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Originally Posted by work2fly
(Post 16756512)
Some of the best and most memorable food I've ever had has been at FT Dos.
And I've never seen a buffet... I don't know what's wrong with you two - I wasn't complaining about the number of FT do's that are buffets - the point of my post was to talk in my view light heartedly about my experience at an FT do buffet. Don't be so blo*dy touchy! |
I'm very careful at buffets. Generally I make a salad, then get tastes of dishes I want. By then I'm starting to feel full, so I have a small dessert.
I tend to be morally opposed to buffets because of the huge amounts of waste inherent in them. |
I don't often go to buffet's these days but if I do it's at a "Chinese" restaurant. I start with a small bowl of soup and a few appetizers (dumplings, etc.). Then a reasonable plate of food with rice and a few entrees including plenty of veggies. Last, a light dessert like one cookie and some fruit.
Certainly too much food, calories and probably salt but nothing decadent. |
I try to eat at least three plates. I only go about twice a year so I'm okay on caloric intake.
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Originally Posted by uk1
(Post 16756727)
Circle the wagons, circle the wagons .... FT do's under attack!
I don't know what's wrong with you two - I wasn't complaining about the number of FT do's that are buffets - the point of my post was to talk in my view light heartedly about my experience at an FT do buffet. Don't be so blo*dy touchy!
Originally Posted by uk1
(Post 16754266)
But, on FT "dos" the organiser often gets a private room and gives a finite number to the establishment. So if 40 people are booked they plan and portion for 40 people. They don't keep adding food. They'll be meat for 40 people for example. |
Originally Posted by work2fly
(Post 16758385)
I'm not doubting your experience. I was simply setting the record straight re: the below, which is not the norm for a FT Do.
Why don't you loosen up a little. I'm sure people will still come to the do's. Stop fretting. For the record ..... I've only attended one "do". There were three organised meals. All three were buffets. |
Rarely enough to justify it, which is why I tend to avoid them. Sometimes we'll go as a family to the brunch buffet at the country club near us and I will usually get an omelet, something from the carving station with a side, some shrimp and dessert. I tended to do the same when staying at the Las Vegas Hilton too.
I did go to the Carnival World Buffet at the Rio in Vegas a few years back (and paid like $39 to do so) and I had a bunch of crab legs, some carved meat and sides, some random things (sushi maybe?) and a little dessert and that was it. I can't eat like I used to when I was in my teens so I don't really enjoy buffets much. I'd rather have a good eggs Benedict any day. |
Originally Posted by CMK10
(Post 16758575)
Rarely enough to justify it, which is why I tend to avoid them. Sometimes we'll go as a family to the brunch buffet at the country club near us and I will usually get an omelet, something from the carving station with a side, some shrimp and dessert. I tended to do the same when staying at the Las Vegas Hilton too.
I did go to the Carnival World Buffet at the Rio in Vegas a few years back (and paid like $39 to do so) and I had a bunch of crab legs, some carved meat and sides, some random things (sushi maybe?) and a little dessert and that was it. I can't eat like I used to when I was in my teens so I don't really enjoy buffets much. I'd rather have a good eggs Benedict any day. Usually before I could pack it in.. nowadays I eat for fuel, and make sure I try not to overeat.. I've done the simply lunch buffets to Four Season seafood grill and sushi type dos.. Fairmont Breakfast Buffet are somewhat common for us when travelling.. |
Although as previously stated - a complete buffet aversion .... we have two Sundays when we're in Singapore and I'm tempted to research and find the best Sunday hotel buffets which seem to be a bit of an institution ...... and might be a bit more civilised ....
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I love the buffets of Bangkok luxury hotels, such as the Four Seasons and the Peninsula. I usually try to select a few items I want, so as not to overeat, but I usually succumb to temptation and eat quite a lot...
Here in Tokyo some of the big Japanese hotels have buffets that are not bad, but they're not nearly as good as they are in South East Asia. I tend to avoid them. |
Originally Posted by uk1
(Post 16761596)
Although as previously stated - a complete buffet aversion .... we have two Sundays when we're in Singapore and I'm tempted to research and find the best Sunday hotel buffets which seem to be a bit of an institution ...... and might be a bit more civilised ....
It was fairly refined, calm atmosphere. Though I suppose it depends on how many families with screaming kids decide to attend. :D |
Originally Posted by uk1
(Post 16756727)
Circle the wagons, circle the wagons .... FT do's under attack!
