October 16, 2009
It goes by the name of Karagedon
I remember this moment like it was yesterday; it was my first day at school and Ryosuke (a boy in the international group) and I had left class early so that he could show me my way to the cafeteria. When walking in I smelt something like nothing before, a light yet powerful odor was wafting into my nose and I was immediately drawn to it. Upon approaching the counter I told Ryosuke to get me what he was getting and I was given some fried chicken, some shaved lettuce and some rice. Ryosuke put some mayonnaise and sauce onto his so I followed suit and we sat down to eat and at first glance it looked like nothing out of the ordinary, a bit of chicken and rice, what’s the big deal I asked myself, but my question was answered after I took my first bite…my life was never the same again.
It’s known to the Japanese as ‘Karagedon’ and its English translation is just chicken and rice but I have never before tasted something so nice from a school cafeteria and I have been to my fair share of schools so far in life. Costing a mere 250yen for a small and 400yen for a large, the Karagedon is easily worth every penny that I pay for it on a daily basis.
Karagedon provides me with the carbs and protein that I require before training and even though it isn’t the healthiest thing I could be eating before training, it doesn’t matter to me at all because at training I run off the fat that the meal may carry. No matter how much I eat of it, I can’t get enough! Whether it’s the way they fry the chicken, or the sauce that I add to the meal, every aspect of the Karagedon is perfect.
The taste is stuck in my mouth, I enjoy going to school more because I know that everyday there is my bowl of Karagedon waiting for me at 10.30 after periods 1 and 2, and Monday is even better because if I’m early to lunch I can get Karagedon then as well. To me it’s more than just a meal; it’s a way of life. Ryosuke said after 3years of eating Karagedon I’d get sick of it, but I know that after taking that first bite into that tender chicken back in June of this year, Karagedon and I have a long, prosperous relationship ahead.
Possibly the best thing about Karagedon is that I don’t experience it just once; I get to experience it everyday. People from back in New Zealand ask me what life and school is like in Japan compared to New Zealand and one of the first things that springs to my mind is how Karagedon beats any food from my old tuckshop in Auckland for taste and price. Sometimes it’s the little things that matter, and eating my daily serving of Karagedon is definitely something that I will remember well after I have left Seiritsu.
-Liam Graham