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If you're in Oakland and really broke, then head over to Big Dish, at 339 9th St. in Chinatown, where a hot lunch can be had for as little as $2.50. This, however, was my three-course breakfast, which relieved me of $3.10, with $1.75 for rice gruel with traces of chicken and thousand-year-old egg, 55 cents for a pretty decent pork bun, and 40 cents each for the turd-like dumplings, filled with pork and cabbage. A meal like this won't likely raise your self-esteem or spirit, but it will still fill you up, so shut up already, and the self-served tea is free and unlimited. This place is so cheap, you might find yourself sitting near a homeless guy, surrounded by trash bags, like the one I describe in my Oakland postcard.



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