Every day at work there’s a call goes around in the morning “If you want a lunch box, put your name on the list”. When I first came here I was intrigued by the lunch box. It was the idea of just saying “Yes” and not knowing what would arrive, that I found exciting.
However, my initial excitement didn’t last. After a particularly unfortunate run of bony fish, pork knuckle and unidentified gristly meat I gave up on the lunch box and decided to take my chances at the street cafes instead.
Pretty much all my Chinese colleagues order lunch boxes, which at around £1 – £1.50 are very reasonable – if you like that sort of food. Some of my foreign colleagues also partake but most, like me have had too many bad experiences with pickled vegetables, cold fatty meat and other unidentified content.
It’s a risk – you never know what you’re going to get. Sometimes as you peel back the plastic or take off the lid, you get a pleasant surprise, but so often it’s a disappointment.
To be fair you can’t expect much for that price but even though you can’t guarantee the quality of the street food, I’d still rather have some control over what sustains me throughout the afternoon.