Chicken fingers, curly fries, tuna melt paninis, egg salad sandwiches and buffalo chicken pizzas are what I consume day to day here at Penn State. Surprisingly, my friends and I look forward to meals on campus because after much apprehension of the stereotypical college food, we found Penn State dining halls to be quite pleasant.
There's so much to choose from- the soups change everyday, ranging from broth soups such as the french onion soup to creamy seafood clam chowder. The menus provide great diversity from Mexican, Italian, American to Chinese cuisines. I must note that I become a little too excited and anticipate for fajita nights.
On campus dining halls are economical, convenient yet delicious- most of the time. But even Chinese special nights do not quench my thirst for...simply put, Asian food. It's difficult to explain why Asian food differs from any other cuisine. It's just as diverse, appetizing and exotic as other cuisines.
I may long for it because I grew up enjoying my mom's Kimchi Jjigae (also known as kimchi stew) where spicy Korean pickled vegetables are mixed with bean paste, garlic, seafood, diced tofu to boil with water and be served as mouthwatering stew. It could also be that my friends back in Japan enjoyed Bibimbap, one of most famous Korean dishes as our usual meal when we hung out. Bibimbap, in literal term as the “mixed meal” is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with sautéed and seasoned vegetables, sliced beef, chilli pepper paste and fried egg.
When I tell my friends of the food that I normally enjoy back at home during breaks such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, they undoubtedly interrogate me with hundreds of questions. Do you not eat Turkey? Do you add hot sauce to everything? Is there ketchup at your house? Do you know what gravy is? Have you ever tried bread stuffings?
I could easily celebrate American traditions but I choose not to- especially when I'm with my family. I enjoy diverse Americanized and westernized cuisines at school but back at home, I'm inclined to savor in the type of food that I grew up with. That way, I get to have the best of both worlds!
I'm glad you find campus food good :) I get sick of it so fast. It's always interesting to read your blog, but this is especially relatable. I think you wrote about an engaging topic and used successful descriptive language. I especially liked the sentence, "I'm inclined to savor in the type of food that I grew up with." It's really powerful! Great job!
ReplyDelete