I don't know what's wrong with you two - I wasn't complaining about the number of FT do's that are buffets - the point of my post was to talk in my view light heartedly about my experience at an FT do buffet. Don't be so blo*dy touchy! I think Sweet Willie is more used to the type that he typically organizes where a smaller group of people go to a restaurant and dine together at a table (on or off the menu). |
Originally Posted by uk1
(Post 16758563)
Why don't you loosen up a little.
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I am not the biggest buffet fan - I generally find 90% boring / bland at best, inedible at worst, and 10% edible, sometimes good. I despise seeing people using their hands, or children grabbing and putting back! Ew! I also like my hot food hot, not lukewarm.
However, we recently attended an engagement brunch at a small restaurant (for clarification it was a group of tables in a set aside area, but the food was the standard sunday brunch menu, along with other guests) and it was lovely! Salad and seafood bars, fresh cook to order brick oven pizza, 8 different entrees prepared by a chef as you waited (everything from gnocci to prime rib), yummy puddings, and free flowing champagne, bucks fizz and kir royals :D They did the full range of breakfast items as well. Really lovely food, all very fresh, very clean, I guess the patrons (well mannered) helped too. I am tempted to go again! |
Originally Posted by uk1
(Post 16761596)
Although as previously stated - a complete buffet aversion .... we have two Sundays when we're in Singapore and I'm tempted to research and find the best Sunday hotel buffets which seem to be a bit of an institution ...... and might be a bit more civilised ....
BI Mauna Kea was excellent Sunday Brunch.. Banff Springs put on one of the nicest in Western Canada imo
Originally Posted by emma69
(Post 16764220)
I am not the biggest buffet fan - I generally find 90% boring / bland at best, inedible at worst, and 10% edible, sometimes good. I despise seeing people using their hands, or children grabbing and putting back! Ew! I also like my hot food hot, not lukewarm.
However, we recently attended an engagement brunch at a small restaurant (for clarification it was a group of tables in a set aside area, but the food was the standard sunday brunch menu, along with other guests) and it was lovely! Salad and seafood bars, fresh cook to order brick oven pizza, 8 different entrees prepared by a chef as you waited (everything from gnocci to prime rib), yummy puddings, and free flowing champagne, bucks fizz and kir royals :D They did the full range of breakfast items as well. Really lovely food, all very fresh, very clean, I guess the patrons (well mannered) helped too. I am tempted to go again! We like the Empire Brunch at Hotel MacDonald in Edmonton.. We attend this brunch whenever we are in YEG.. |
I can only do about two large plates myself without killing myself. But as others have said, if we go, it's more about the variety than the "all you can eat" aspect of it. Usually won't get our money's worth per se. (Hence, why we're more drawn to small plate dining such as tapas, dim sum, food cart hopping, etc.) While quality is always a concern, we do consider things such as items that usually work well & don't in a buffet setting, turnover, and "action" stations that do made to order.
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The difference between all-you-can-eat and a buffet seems to be lost to many people. Those plates stacked to overflowing are ludicrous. Neither all-you-can-eat nor buffets limit one to a single trip to the food trough.
Brunch buffet is the worst of the lot (unless it's free, in which case it's okay but I'd rather pay $5-7 for two fresh-cooked eggs and toast I don't have to toast.)
Originally Posted by uk1
(Post 16742949)
I squint every time I hear the word "Buffet".
I hate them. What finished me off was going to my first (and only) FT "do" (we happened to be there at the same time) and buying my first buffet for mrs uk1 and me and I hadn't realised the importance that some of our colonial brothers place on the table they choose and it's proximity to the food. In hindsight, it was as though they had developed some sort of mental tape-measure that could calculate each seat and it's approximate travel time to the table. .................:) But those events are not really buffets with a large variety of food, they are a cheap (for the venue, not the people footing the bill) and easy way to serve crowds a limited choice of sub-par food. And what is a buffet? The restaurant putting out a bunch of stuff so they don't have to take orders and deliver food and charging about 3x what anyone would pay to order off a menu. Sometimes variety isn't the spice of life. I don't even want to think about the sanitation, the sneeze screens, the restaurant dumping old product ..... But if you have teen-age boys an all-you-can-eat buffet can be a very good family night out until they learn better :cool: |
Originally Posted by lili
(Post 16767015)
The difference between all-you-can-eat and a buffet seems to be lost to many people. Those plates stacked to overflowing are ludicrous. Neither all-you-can-eat nor buffets limit one to a single trip to the food trough.
