The Lunchbox

I forget what the Chinese word for this is, and so would you, so let's just use the standard translation "lunchbox."

This is a lunchbox. Lunchboxes are the most common form of take out in Taiwan and the small restaurants that provide them quickly and cheaply are EVERYWHERE. I can never over-emphasize the mind-boggling number of small restaurants here. And when I say cheap I mean $1.50 - $2 cheap. $2 for a duck dinner! As you can see by comparing it to the chopsticks, that box is big! And what does it contain? My 3 choices of side vegetable: dark leafy greens, cabbage/ carrots, and bamboo. In the spotlight is a big piece of roasted duck on a generous bed of rice.
People line up at this guy's restaurant every lunch and dinner rush. I mean they form a long line, but it moves fast. I guess his duck is semi-famous or at least neighborhood-famous. The funny thing about Taiwan is that due to this glorious tradition of great cheap food, fast food restaurants serve a completely different service here than in the West. For example, I got in and out of this guy's shop just as fast as I would a McDonald's, but the food at McDonald's costs twice as much. So why do people go to McDonald's then? Because the seating is ample and there is no pressure to leave when you are done eating. For this reason KFCs, Burger Kings and McDonald's in Taiwan are mostly populated by high school students just hanging out or studying. (MosBurger is the same. It's a fast food chain from Japan that actually has high-quality food, believe it or not.) McDonald's even plays classical music! That cracked me up the first time I went inside one.
So there you have it - the lunchbox. The original fast food: healthier, cheaper and better tasting than the competition. Interesting trivia: since Asia does not have the oven tradition of the West, the is a single Chinese word that can mean any of the following: grilled, broiled, roasted, baked, etc.