Sasa canteen

Please notice this was first posted in the period 2012-2014 and can be outdated

Classes at Sasin can last forever, at least that is what it feels like from time to time, but luckily there are normally breaks when a class takes more than 90 minutes. The breaks during classes can last from 10 up to 30 minutes depending on the professor, and at noon you will have an almost guaranteed hour off to eat and wind down a bit. While an hour seems like a lot of time, it can still be difficult to squeeze in a visit to, for example, MBK for a decent meal at one of Japans finest restaurants. The best accessible place to eat during any of the breaks is the canteen in the Sasin building, named “Sasa canteen” by someone with a lack of inspiration.

Around 11:45AM the canteen really opens up with big buckets of food waiting for hungry customers with low standards. The quality of the food can differ per dish but in general I am pretty happy with what is on offering; every day you can choose between 4 dishes and a full plate will costs you between 40 and 70 baht depending on what you picked.

On days they have nothing of your liking, when you want to eat well before noon or later on the day, or when you arrive after a quarter past noon and everything is already gone, you can always place an order with the lady behind the register. Everything that is available for ordering is displayed on a big sign near the register for prices ranging from 35-50 baht.  Problem here might be that your food gets “stolen” though since they just put the plates on a table when done: if someone ordered the same dish 10 minutes after you they might mistakenly take your plate and you have to wait another 10 minutes to get your food. But to fully grasp the operational problems of the Sasa canteen you will have to wait till you have done the course Operations Management and hear professor Wikrom complain about it.

I might come across as a bit negative about the canteen but actually I am quite a big fan of the food there and I try to eat there as often as possible because it is tasty, quick, and cheap. Especially the fried rice, macaroni soup, and fried macaroni are my favorites. The food can become a bit boring though after a year of eating there so luckily there are alternatives in the direct neighborhood to go to besides MBK shopping center.

You can, for example, make a trip to the Sasa restaurant located next to the Sasa international house. When you go there you need plenty of time though; it is maybe 2 minutes walking to get there but when you order a steak or some other farang food you will have trouble being back within the hour. Students identifying themselves as students and paying cash get a discount of 10% on the menu.

Another option is to go to the Chulalongkorn canteen just across the road. This canteen operates as a food court meaning there are many small stalls selling different things and you get your food almost immediately after ordering. The portions here are larger than in the Sasa canteen and the prices a bit lower. And as icing on the cake you will be surrounded by females Thai students in cute student uniform (damn the one who decided they should not wear the tight skirts, damn you!).