Brunch buffet is the worst of the lot (unless it's free, in which case it's okay but I'd rather pay $5-7 for two fresh-cooked eggs and toast I don't have to toast.) This sounds like that last few weddings and company Christmas parties I've attended. Being polite (er.. drinking) we usually wait until the truly starving have cleared out and invariably discover there is no food left or the main courses are gone and dessert is being put out. But those events are not really buffets with a large variety of food, they are a cheap (for the venue, not the people footing the bill) and easy way to serve crowds a limited choice of sub-par food. And what is a buffet? The restaurant putting out a bunch of stuff so they don't have to take orders and deliver food and charging about 3x what anyone would pay to order off a menu. Sometimes variety isn't the spice of life. I don't even want to think about the sanitation, the sneeze screens, the restaurant dumping old product ..... But if you have teen-age boys an all-you-can-eat buffet can be a very good family night out until they learn better :cool: but the breakfast buffets we frequent at Fairmont hotels is first class.. currently at the Mayakoba.. each day is a breakfast buffet.. but the best we've ever had, as there are spanish dishes and 7 variety tables as well as cook to order stations.. so best we've ever had in terms of breakfast.. for brunch, supper.. different story.. the Four Seasons Surf Sand and Stars Hualalai.. incredible supper buffet of all you can eat lobster tails, sushi, sashimi, ribs, steaks, seafood.. you name it.. The best meal we've ever had.. So some high quality buffets out there.. but then there are the bottom feeder types too.. that is gross and inedible.. |
Granted, we're all a parcel of paunchy piglets, but ...
But, on FT "dos" the organiser often gets a private room and gives a finite number to the establishment. You dissagree with the word "often"?! the point of my post was to talk in my view light heartedly about my experience at an FT do buffet consistently disagree with anyone who starts a sentence with the word but followed by a comma. Especially when what follows is an idiotcy. For the record ..... I've only attended one "do". There were three organised meals. All three were buffets. number of monkeys typed the word "buffet" and have decided to run around shouting "here's Act II of the Comedy of Errors." Why don't you loosen up a little. |
Im a quantity guy when it comes to buffets.
I like to pound food until I get so stuffed I need a nap. Buffets are a big reason why I like being elite in with hotel chains. Also my favorite thing to do in Vegas is eat buffets. |
Thanks for your helpful addition to the thread!
Originally Posted by violist
(Post 16769287)
Granted, we're all a parcel of paunchy piglets, but ...
Originally Posted by violist
(Post 16769287)
One can easily "dissagree" with that. By the way, I'll
consistently disagree with anyone who starts a sentence with the word but followed by a comma. Especially when what follows is an idiotcy. |
Originally Posted by stallion114
(Post 16769364)
Im a quantity guy when it comes to buffets.
I like to pound food until I get so stuffed I need a nap. Buffets are a big reason why I like being elite in with hotel chains. Also my favorite thing to do in Vegas is eat buffets. I like quality breakfasts.. and the middle of the road buffets.. such as all inclusives in Mexico is not my style anymore.. Just did a Tulum tour where Palace resorts gave us a complimentary lunch buffet today.. bland and unexciting.. but did the job.. but if I had to each that same buffet everyday.. I would go bored.. |
I personally hate buffets:
1. They waste a lot of food 2. Because people think the food is 'free' there is no accountability- leads to aforementioned wastage 3. Encourages bad eating habits As my mom says: "If you eat a lot, you feel sick afterwards. If you don't eat a lot, you feel like you haven't gotten the best value for money. You can't win." |
Originally Posted by belfordrocks
(Post 16775215)
I personally hate buffets:
1. They waste a lot of food 2. Because people think the food is 'free' there is no accountability- leads to aforementioned wastage 3. Encourages bad eating habits As my mom says: "If you eat a lot, you feel sick afterwards. If you don't eat a lot, you feel like you haven't gotten the best value for money. You can't win." |
This thread wasn't really supposed to be a debate on whether you like buffets or not but if you do go to them, how much u eat
If you don't go to buffets, no problem :) I only go to high end buffets, not the cheap and nasty ones, some are amazing with lots of fresh food |
Originally Posted by Peterpack
(Post 16780918)
This thread wasn't really supposed to be a debate on whether you like buffets or not but if you do go to them, how much u eat
If you don't go to buffets, no problem :) I only go to high end buffets, not the cheap and nasty ones, some are amazing with lots of fresh food |
Originally Posted by Peterpack
(Post 16780918)
This thread wasn't really supposed to be a debate on whether you like buffets or not but if you do go to them, how much u eat
If you don't go to buffets, no problem :) I only go to high end buffets, not the cheap and nasty ones, some are amazing with lots of fresh food They are very convenient for a 1 year old and a 5 year old.. Immediate access to plates of food for kids without the pressure of them eating all.. is a plus benefit..:) |
Originally Posted by darthbimmer
(Post 16753903)
Like several others here, I enjoy the fact that buffets let me sample a variety of different dishes. It increases my enjoyment and lowers the risk that I order one dish that's done poorly.
