I love a good buffet. Not all the time, but one of the things I love about travelling is a massive buffet with tons of variety - even if I know it is not the best convenience.
Best one I ever had was at a hotel in St Petersburg Russia which had a vat of caviar you could basically serve yourself.

On to the present - was in Marrakech over the holidays. They had a lunch buffet and the way it worked is you could see all of the dishes and you just told the waiter what you wanted and then they would make you a plate. Seemed like a sensible compromise.
I have also seen pictures of buffets in the middle east (can't remember if it was Turkey or UAE) where the buffet is now all pre-portioned, and covered, items.