14.4.10

Tortilla Day!


As I've already noted, lunch at our school can be something of a disappointment. Mr Kriska and I have only opted out the one time, for a much-savoured Whopper actually, but we have wanted to on many occasions more. It's not that I don't like Korean food. There is some that I really enjoy. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Korean food that I like includes freshly barbecued meat, which is quite difficult to find in the staff room of an elementary school.

Because of this, our lunches generally consist of rice, a soup (watery, vaguely fish-flavoured) a questionable meat, a vegetable (normally an uncooked bit of bush) and shit kimchi. Kimchi is not all shit - some is actually very good - but this kimchi is shit. I dread lunch time most days. Never before has eating felt like such a simple refuelling exercise.

Except Wednesdays. Wednesday is known (by me alone) as Good Food Day. It's when we have something a little bit different from the norm. This has been known to include bibimbap, corn dogs, spaghetti and curry rice. Not exactly fit for a King, but certainly more enjoyable. For me at least.

Mr Kriska provided me with a menu the other day detailing the food we'd be eating over the next month or so. It's in Korean, obviously, and I immediately trawled through the Wednesdays to see what we could look forward to. I didn't recognise anything until I looked at Wednesday 14th. 치킨또띠아. I looked again. 치킨또띠아. I read it aloud to myself. Chi-kin-doh-dee-ah. Chi-kin-do-dee-ah. With a little manipulation, that could say Chicken Tortilla. I checked with Mr Kriska. He was reading it the same way.

Wednesday 14th April would be Tortilla Day.

Honestly, I'd prepared myself for a huge letdown because, after forcing down the world's most watery spaghetti and a corn dog with a sugar coating, I'd deduced that the school chef couldn't quite handle Western food.

What we received was a delight.

Now, these weren't Mexican food in any way, shape or form. What they were though were crispy pieces of breaded chicken with small, soft tortillas and a salad in a vaguely ranch-style dressing. Us pale-faces were allowed 2 of them. I can't tell you what a pick-me-up it is to eat some vaguely tasty food in the middle of the day after the slop I have to force down my neck on a daily basis. I feel great.

And Nigella Ontario is making her almond chicken tonight.

Yeahhhhhhhh baby!

I don't have lessons much over the next week or so, so I'd expect to be hit with some nonsense every day.

Tomorrow, News - United's Season is Over edition.

Happy Tortilla Day!

Love, Smithy x

6 comments:

A.T. Post said...

BEBIMBAP! Man, I'd almost forgotten about that stuff.

So! Recognizable tortillas actually exist in K-Land? I never would've guessed.

Now, if they would just learn what the hell a lime is, and import a few hundred million into the country, I'd die a happy man.

This made me hungry. Thanks a bunch. I totally feel you on the shit kimchi/watery spaghetti/sugary corndog front (gag me!).

Looking forward to the news from the United front...

smorphie said...

tortilla day came and went. what do we have to look forward to now?

Forte said...

The first thing I did when I got back was to cook myself an enormous rare rib-eye steak with sauteed potatoes and a token salad. God it was soo0 good i took a photo of it. I'll send it over to you if you want.

Smithy said...

Postie - we can get tortillas and all sorts in Seoul. It's a much better dining experience than on Geoje, to be honest. Although the Korean food was better in Geoje I think.
Smorphie - next week we're going Jacoby's, you down? It might get us through the next few fishy days without crying.
Chris (forte?) - I would kindly invite you to go fuck yourself.

dolorah said...

Hmm, guess you don't want to know about my Round Table experience for lunch? And its not even Wednesday.

........dhole

Jane Jones said...

Oh yum! All this talk of food is making me hungry, even the crap-school food. Is it really that bad? I mean, compared with some British school lunches I've had, I have some doubt that anything could be as horrible as fish pie and mushy brussel sprouts and gelatinous lumpy custard. But then again, you never know...