As for Indian buffets, even ones that were highly recommended by my biz brethen, I have found all of them to have sub-par quality food. I have yet to see a "high end" Indian buffet. |
Buffets are gross. I wouldn't touch that food. God only knows what particles are falling off of various humans into the food. Yuck.
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Originally Posted by enviroian
(Post 16822332)
Buffets are gross. I wouldn't touch that food. God only knows what particles are falling off of various humans into the food. Yuck.
I don't eat at buffets for the same reason. This has been referred to by some in my family as my "Howard Hughes Syndrome". I'm glad it's not just me. :D |
Indian? Absolutely.
Chinese? Sure. Old Country? Never. I usually have 2-3 plates of food. If it was for lunch, I usually skip dinner. |
Originally Posted by enviroian
(Post 16822332)
Buffets are gross. I wouldn't touch that food. God only knows what particles are falling off of various humans into the food. Yuck.
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Originally Posted by pseudoswede
(Post 16822942)
Indian? Absolutely.
Chinese? Sure. Old Country? Never. I usually have 2-3 plates of food. If it was for lunch, I usually skip dinner.
Originally Posted by belfordrocks
(Post 16825296)
But then the same can be said for most restaurants.
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Originally Posted by Braindrain
(Post 16816324)
I guess it evens the field in that all dishes are done poorly. (Sorry, couldn't resist. :D )
As for Indian buffets, even ones that were highly recommended by my biz brethen, I have found all of them to have sub-par quality food. I have yet to see a "high end" Indian buffet. |
Originally Posted by sfo
(Post 16745397)
Most buffets as far as I am concerned are semi warm garbage, unless you are paying top dollar. I especially find Chinese buffets disgusting, the food is seldom hot and seldom delicious. I think most people who go to buffets go for quanity not quality, as always they are thinking with their stomach, just look at the people who eat at buffets and I am not trying to be rude, but some of them can hardly fit in their chairs, big stomachs and big rear ends. Buffet areas are not very well kept up, food scattered around the serving area. Not for me, no thanks, unless it is a very upscale restaurant or hotel, I will stay away and if I choose to eat at a buffet I only choose foods that I would not or could not prepare at home, and certainly would not eat more than I normally would.
:rolleyes: |
Originally Posted by mapleg
(Post 16826889)
If the buffet price is less than the price of a decent steak from the grocery store, then lookout!
:rolleyes: |
Originally Posted by luxury
(Post 16826577)
I wonder if the Tiffin Room curry buffet at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore may qualify under your criteria?
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I only like hotel and casino buffets that have an extensive offering of food or a good selection of seafood (specifically crab legs and u-peel shrimp). Not a fan of Chinese or Indian buffets since the food is pretty bad and/or the establishment is really dirty. There are a few exceptions to this but not many from what I've experienced. I must say that Korea has a good selection of seafood buffets at reasonable prices.
In terms of how much I eat, I eat till my heart is content and I feel I got my moneys worth. I usually just eat seafood and cuts of meat (prime rib, etc) since I feel I get my moneys worth from there. For example, I ate 3 fairly stacked plates of crab legs and 1 full plate of u-peel shrimp the other night for $26. Now that is what I call a deal! Can't beat a buffet that has both snow crab legs and dungeness crabs! |
Originally Posted by Jimgotkp
(Post 16835462)
I only like hotel and casino buffets that have an extensive offering of food or a good selection of seafood (specifically crab legs and u-peel shrimp). Not a fan of Chinese or Indian buffets since the food is pretty bad and/or the establishment is really dirty. There are a few exceptions to this but not many from what I've experienced. I must say that Korea has a good selection of seafood buffets at reasonable prices.
In terms of how much I eat, I eat till my heart is content and I feel I got my moneys worth. I usually just eat seafood and cuts of meat (prime rib, etc) since I feel I get my moneys worth from there. For example, I ate 3 fairly stacked plates of crab legs and 1 full plate of u-peel shrimp the other night for $26. Now that is what I call a deal! Can't beat a buffet that has both snow crab legs and dungeness crabs! That way I can have an extra couple plates.. as fruit on a place turns to juice in the stomach.. |
I rarely eat at a buffet. I just can't eat enough to justify the price. I'm better off ala carte.
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