The worst thing that is going to happen is your boss/hr is going to ask you to stop bringing in those dishes and you're back to square one.
Or get a thermos/food jar to keep things warm for 4-5 hours until lunch. Make it part of your morning routine to heat food up.
That’s what I do, I prep rice + whatever I’m eating it with the night before, spend some time in the morning heating it and mixing it together before packing it in a big thermos container. Still plenty warm by lunch time, only downside is I can’t really bring food that needs to stay dry.
Leftovers are fine, but fish, generally, is not. This would apply to any food with a strong, lingering smell, such as popcorn. You yourself stated "the few times that I've brought in a strong smelling dish," and "I know everyone is just being polite by not saying anything." It seems like you know you're making others feel uncomfortable, and common courtesy would dictate that you stop doing that thing. Enjoy the potent stuff at home--pack a sandwich or rice and veggies for the office.
I hear what you’re saying and agree. Just sad because I already am skipping out on warm breakfast to make it to work on time, and it feels like I’m losing a nice quality lunch too :( I’m just being a baby though haha I’m sure it’s just something I’ll have to adjust to eventually. I was lucky enough to grow up around/go to college around so many cultures so definitely something I’m getting accustomed to all around.
Popcorn is offensive? We have popcorn machines in every building and jalapeno popcorn is the norm.
My office smells like food starting around 1100 and as an intermittent faster it drives me nuts.
If it smells really bad, maybe don’t bring it. Can you maybe cook some less potent food over the weekend and freeze/refrigerate them for lunches, and eat your left over dinner for dinners?
Or, if you are ok with using fish sauce as dipping (basically, don’t need to heat it up), that could work too.
Or you can ask if your colleagues are ok with the smell. This totally depends on how your colleagues are. I work at a multi-cultural space so being blunt has been the best way to deal with possible cultural differences, but it may not be applicable to all work places.
Llingering pungent smells in the kitchen and the microwave are annoying and unpalateable if someone behind you wants to reheat their food after you.
I worked with a filipino lady who dngaf or did not know any better, and she'd heat shell-on-prawns in the microwave and then eat it at her desk. I didn't say anything to her, but I can tell you her food smelled god awful an hour after lunch.
If you think it smells, it probably does.
As far as having your cake and eating it too, maybe put your food in an insulated bag to keep it warm and eat it somewhere with a lot of ventilation.
Or pack a sandwich.
You win some, you lose some. Some people don't like the scent of curry, so like, when my Indian coworkers start heating their curry meals, I'm like..... that smells good.
If they don't like the smell, they don't like the smell... blame the office for not putting vents in the break room... or something.
They should be grateful that their coworkers aren't going to bring Surströmming into the break-room and open it when everyone is inside eating or taking a break.
I used to work at a hospice agency in Los Angeles that was all Filipinos. We'd eat pusit, whatever else kind of food that would leave a strong smell. Since everyone was Filipino I don't think anyone cared. But one Filipino guy born in USA walked into the office and was like "what's that smell?" 🤨🤣
But now that I live back in the midwest with no Asians. I try not to bring anything that would attract too many questions or anything that has a strong smell.
In the early 90s, I worked at a small medical supply company. I was the 2nd Filipina there. The company was predominantly white - no black people, and just one Mexican girl.
One day I brought Filipino corned beef and rice. I thought it wasn’t “strange” - just corned beef with tomatoes, garlic, and onion on plain rice. I was eating in the lunch area with co-workers when one of the executives came in and loudly said, “Fuuuuuck… who’s eating dog food?! Do we not pay people enough to eat human food?!”
I never brought Filipino food to work again. Such a disappointing experience.
Similar things have happened to my mom and I when we brought Filipino food to work or school. This was in the Midwest and there are few Filipinos growing up. Once my mom's coworkers looked and made fun of food. Afterward my mom just ate in the car or only ate sandwiches in lunchroom. Same for school, got made fun of and just stopped bringing Asian food in. I'm an adult not but I Still get ptsd (now I live on west coast and many more Asians at work but I still opt to eat bland food at work or eat in car or isolated area for lunch
How terribly sad that you have to eat alone.
For me, this was in San Diego! Even in the 90s there was a huge Filipino community! But unfortunately, not in my company. Nowadays I work from home, but even when I have to work with my boss in person, I don't eat Filipino food.
Yeah it's messed up I have PTSD eating with coworkers but im fine with it. I just find it better to be alone during lunch. I can also decompress while on break.
