A Chartwells dish that is truly good?
By Hermione So
At Renaissance College, it is well known that school lunches are unpleasant. Although the quantities are substantial, there have been several complaints. For instance, the dish of fish and chips is compared to air, and lentil stew is characterized as mushy and slimy. The price for these dishes can be questionable and the consistency fluctuates.
The cafeteria, coffee shop, and salad bar are all operated by RCHK’s catering company Chartwells. At these locations, you can find salads, fresh juice, gourmet sandwiches, a variety of nutritious snacks, as well as hot meals prepared on-site by Head Chef Po Loi Lee and his staff.
The quality of Chartwells’ food is known among the students to be quite inconsistent and quite mediocre, Given the amount of complaints students voice, the phrase “there is actually a good dish provided” comes as a shock. However, today The RCHK Truth can report on a dish that is truly good.
This dish is served at the pizzeria, near the children’s playground, in the undercover area.
It has actually been on the menu for many years but disappeared temporarily due to COVID-19.
It is the scrumptious breakfast plate!
Since its return, it has been exploding with popularity.
What is on the breakfast plate and why is it so tasty? In all actuality, it is a simple Cha Chaan Teng breakfast. There are two large scoops of fluffy scrambled eggs, a piece of crispy yet soft and full hashbrown, a smoky and somewhat scorched slice of tomato, a juicy piece of sausage along with a piece of warm, diagonally cut bread, and a little package of room temperature butter on the side.
“The school breakfast is reasonably priced and is filling. It’s probably the best dish in our school ever,” commented an anonymous student and athlete in Year 10, who consumes the meal once in a while on Friday morning following track practice at 8:00am at Ma On Shan Sports Stadium.
“To be honest, I'm not sure what makes it so exceptional. It's just the breakfast that makes me look forward to going to school. Perhaps since I'm so drowsy in the morning, my taste receptors are different," said another Year 10 fan, who was sitting on the benches one morning, munching away at her breakfast. She additionally mentioned that the same staff prepares everyone's breakfast every morning, and then expressed her gratitude for the staff.
The freshness of each component is what makes the food so fantastic. The person in charge prepares it in your presence. When you approach the counter and request "“麻煩你，一個早餐,” which translates to one breakfast please in English, the worker promptly scoops an estimated one tablespoon of oil, followed by one to two scoops of egg. The egg is left on the wok for a brief period of time while they put a slice of bread in the toaster in an effort to be as efficient as possible. They swiftly get a brand-new plate, using tongs to pick up your sausage, tomato, and hash brown.
The eggs are poured onto your dish once they remove the wok from the stove. It is then presented to you with a packet of soft butter on the side and your piece of toast, which has now been turned into toast, cut diagonally. On the side, condiments are provided. These include ketchup in a squeeze bottle, white pepper, and salt in stainless steel box containers.
Ta-daa! Once you've added your ideal condiments to what has been served to you, your wonderful breakfast is just right. The golden-brown thick, triangular piece of hash brown, the plump and substantial tomato slice, the occasionally burned bread, and some spreadable butter... Perfect! Yet, as the saying goes, “nothing is perfect.”
Recently, there has been teacher criticism during the morning line-up. There has been a series of misunderstandings because the staff cannot speak English. Certain teachers did not want eggs and sausage, but were unable to effectively explain this to the workers. The staff took some time to comprehend, but once she did, the teachers complained about being charged the regular amount of a full breakfast. Even if they do not need the eggs or sausage, the staff would not give them another piece of hash brown.
The self-proclaimed RCHK breakfast aficionado Graeme Brasher however, disagrees. “Set meals are set meals! If you don’t want the egg, then don’t buy the breakfast!” says Brasher.
Although not a serious problem, it is hoped that the unjust pricing problem will be resolved.
Simply put it like this, it really is impossible to go wrong with toast with soft butter, tomato, hash browns, eggs or sausages. So what are you still waiting for? Tomorrow morning, go get yourself a delicious breakfast at school! It will definitely help you get through the arduous academic day.