DUC Dinner Event: Pokémon Theme

As a longstanding fan of the Pokémon franchise, I was admittedly excited for the Pokemon-themed dinner which took place in the DeRosa University Center (DUC) on the 1st of February. On the day of the dinner event, I found that curry ramen was being served for lunch. I excitedly bought the special meal hoping that it might be a preview for the night ahead, but I was ultimately disappointed. Although the egg and noodles were quite nice, the broth was unbearably bland. Wounded from this experience, I had hoped this would not be foreshadowing for the night approaching.

The night of the dinner arrived and just as I had suspected the curry ramen from lunch was being served with seemingly no changes. I perused the aisles optimistically hoping to find something better than the ramen I had earlier in the day. I decided upon the Poké Ball Poke bowl, whose name I found amusing, but the meal itself was lacking. I wish they were more generous with the toppings and sauce, but the bowl was fairly priced considering it came with raw tuna; about twelve dollars in total. The rice was not dry on this occasion as it sometimes is in the DUC and the fish was satisfactory, but I would not order it again if better options were made available.

Even after the disheartening meal, I was excited for dessert; where dinner events like these usually shine. Unfortunately, that was not the case on this occasion. I ordered a Pikachu lemon tart and a Mew Rice Krispie. The Mew-Themed Rice Krispies tasted the same as the Rice Krispies that are usually served at the DUC with some added food coloring and a small amount of white chocolate, which was used for the eyes. It was satisfactory, but I wish something more creative had been done for this special like a white chocolate coating or perhaps some fondant to coat the Rice Krispie.

Recreating Pikachu's likeness on a lemon tart was amusing. The raspberries that resemble Pikachu's cheeks would have worked with the lemon flavor of the tart if it were made of custard and not lemon-flavored jello. The facial features of Pikachu were made out of chocolate which was a weird choice for a lemon tart and didn’t pair well with the lemon flavor. I was immensely disappointed by the choice to use jello instead of custard. I would not recommend this dessert, nor would I personally try it again.

Unfortunately, my suspicions about the curry ramen from lunch were correct. Justin Lai, a 2nd year pre-dentistry student who tried the dish, noted that "nothing really stood out" and that the broth was especially bland. Ishaan Aggarwal, a graduate student majoring in computer science, also expressed his distaste for the ramen stating that the spices used, garam masala and tumeric, did not combine well. Aggarwal also had the boba for dessert, but disliked it, explaining that the fruit punch did not work with the boba or ice cream.

On a more positive note, a senior by the name of Bryan Vu admired the pasta special being served that night. He claimed it was “better than the usual pasta” and that it was enjoyably spicy. He noted that the bacon was really nice to have on pasta. Another positively received dish was the burger which an anonymous student gave fairly high praise. They noted that the inclusion of mushrooms was appreciated due to the fact that the DUC is usually out.

Although there appear to be outliers, the dinner overall was unsatisfying. I would not go again if given the option.