By Aiman: RA and semi-professional food critic

Hi! I am Aiman, your friendly RA, and I ate at The Curve every day for one week.

If you don’t already know, The Curve is our campus’ cafeteria, and I decided to show you just how diverse the food scene is around here! Plus, everyone gathers around a similar time to eat meals every day so the atmosphere is quite nice. (It's giving community 🫂)

Below is my daily diary, including the five days of eating at The Curve. I have split each day into:

• What I ate
• How it tasted
• My overall experience
• My overall rating

Day 1

2-3 pm (lunch): Salad bar (mixed salad - half quinoa, half rocket with spicy pepper chicken breast)🥗

I think this salad tasted quite nice! It could pass for an atis salad 😱 or betterrrr!? And I was extremely surprised to find capers, yoghurt sauce and pomegranate seeds as they all added lightness, texture and just a bit of sourness that elevated the salad.

My overall experience was also quite nice as it was my first day of eating at The Curve (for this week), and everyone was super kind, helpful and understanding when I asked if I could film the food :)

Finally, hoping I don't come across as biased, but I would rate the salad a solid 8/10. 🏆

Day 2

1-3 pm (lunch): The main lunch servings (Chicken noodle dish)

The noodle dish was super generous in its portion size so definitely a bit heavier on the stomach, but it was quite flavourful (I liked that they added crispy onions and chillies on top!).

My experience was also quite nice since I decided to eat in and got a cosy spot to enjoy my meal at. However, just because of how I couldn't exactly finish the dish, I would rate it a 7/10

Day 3

7-10:30 am (breakfast): Grabbed myself a nice mocha from the cafe and an English breakfast (included halal sausage {has vegan options too}, hash browns, eggs and beans)

🥖🍳The Curve surprisingly offers quite a few breakfast options, and I quite enjoyed my meal. However, this time there was no toast left, which I think would have made it even better :) 🍞🥐

Around this time, The Curve was not as busy, and I got to see the campus cat (Queenie!), so my experience was really good! I would rate it a 8/10

Day 4

1-3 pm (lunch): The main lunch servings (harissa chicken thigh with rice and coleslaw)

This dish was one of my favourites as I quite liked the tangy tomato sauce and its pairing with the rice and the coleslaw, definitely super balanced! My overall experience was at this point also quite nice, and The Curve staff recognised me as a regular 🫶

I would rate this experience and the rice dish as 9/10 (surely not my South Asian bias 👀)

Day 5

1-2:30 pm (lunch): The main lunch servings (Mongolian beef noodles)

My final day was spent trying out the Mongolian beef noodles. It was nice but perhaps not my favourite as I don't quite lean towards red meats. However, my friend really enjoyed it, so it depends on your taste palate and is well worth a try! 📣

I would rate the overall experience as 6.5/10, just compared the other options at The Curve. 💔

Overall...

Overall, I would say my favourite meals included the salad bar and breakfast options, plus the delicious harissa chicken thigh. Do note that The Curve has plenty more options, (my go-to is their katsu chicken curry 🍗) with halal and vegan options always available. Plus, don't forget Fridays when they serve traditional fish and chips! 🐟

So now it's your turn to try eating at The Curve ✊ (Even easier to do if you get your meal package today!)