Kyushoku

I’m not sure if all Japanese schools have Kyushoku system (schools supply lunch to students/teachers), but my kindergarden, elementary school, and junior high school did.  I loved Kyushoku menu!  There’re few ladies working at school who prepare Kyushoku for us and they gave us monthly menu in advance with illustration.  Because we could know what today’s lunch is, so everyone get excited when we’re having everyone’s favorite menu, such as curry or cakes.

I don’t really remember at kindergarten, but at elementary school and junior high school, we got milk everyday with main (rice, noodle or bread), side dish, sometimes soup and dessert.  Each week one group in each class becomes “Kyushoku group” and the group have to go to kitchen to collect a trolly with food for each class.  Then, they bring the trolly back to the class and serve to all the classmate including teacher.  Next week another group becomes Kyushoku group so that everyone get to do it.  At my school, the food was so delicious and I always ate up all!

I still remember my favorite Kyushoku food in my school.  There’re few typical combination of menu (such as; Oyako-donburi with crispy silver fish tempura and clear soup, fried sweet bread roll with coffee milk (decaf) and yogurt, etc), and I always loved the oyako-donburi menu and chewy udon in clear soup (egg, veggies and chicken).  I can’t eat the same udon soup anywhere else… miss it.

And, sometimes there is s special menu ; Christmas cake on Christmas day, Tanabata cake on Tanabata day, very simple plain food on the day we pray for the memory of WW (brown rice, miso soup and pickles), chocolate on Valentine’s day, etc.

Oh yeah, the day there’s Yukimi Daifuku on the menu was popular and no one was absent in the class :p

By the way I found this interesting blog site introducing Kyusyoku menu from around the world.

What\’s For School Lunch