Shokudo Food (9)

Kuromai (黒米) is the black rice in Japanese. Japanese researchers had found that black rice all originates from Japanese rice. The colour of the rice is not totally black but somehow purplish-black. It has a nutty flavour with the same texture as white rice.

Shokudo Food (8)

This is the Japanese version of fish and chips but it came in a small portion. The fish fillets were pan-fried instead of deep-fried. The fish skin was also intake unlike the deskinned fillet of ordinary fish and chips.

Shokudo Food (7)

Agadeshi tofu is deep-fried tofu dipped in soy sauce and garnished with ground daikon and spring onion. The best part of the tofu is the crispy skin.

Shokudo Food (6)

Sanma (サンマ / 秋刀魚) is the Pacific saury fish in Japanese. It is usually served grilled with sea salt.

Shokudo Food (5)

Curry udon is a bowl of Japanese broad noodles in curry gravy. Some small chunks of beef are usually found in the curry gravy.

Shokudo Food (4)

Spicy noodle soup is a bowl of noodles in soup of chili paste. It is usually served with a soft-boiled egg.

Shokudo Food (3)

Chicken katsu curry rice is a plate of rice served with chicken cutlet flooded by the Japanese curry gravy.

Shokudo Food (2)

Vegetable salad is typically served in small bowl in shokudo. It normally contains some green, corn kernels and coleslaw drizzled with thousand island dressing or mayonnaise.

Shokudo Food (1)

Donburi (丼), or literally the bowl, is a typical Japanese rice-bowl dish with the rice topped with the accompanying dish. The dish can be fish, meat, vegetables or mixed.

Shokudo Food (0)

Shokudo (食堂), or literally the food hall, is a typical canteen in Japan. Various kind of food can be found on the menu. Some items on the menu are available throughout the year while some are seasonal items. Shokudo is the place to find Japanese food at reasonable price. It doesn't mean that cheap price will compromise quality, but some items are very tasty.

Going Home

In one of the rural villages of the Yunnan Province, all the primary school students had no privilege of having their parents to pick them up, unlike the pampered urban kids. They never complain about their tough live but live through it.

The Portraits of Primary School Students

These portraits were taken during our photography expedition to a rural village of the Yunnan Province. There are primary school students of the only school in the village.

Happy Friendship

One of the best things in life is to have true friends. Same say you will only meet your true friends in primary or secondary schools as the friendship has no agenda. Well, I have met some of my best friends in secondary school.

Happy Cleaning

I still remember in my old days in school, I had to perform my duty of cleaning according to the duty roster. Nowadays, school children in the cities are too pampered to perform such duty. In fact the cleaning duty is good for the self-discipline training of school children. Perhaps the urban schools need to consider reinstating the cleaning duty on the students.

Happy Clicking

One of the best moments in school is the time when one clicks with friends. This type of moment has become less and less when we grow up. It becomes even more scarce when we step into the society of work. Therefore, we must treasure every moment that we have with our close relatives and friends. Let's spend more time with them.

Happy Recess

Recess time is always the most enjoyable time for the students in school. It is the time that they can break away from their school work temperorily and play to their hearts' content. Therefore, you can always see smile on their faces and hear laughters from their mouth during this time.

Happy Studying

When we were at the primary school of Huigou Village (花沟村) at the Dongchuan Hongtudi (东川红土地) region of Yunnan Province (云南省), were were lucky that the headmaster permitted us to shoot photos in the classroom. The students were very happy in the classroom studying on their own while the teacher was attempting to each student on their homework. Most of the students were serious about their studies except a few playful ones. However, no matter how playful they were, the books were still in their hands.

The exam season was just over at the university that I am working in and I am sad to say that more than half of the class failed my subject. It came to me as no surprise as I can gauge the students' performance to their attitude in class. When I conducted the tutorial class, more than half of the class did not attempt to any of the tutorial questions. I had already warned them that if that's their attitude, they are expected to fail the subject. This is reflected clearly in their results.

As compared to the primary students I met at Huigou Village (花沟村), the university students I have in the city are lightyears behind these primary school students who are underpriviledged. Maybe it is the easy life in the city that shapes the bad attitude of students towards the importance of education. Students who undergo hardship will learn to appreciate the opportunity they have in education. Well, maybe it is just human nature to take things for granted.

Happy Classroom

We visited the primary school at Huigou Village (花沟村) during our photography expedition to the Dongchuan Hongtudi (东川红土地) region of Yunnan Province (云南省). After we had asked for permission from the headmaster to shoot photos in the classroom, we started to move around and shoot photos. There wasn't a formal teaching that day but just discussions amongst teacher and students. Therefore, we could have more freedom moving around the classrom. Here are just two of photos I shot during that visit. There will be more to come.