Cafeteria Ladies

I’ve been staying at the China University of Mining and Technology’s (Quang Ye) Beijing Exchange Center, essentially a hotel. On east side of the building on the first floor, there is a cafeteria. I have been spoiled by the cafeteria’s at Peking University where the food is either self-serve or the dishes are behind glass cases making for easy selection.

Quang Ye's cafeteria has a bit more of the "Communist China" feel. There is a separate room with openings for the servers, the item names are displayed on strips of paper above the openings, and a variety of food are in numerous containers lined up on a table. Students, staff, and teachers all seem to have debit cards which they use to purchase food.

Rather than letting me pay cash to the servers, I must first order the food (a series of pointing, damn I really need to learn my food words). The meats, veggies, and rice are all behind the wall. An assortment of Chinese dumplings and breads are served from metal and glass stands. After making my selection, the servers tell me what the total is. Then, leaving my food with the servers, I walk over to the cashier and tell her how much the food I am going to buy is. I am rung up and receive a receipt which I then hand over to the server to get my food.

On a side note, these type of inefficient payment services are not specific to cafeterias and is quite common in department stores as well. My best guess as to why this still happens is because (1) it creates more jobs and (2) is a low-tech way of insuring people aren't stealing. All in all, I was able to order some stir-fry greenbeans, ma po tofu, and bread stuffed with vegetables all for about 60 cents. The food was nothing special, but the price and proximity to my room makes the cafeteria a good choice when I want something fast.