It wasn't the "Hungry Menu," but you could have fooled me.

Today's lunch was really bad, at least as far as my palate is concerned. Just take a look at this picture on the right, and you should know what I'm talking about.

Usually, there are three food items on my tray, plus perhaps a cup of tea. So as far as that goes, there's nothing very unusual about the meal pictured here. But check it out: I have a bowl of rice on my tray! What does that mean? That means I knew that if I didn't eat rice, I'd go hungry.

Why? Well, take a look at the next picture, and you'll see why. That's a bowl of "hijiki," a black vegetable that looks a bit like wild rice but is more like seaweed, "konnyaku," a terribly bland, oddly textured gelatin that looks as unappealing as it tastes, and beans. I actually like hijiki, at least to some degree, but konnyaku isn't worth eating, despite its health benefits, and beans give me gas. So I passed on that dish.

So my lunch consisted of rice, which I almost never eat, egg rolls, and soup. Yummy!

I'm not even sure which of the dishes was supposed to be the main course. See, the main course is usually the second item that the food servers place on the counters where we grab our food. But that salad concoction was second. Which means the egg rolls must have been thought of as an appetizer. Which they are. But how can that salad be the main dish? That just doesn't add up, does it?

Well, at least we are free to get "okawari" (seconds), assuming there are any and as long as they last. I wasn't interested in having any more soup, but I was dying for another egg roll or two.

But when I went up for seconds, I was told to come back in a little while. (Well, actually, for those of you who are interested in learning a little Japanese, what the lady really said was, "Cho(tto) matte kudasai," which means, "Wait a second, please." Besides words like "atsui" and "samui," which I've already introduced you to, "cho matte kudasai" is definitely on the Top Ten List Of Words And Phrases That You Can't Help But Learn In Your First Few Days Or Weeks In Japan.)

So what do you think I grabbed? That's right! More rice! Oh, joy!

A few minutes later, I noticed a crowd slowly forming near where the food is given out. So I scurried back up there, hoping to score a couple more egg rolls. I didn't get two, as I had hoped, but at least I did get one. And I even grabbed more rice. (Yes, I was that desperate!)

And then one of the kids I was sitting with made my day. How? Well, he whipped out a small packet of rice flavoring that he had left over from breakfast and gave it to me! So my bland rice instantly became rather tasty. It wasn't quite dessert, but it was the next best thing. I owe you one, dude!