₹250 Canteen Meal: Indian Student’ China Food Tour Goes Viral

New Delhi, November 28, 2025: A viral video shared by an Indian MBBS student in China, Komal Nigam, is challenging common perceptions about Chinese student life and cuisine. The clip, which takes viewers on a detailed tour of her government university’s multi-story canteen, highlights the affordability and variety of food available to students, with a full meal costing her just around ₹250 (approximately $3 USD).

Dispelling the Culinary Myths

One of the most significant aspects of Nigam’s video is her effort to dispel widespread stereotypes. She directly addresses the misconception that Chinese cuisine in general, and certainly on a university campus, consists only of unusual or exotic ingredients like insects and reptiles.

Instead, she showcases a clean, extensive, and modern facility that she likens to a “five-star menu.” The canteen is described as a massive, multi-level building, with each floor offering a different culinary focus:

• First Floor: Primarily traditional Chinese cuisine.
• Second Floor: A diverse mix of noodles, desserts, drinks, and beverages, which is always bustling with students.
• Third Floor: Nigam’s personal favourite, catering significantly to Indian nationals and other international students.

This range of options ensures that students from different backgrounds can find satisfying meals, including those who prefer Indian flavours. She also notes that certain drinks, like tea and some beverages, are provided to students free of cost, adding to the overall value.

The Cost of International Student Life

The video’s most viral point remains the incredibly low cost of the meal. Nigam demonstrates a full meal spread for which she paid only about ₹250. This figure has astonished social media users, many of whom are familiar with the often higher costs of university and street food in India and other countries.

The affordability observed in the video is generally consistent with reports on living costs for students in China, where subsidized university canteens are designed to provide budget-friendly meals. While other dining options, like the more expensive, comparably priced restaurant Nigam mentions on campus, are available, the core canteen offers a key relief to students managing their monthly budgets. International students across Chinese universities often benefit from such subsidized facilities, making their overall cost of living manageable.

The positive glimpse into her daily life—which includes not just the canteen but other impressive university facilities seen in other related vlogs—has generated widespread interest and positive discussion online, encouraging more students to consider scholarship and study opportunities in China.