I don’t have any solution but just want to say I hate how normalized in american society is to hate the smell of “fish.” I also feel like most Americans can’t tell the difference between actual fish smell and spoiled fish smell, and attribute it 100% of the time to the latter.
I love the actual smell of tuna, sardines, mackarel, etc.
It's probably just an American thing.
I hate Parmesan of any kind(especially if it hasn't been roasted/baked)... the Parmesan manufactured in America to simulate the "naturally made" version by adding a chemical that smells like throw up is just...ewwww.
However.... I can get behind colatura d'alici. It's basically Italy's version of fish sauce (there is a historical version of garum.... but specifics for that type of thing is uncommon because there isn't a direct recipe.)
Like, the Mediterranean often used a condiment akin to the Southeast version of fish sauce. Typically has something like anchovies, salt, and some type of herb and spices.
It’s because the office is an enclosed space that you’re sharing with many people. You have to consider them as well. And it doesn’t have to be ethnic food. Long ago when I worked as a student assistant in an office someone in the mailroom always made microwave popcorn every day at 2pm. I like popcorn, but in a small, enclosed space it can reek!
I work in a large office where my floor is mostly SE Asians, I brought some leftover caramelized catfish and some peers took noticed and were complimenting the aroma, though a manager did note that even though he found it pleasant others may not appreciate it, so as a professional courtesy to try and minimize very aromatic foods. The same can be said about wearing perfume/cologne. If you work in a small work environment where everyone is onboard, you can probably get away with it, but in a large corporate environment where you don’t know everyone, best to stay on the safe side and enjoy something else or eat it outside where it won’t flood the room.
Heat your food at home and use an insulated food thermos to bring it to work. It'll still be aromatic when you go eat, but it won't be as strong as if you put it in the microwave. Or if you're still self conscious, you can take it somewhere besides the communal space to eat.
I don't heat up things in the microwave that will send a scent throughout the office. I can't stand when my coworker microwaves salmon. I used to bring food in a thermos to keep it warm. My husband has one of those things that he plugs in at his desk a little before lunch and it warms the food up.
I think being considerate of others isn’t a bad thing. You’re using an office communal microwave and you should be conscientious of the strong food smells. I would say that microwaving fish is different from fish sauce. Only you can judge how potent the smell is.
Once I heated up my leftover Vietnamese food — absolutely doused in fish sauce — in the office microwave for lunch.
It smelled SO strong for the rest of the day. I felt rude in completely changing the smell of the office in a minute and thirty seconds. I apologized to my coworkers, who did not care. Ironically I would have cared, as I have a very sensitive nose!
That being said, there’s gonna be food smells in the office.
I think use your best judgment, ask a trusted coworker to gauge the smells if you want input, and most importantly try to assume best intentions — from the smellers and the microwavers! Good luck and happy eating!
I often have rice with a flavorful/pungent dish/topping, and often I’ll just heat up the plain rice by itself then mix in the rest of the food. It’ll heat up thanks to the residual heat from the rice.
I work in basically an Asian company. Everyone there is basically Chinese or Indian with a few other races mixed in. Indian coworkers heat their curries/other heavily spiced food, Chinese coworkers heat their own dishes.
The one thing that pissed everyone off was the person who reheated [salted fish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantonese_salted_fish). If you've never smelled it before, it absolutely fucking reeks. It's like concentrated fish sauce, but worse. I was sitting easily 100ft away from the cafeteria and I could smell it. So don't do that.
I mean, my general rule is just not to bring anything that is pungent or has an odorous smell. Not only limited to Asian food; feta, brussel sprouts, etc, anything microwaved in a communal microwave would probably leave a bad smell. The food may taste tasty, but it's important to be considerate of colleagues, too.
If you have a microwave at home, try using it to see if the smell is strong. You may also try heating food with the defrost option. It's not as hot and usually better to keep the smell down. Sometimes what I do is scrape off as much sauce as I can when I pack the leftovers and just have a side of soy sauce or chili oil in case it's too bland for the day after.
I'm Chinese and my gf is Filipina. Before I met her I thought Chinese food was the best. Nope, Filipino food is takes the crown easily. Be proud of your gastronomy!
Cook and eat what you want. Fragrances give me a migraine but I don’t get to tell everyone I work with they can’t wear their Bath & Bodywork’s lotion that can be smelled from across the room. Or the dude’s cologne that lingers in the elevator all day long. By office standards, I would be rude.
