Coconut Curry and Rice at Pforzheimer House

Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) tries to cater to the diverse appetites of the diverse student body at Harvard by serving different ethnic cuisines, ranging from Ethiopian stew to Korean BBQ to Chinese stir-fry. This past Sunday, the entree for dinner was seafood coconut curry.

On Sunday, HUDS also features fresh sourdough baguette and whole grain baguette with olive oil dressing. Sometimes the bread is warm and toasty, but usually it's cold as though they have been frozen and then thawed. I really like the crusty shell and the soft inside of the sourdough bread, especially when they have been toasted in an oven.

There are usually one or two meat-based entree (including seafood) and one vegetarian entree. Sunday's meat dish was pork loin. I don't eat pork, but the meat looked really dry.

The white rice and the seafood coconut curry. The sticky rice is always so clumpy and slightly undercooked. If you don't chew it well enough, the rice might get stuck in your throat. The coconut curry shouldn't really called "seafood curry" because the only seafood it had was tiny little shrimps. There were bits and pieces of coconut flakes for an extra coconut flavor.

The vegetarian dish of the day: penne pasta. The pasta is usually way overcooked and there isn't enough sauce.

I had the curry, white rice, cucumber, green peas, and cottage cheese. Some people can't stand it when there food touches each other, but I just pile everything in one plate. The scooper for the curry had holes in it so I only got the vegetables and not the liquid in the curry.

HUDS: Harvard University Dining Services

Too often, Harvard students under-appreciate the food served in its dining halls. I agree that the food doesn't play up to the "Harvard" name (no, we are not served filet Mignon or lobster tail for dinner), but it really isn't that bad considering how the chefs cook for so many students, 3 meals a day, 7 times a week!

It disgusts me when people complain how the food tastes like "shit." Have you ever tasted shit? Probably not. HUDS, an acronym for Harvard University Dining Services, features three different entrees every meal, one of which is a vegetarian-friendly dish. There is always a salad bar stocked with fresh greens, cucumbers, carrots, yogurt, cottage cheese, brocoli, and all sorts of other vegetables, a sandwich bar with bread, turkey/ham/other deli meat, tuna/egg/chicken salad, pasta, two soups, cereal, frozen yogurt, and dessert.

Since I am now back on campus and can't dine out as often as I did in Korea, I will start blogging about food at the Harvard dining hall and reveal to the public what the Harvard students eat!