Shanghai Tech WriterTechnical Writing, Technology, Web2.0, Google, Shanghai, China

One of the perks of working at Google is that there’s free food, snacks, and drinks! There’s actually a company policy that states that no employee should be more than 150 feet from a food source! Some offices, depending on size, offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner, in addition to the mini kitchens stocked with snacks and drinks every few hundred feet. Smaller offices (like Google Taipei) don’t offer meals, but instead, provide a generous meal subsidy.

Google Shanghai offers breakfast (bread from a nearby bakery) and catered lunch from Maggie’s Restaurant (西郊5号), which according to Dian Ping (Chinese version of Yelp), averages 5/5 stars and an average of 554RMB (~$80 USD) per person per meal. Well, that’s the average review for dining at the restaurant. The food that’s catered to the office doesn’t look and taste like it though. Most people at the office like the food. As for me, I’m not that crazy about Chinese food, but the quality and selection is not bad at all. Who can complain when there’s free buffet-style lunch?

So here’s the typical lunch menu (sorry, no pictures!):

Cold Dishes
Spicy smoked fish (五香熏鱼)
Goose liver (香蜜鹅肝)
Bean noodles in chili sauce (巴渝凉粉)
Fruits salad (杂果色拉)

Vegetarian
Pan-fried egg with dried radish (萝卜干煎蛋)
Sautéed mushroom (香蜜百灵菇)
Poached kale (白灼芥兰)

Starch
Stir-fried rice with brown sauce (酱油炒饭)
Minced pork congee with preserved egg (皮蛋瘦肉粥)

Meat
Steamed sliced pork with preserved vegetables (梅干菜烧肉)
Braised beef brisket with radish (萝卜烧牛腩)
Steamed fish with chili pepper (剁椒蒸鱼头)
Smoked duck chest with black pepper (黒椒鸭胸)
Steamed Dazha crab (清蒸大闸蟹)
Sautéed cabbage with chili sauce (手撕包菜)

Dessert
Sweet sticky cake (太白拉糕)
Steamed dumplings (水晶蒸饺)
Deep-fried crisp sticky rice cake (五香咸水角)
Pumpkin cream with lily roots (南瓜百合羹)

Soup
Chicken soup (山村老鸡汤)