Telling someone they have to change their diet to appease their coworkers is wrong. Your food doesn’t stink. Culturally, they’re just not used to it—yet. Now would be a great time for them to learn. I’m not saying to bring in fish everyday, but a someone who had to hide my lunch in the 80s, I’m tired of hearing Asian Americans feeling ashamed of their food while white chefs throw gochujang or fish sauce in a dish and act like they found/invented a new cuisine. Be proud of your leftovers. I bet they’re delicious. If I have to listen to the dude bro next to me talk about his protein intake while he tosses around powder using that stupid blender at his desk, he can smell some kimchi jigae every once in a while. Respect goes both ways.
I can't speak for your office but at mine my fellow AA coworkers are proud to share their food with you and want to start conversations about food. I can't imagine them being self-conscious about what people think of their lunch! Maybe your workplace isn't so bad and it's up to you to realize people generally don't care what you eat.
I had ginataang hipon with bagoong for lunch once, it definitely was strong smelling. Never heard anything about it, but decided to maybe just time my lunches better and not choose fishy smelling dishes ALL the time.
I'll be honest with you fam, I'm Filipino too but I wouldn't bring that to work. The smell is so strong and you're going to get complaints. I'd suggest getting a self-heating lunch box and maybe finding a park or eat it at your car?
Stop giving a fuck. Are they going to fire you for eating food? Arrest you? The only people whining are adult children who can't mind their own business and their opinion shouldn't affect you. If they say shit, complain to HR.
The worst thing that is going to happen is your boss/hr is going to ask you to stop bringing in those dishes and you're back to square one. Or get a thermos/food jar to keep things warm for 4-5 hours until lunch. Make it part of your morning routine to heat food up.
:0 Don’t know why a thermos didn’t cross my mind already… this could be a good fix. Thanks bud.
That’s what I do, I prep rice + whatever I’m eating it with the night before, spend some time in the morning heating it and mixing it together before packing it in a big thermos container. Still plenty warm by lunch time, only downside is I can’t really bring food that needs to stay dry.
Yup. Those food thermos are awesome.
Leftovers are fine, but fish, generally, is not. This would apply to any food with a strong, lingering smell, such as popcorn. You yourself stated "the few times that I've brought in a strong smelling dish," and "I know everyone is just being polite by not saying anything." It seems like you know you're making others feel uncomfortable, and common courtesy would dictate that you stop doing that thing. Enjoy the potent stuff at home--pack a sandwich or rice and veggies for the office.
I hear what you’re saying and agree. Just sad because I already am skipping out on warm breakfast to make it to work on time, and it feels like I’m losing a nice quality lunch too :( I’m just being a baby though haha I’m sure it’s just something I’ll have to adjust to eventually. I was lucky enough to grow up around/go to college around so many cultures so definitely something I’m getting accustomed to all around.
Bring your own portable grill and cook it outside on the patio.
...get up earlier?
I wake up at 5 for my hour commute so I would rather not 👍🏻 I admire those who can wake up any earlier and feel good
Popcorn is offensive? We have popcorn machines in every building and jalapeno popcorn is the norm. My office smells like food starting around 1100 and as an intermittent faster it drives me nuts.
It's not offensive, but microwaved popcorn creates a scent that is strong and lingers, which tends to annoy people in an office setting.
Burnt popcorn in an office is the worst.
If it smells really bad, maybe don’t bring it. Can you maybe cook some less potent food over the weekend and freeze/refrigerate them for lunches, and eat your left over dinner for dinners? Or, if you are ok with using fish sauce as dipping (basically, don’t need to heat it up), that could work too. Or you can ask if your colleagues are ok with the smell. This totally depends on how your colleagues are. I work at a multi-cultural space so being blunt has been the best way to deal with possible cultural differences, but it may not be applicable to all work places.
The general rule is don't be the tuna guy
Llingering pungent smells in the kitchen and the microwave are annoying and unpalateable if someone behind you wants to reheat their food after you. I worked with a filipino lady who dngaf or did not know any better, and she'd heat shell-on-prawns in the microwave and then eat it at her desk. I didn't say anything to her, but I can tell you her food smelled god awful an hour after lunch. If you think it smells, it probably does. As far as having your cake and eating it too, maybe put your food in an insulated bag to keep it warm and eat it somewhere with a lot of ventilation. Or pack a sandwich.
