelings towards some of the other food due to sheer lack of familiarity.

[Kraco]

Yeah, artichoke was pretty strange food. No way in hell it would ever get served in schools over here.

[shinta|hikari]

@Buff - I'm not sure about it (US) being the most unhealthy. The Philippines' Lechon Kawali is basically a huge slab of bacon (pork belly) deep fried in oil until crispy. It is also served with a high calorie, high fat, very sweet liver dipping sauce.

I think Philippine cuisine is one of the unhealthiest in the world. We're only lucky we don't get to eat too much of it, even if it is not by choice.

[shinta|hikari]

I plan to go to France just to eat one day... when I save up enough money.

I love travelling, and my 2 main goals are always the food and the thrills (i.e. Snowboarding, Scuba Diving, Canyoneering, White water rafting). I plan to skydive during this month.

Sight seeing and other things are minor priorities.

[rockmanj]

I plan to go to France just to eat one day... when I save up enough money.

I love travelling, and my 2 main goals are always the food and the thrills (i.e. Snowboarding, Scuba Diving, Canyoneering, White water rafting). I plan to skydive during this month.

Sight seeing and other things are minor priorities.

I kinda like to just wander places and try local cuisine. I find my thrills where I find them.

[darkshadow]

My school has pretty much anything you want. Which is pretty funny cause it seems like our system is more like an evolution of some sorts; in the first phase of school (6-12y) I don't really remember there ever being school lunches, everything is packed in from home. Second phase (12-16(17/18)) gets a cafeteria, but doesn't offer much more than some drinks, sandwiches and snacks. Then the 3rd stage (16+) most school cafeteria's are a full blown kitchen....I'll post some pictures later of some stuff in our kitchen.

edit pic:
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[Buffalobiian]

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If you talk about the item in the bottom left corner, this is not a fruit, but an artichoke:

what about the top right? That looks like clams from what I see, but I really have no idea.

Artichoke doesn't sound like the food for me. So much manual handling before I actually get to eat the damn thing, lol.

@shinta&co: I forgot about the Philippine cuisine, but yeah I guess that's really unhealthy too. I think the "something + rice" combo made it skip my mind as being "normal". What sort of vegetable dishes do they have over there?

[Animeniax]

The food at top left looks like mussels, typical of what you see at Chinese buffets.

DSC01629.jpg

Artichokes are actually fun to eat. You pull a blade off, rake off the flesh with your teeth, then on to the next one.

[David75]

what about the top right? That looks like clams from what I see, but I really have no idea.

Artichoke doesn't sound like the food for me. So much manual handling before I actually get to eat the damn thing, lol.

@shinta&co: I forgot about the Philippine cuisine, but yeah I guess that's really unhealthy too. I think the "something + rice" combo made it skip my mind as being "normal". What sort of vegetable dishes do they have over there?

top left?
Mussels, but I had to watch carefully as the pic is a little small on my screen. Without paying much attention, I thought these were the artichoke blades, which wasn't very logical as the artichoke still is intact.

And an artichoke also is interresting to eat because you have to do so much work and slowly enjoy it

Edit:
Should have read better, Ani did the same answer before I did

The food at top left looks like mussels, typical of what you see at Chinese buffets.

DSC01629.jpg

Artichokes are actually fun to eat. You pull a blade off, rake off the flesh with your teeth, then on to the next one.

So now French fries with Ketchup/mayonnaise and mussels make it a dish, fries are in fact coming with mussels as "Mussels and fries", basic dish, yet quite good.
There are many ways of cooking mussels, I particularly like the white wine method, called "Marinière" or Marina in english from what I just read earlier.

[shinta|hikari]

@Buff - Vegetable dishes? Aside from the quick and easy stir fry people do when they have no time or effort to spare, the local dishes I know of are:

Laing - My personal favorite. Taro leaves cooked in coconut milk with shrimp paste, and sometimes pork belly.
Pinakbet - Assorted vegetables sauteed and simmered in shrimp paste.
Ginataang Gulay - Assorted vegetables cooked in coconut milk.
Lumpiang gulay - Fried vegetable spring roll
Tortang Talong - Eggplant dipped in egg then fried
Adobong Gulay - Vegetables cooked in soy sauce
Ensaladang manga - Green mango salad, eaten with shrimp paste
Sinabawang Gulay - Boiled vegetables


The coconut milk and the usual addition of pork for flavor makes these vegetable dishes pretty high in calorie and fat. The shrimp paste usually raises sodium to the roof. Adobo dishes in the Philippines usually require a lot of oil because they are stir fried before adding the sauce. The last 2 dishes are the only ones I can say are not unhealthy, but boiled vegetables are not really appetizing. Ensaladang manga is nutritious though (if the shrimp paste is kept to a minimum), and is a good appetizer.

[Assertn]

Lol really now. I don't think I've had a single lunch at a cafeteria as unappetizing as the US ones listed on that site.
Also, fries as the main entree for lunch wtf?

[shinta|hikari]

@David - I love cooking shellfish in white wine, including scallops and clams.