Lifestyle

7 Memories of Primary School Canteens That Bring Back the Fewlings

2018-06-14 , 3:45 pm

Last Updated on 2022-05-08 , 7:02 pm

Everyone has been through primary school (thank you, Captain Obvious), and usually, we look forward to just one “period” in primary school: the recess.

Not only would we not be faced with scolding, boring lessons and undone homework, we’ll get to makan in the canteen that sells affordable and nice food. But what are the things we miss about it?

Here’re some!

(Hmm…I wonder if the canteens are still the same now)

The finger food with toothpick

One fishball poked with a toothpick used to cost ten cents, and it’s a must for us after having our main course. Either that, or a small hotdog. It doesn’t matter what finger food is left: you just grab one, two or ten of them before you fall in for the march back to class.

And the canteen vendors are smart marketing fellows: they’ll lay everything nicely in front of the stall, seducing every single student’s stomach as he or she walks by. There was never a moment when these finger foods were sold out. At least not from what I can remember.

The drinks that are laid nicely

Unlike coffee shops that we’re accustomed to now whereby we have to wait for a few seconds for the coffee shop assistant to get us our drink, cups of drinks are laid nicely for us to take. You can almost choose either the one that is filled to the brim or one that seems to be drunk by someone else before.

Well, one thing’s for sure: those bullies would always grab one cup, take a large sip and put it back. I’m also very sure that the aunties / uncles were acutely aware of that: they just closed one eye.

Do it now and trust me, social media would explode with angry parents #ThePowerOfStrawberriesNotStrawberrySyrup

The queues are orderly

A councillor or a prefect will always be around to make sure everything runs smoothly. And that’s also the reason why people want to be a councillor or prefect: you makan before anyone makan. Or you makan after everyone has makan.

Either way, you makan with plentiful of seats with your kick-ass tie.

The food is cheap

Where else can you find cheap food? Here, of course, in primary school canteens. If we look at ALL food centres in Singapore, we’re quite sure a primary school canteen is the cheapest.

Not sure about the rate now, but $0.60 used to be more than enough for a meal back then.

One table and bench can sit the entire class

Okay, maybe not, but you get the idea—it’s not fixed like in coffee shops, so if all your friends are small, you can all sit together: there’s no limit. In primary school, it’s almost imperative that one eats with someone close. Eating alone is a big no-no.

Strange that as we grow up, we’re always looking for opportunity to eat alone. At least for me lah.

Days with fried food

Usually, there would only be a day when fried foods are permitted. And you’ll see students queuing up like crazy, and once they’ve got their fried chicken, the bell rang and recess has ended. #truestory

The struggle to decide who clear the plates

Return-your-own-tray is apparently ingrained in us since we were young; everyone of us had to return our own plates. But of course, with a group of friends, usually only one of them would be the designated plates-returner.

Back in my days, whoever finished his or her food would be the one. How about yours?