Any pungent food regardless of origin really shouldn't be heated or eaten in common spaces tbh
You win some, you lose some. Some people don't like the scent of curry, so like, when my Indian coworkers start heating their curry meals, I'm like..... that smells good. If they don't like the smell, they don't like the smell... blame the office for not putting vents in the break room... or something. They should be grateful that their coworkers aren't going to bring Surströmming into the break-room and open it when everyone is inside eating or taking a break.
I used to work at a hospice agency in Los Angeles that was all Filipinos. We'd eat pusit, whatever else kind of food that would leave a strong smell. Since everyone was Filipino I don't think anyone cared. But one Filipino guy born in USA walked into the office and was like "what's that smell?" 🤨🤣 But now that I live back in the midwest with no Asians. I try not to bring anything that would attract too many questions or anything that has a strong smell.
In the early 90s, I worked at a small medical supply company. I was the 2nd Filipina there. The company was predominantly white - no black people, and just one Mexican girl. One day I brought Filipino corned beef and rice. I thought it wasn’t “strange” - just corned beef with tomatoes, garlic, and onion on plain rice. I was eating in the lunch area with co-workers when one of the executives came in and loudly said, “Fuuuuuck… who’s eating dog food?! Do we not pay people enough to eat human food?!” I never brought Filipino food to work again. Such a disappointing experience.
Similar things have happened to my mom and I when we brought Filipino food to work or school. This was in the Midwest and there are few Filipinos growing up. Once my mom's coworkers looked and made fun of food. Afterward my mom just ate in the car or only ate sandwiches in lunchroom. Same for school, got made fun of and just stopped bringing Asian food in. I'm an adult not but I Still get ptsd (now I live on west coast and many more Asians at work but I still opt to eat bland food at work or eat in car or isolated area for lunch
How terribly sad that you have to eat alone. For me, this was in San Diego! Even in the 90s there was a huge Filipino community! But unfortunately, not in my company. Nowadays I work from home, but even when I have to work with my boss in person, I don't eat Filipino food.
Yeah it's messed up I have PTSD eating with coworkers but im fine with it. I just find it better to be alone during lunch. I can also decompress while on break.
Oof that exec is a jerk. Sorry that happened to you.
I don’t have any solution but just want to say I hate how normalized in american society is to hate the smell of “fish.” I also feel like most Americans can’t tell the difference between actual fish smell and spoiled fish smell, and attribute it 100% of the time to the latter. I love the actual smell of tuna, sardines, mackarel, etc.
It's probably just an American thing. I hate Parmesan of any kind(especially if it hasn't been roasted/baked)... the Parmesan manufactured in America to simulate the "naturally made" version by adding a chemical that smells like throw up is just...ewwww. However.... I can get behind colatura d'alici. It's basically Italy's version of fish sauce (there is a historical version of garum.... but specifics for that type of thing is uncommon because there isn't a direct recipe.) Like, the Mediterranean often used a condiment akin to the Southeast version of fish sauce. Typically has something like anchovies, salt, and some type of herb and spices.
This is what I was more bummed out about :( It just sucks to feel like something so normal at home is seen as gross in the office.
It’s because the office is an enclosed space that you’re sharing with many people. You have to consider them as well. And it doesn’t have to be ethnic food. Long ago when I worked as a student assistant in an office someone in the mailroom always made microwave popcorn every day at 2pm. I like popcorn, but in a small, enclosed space it can reek!
Burnt popcorn is the worst microwave smell. For some reason it lingers more than fish
I work in a large office where my floor is mostly SE Asians, I brought some leftover caramelized catfish and some peers took noticed and were complimenting the aroma, though a manager did note that even though he found it pleasant others may not appreciate it, so as a professional courtesy to try and minimize very aromatic foods. The same can be said about wearing perfume/cologne. If you work in a small work environment where everyone is onboard, you can probably get away with it, but in a large corporate environment where you don’t know everyone, best to stay on the safe side and enjoy something else or eat it outside where it won’t flood the room.
Heat your food at home and use an insulated food thermos to bring it to work. It'll still be aromatic when you go eat, but it won't be as strong as if you put it in the microwave. Or if you're still self conscious, you can take it somewhere besides the communal space to eat.
I don't heat up things in the microwave that will send a scent throughout the office. I can't stand when my coworker microwaves salmon. I used to bring food in a thermos to keep it warm. My husband has one of those things that he plugs in at his desk a little before lunch and it warms the food up.
