Chinese Cafeteria

Among the many benefits of my internship this summer, I get lunch and dinner in the company cafeteria.  It's a bit strange that they eat lunch at 11:30 and dinner at 4:30, but I've adapted now, with only the occasional need for an extra nighttime meal (sampling all the different ice creams fills the gaps nicely :-P ).  I initially thought the funky schedule was another cultural quirk, but it turns out we share the cafeteria with the nearby hotel, whose workers need to eat early to be on duty when the paying customers arrive at actual dinner time.  That being said, I've kind of gotten used to eating on the early side, and it's probably healthier...  Anyway, despite the institutional presentation, the meals in the company mess are usually quite delicious.  Here's what I had today:

Lunch

(Clockwise from Upper Right)

UR:  Pork, marinated in a delicious (but WAY spicy) garlic and pepper sauce.

LR:  Cabbage, egg, and mushrooms;  I think they're "wood ear" or "cloud ear" fungi.

UL:  Yay green beans!  Not sure what they cook them in, but they're darn tasty.

UR:  Steamed, white rice.  With every.  Single.  Meal.  In this case it was good for calming the spicy pork.

Dinner

(Clockwise from Upper Right)

UR:  Some sort of green vegetable.  No idea what it is, but much appreciated.

LR:  Cooked peanuts, with (I think) small strips of not-so-potent ginger.

UL:  Tofu and cabbage, seasoned with large strips of thick-cut bacon.

UR:  Steamed, white rice (again).