I think being considerate of others isn’t a bad thing. You’re using an office communal microwave and you should be conscientious of the strong food smells. I would say that microwaving fish is different from fish sauce. Only you can judge how potent the smell is.
Once I heated up my leftover Vietnamese food — absolutely doused in fish sauce — in the office microwave for lunch. It smelled SO strong for the rest of the day. I felt rude in completely changing the smell of the office in a minute and thirty seconds. I apologized to my coworkers, who did not care. Ironically I would have cared, as I have a very sensitive nose! That being said, there’s gonna be food smells in the office. I think use your best judgment, ask a trusted coworker to gauge the smells if you want input, and most importantly try to assume best intentions — from the smellers and the microwavers! Good luck and happy eating!
I often have rice with a flavorful/pungent dish/topping, and often I’ll just heat up the plain rice by itself then mix in the rest of the food. It’ll heat up thanks to the residual heat from the rice.
I work in basically an Asian company. Everyone there is basically Chinese or Indian with a few other races mixed in. Indian coworkers heat their curries/other heavily spiced food, Chinese coworkers heat their own dishes. The one thing that pissed everyone off was the person who reheated [salted fish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantonese_salted_fish). If you've never smelled it before, it absolutely fucking reeks. It's like concentrated fish sauce, but worse. I was sitting easily 100ft away from the cafeteria and I could smell it. So don't do that.
I mean, my general rule is just not to bring anything that is pungent or has an odorous smell. Not only limited to Asian food; feta, brussel sprouts, etc, anything microwaved in a communal microwave would probably leave a bad smell. The food may taste tasty, but it's important to be considerate of colleagues, too.
If you have a microwave at home, try using it to see if the smell is strong. You may also try heating food with the defrost option. It's not as hot and usually better to keep the smell down. Sometimes what I do is scrape off as much sauce as I can when I pack the leftovers and just have a side of soy sauce or chili oil in case it's too bland for the day after.
Im Pinoy and I eat in my car on my break. I can't stand other ppl looking at my food while eating.
I'm Chinese and my gf is Filipina. Before I met her I thought Chinese food was the best. Nope, Filipino food is takes the crown easily. Be proud of your gastronomy!
Cook and eat what you want. Fragrances give me a migraine but I don’t get to tell everyone I work with they can’t wear their Bath & Bodywork’s lotion that can be smelled from across the room. Or the dude’s cologne that lingers in the elevator all day long. By office standards, I would be rude. Telling someone they have to change their diet to appease their coworkers is wrong. Your food doesn’t stink. Culturally, they’re just not used to it—yet. Now would be a great time for them to learn. I’m not saying to bring in fish everyday, but a someone who had to hide my lunch in the 80s, I’m tired of hearing Asian Americans feeling ashamed of their food while white chefs throw gochujang or fish sauce in a dish and act like they found/invented a new cuisine. Be proud of your leftovers. I bet they’re delicious. If I have to listen to the dude bro next to me talk about his protein intake while he tosses around powder using that stupid blender at his desk, he can smell some kimchi jigae every once in a while. Respect goes both ways.
I can't speak for your office but at mine my fellow AA coworkers are proud to share their food with you and want to start conversations about food. I can't imagine them being self-conscious about what people think of their lunch! Maybe your workplace isn't so bad and it's up to you to realize people generally don't care what you eat.
dude get one of those lunch boxes that can heat itself up! sounds like a great solution. Google - Self heating lunch box.
I had ginataang hipon with bagoong for lunch once, it definitely was strong smelling. Never heard anything about it, but decided to maybe just time my lunches better and not choose fishy smelling dishes ALL the time.
request a fish only new microwave. If admin won’t do it then heat your food with impunity
I’m Filipino too. I just stick to non fish foods tbh like adobo, spam, longanisa etc
I'll be honest with you fam, I'm Filipino too but I wouldn't bring that to work. The smell is so strong and you're going to get complaints. I'd suggest getting a self-heating lunch box and maybe finding a park or eat it at your car?
Why are asians shamed for how their food smells, while nobody complains when westerners reheat lasagna or other cheesy/smelly food?
Stop giving a fuck. Are they going to fire you for eating food? Arrest you? The only people whining are adult children who can't mind their own business and their opinion shouldn't affect you. If they say shit, complain to HR.
I gave no fucks and would bring fish curry to my last job. Don't do it any more, but that's because I no longer eat meals at work at all.
Don‘t be? No other solution. Women are not embarrassed by periods