How Much do you really eat at Buffets ?
 

Everyone loves the idea of all you can eat, but how much do you really eat at buffets ?

I usually eat 1 plate of seafood, 2 plates of hot mains and 2 plates of desserts

I go to buffet more for variety of choice than volume. I typically eat 3 average plates (you can see the plate and there are no huge heaps of food): one appetizers/salad; one main course; and a smaller plate of dessert. Occasionally I will add a bowl of soup as well.

I just can't eat like I used to and I really shouldn't eat as I did either!!

Count me on the quality instead of quantity bandwagon. I usually go for appetizer/salad, main course, dessert. I also try to go for middle of the road buffets, not too cheap and not too expensive.

If I'm going to really pig out at a buffet, I'll aim for a lunch buffet and have that as my only meal of the day, though I can't remember in my recent memory the last time I dd that.

Not trying to sound like a snob, but I avoid them like the plague. I only go when I have to, meaning, I'm on some sort of trip (personal or biz) where the herd mentality decides they want to go to one.

When I do go, it's a (small) plate of stuff that will be the least likely to have me running to the washroom.

Two kinds of major buffet soft spots: Any kind of fish and seafood appetizers and then the cheeseboard. Anything else I could do without...Or maybe some dim sum if any decent available.

So, two plates of seafood and 1-2 of cheeses with garnishes. Hopefully also some nice Austrian or French wine in an ideal setting.

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.

I without knowledge of such things placed ourselves at the other end of the room. I missed them saying the magic key word which must have been FT for "Muster stations! Muster Stations! Descend and hoover now! Descend and hoover now!", but felt this enormous rush and vacuum of air as my fellow ft'ers descended onto the buffet into a buffinacious frenzy.

Never was so much buffet hoovered by so few.

We of course were at the wrong end of the queue - and we even did that "after you" business in that strange English way when we took pity on some people with panic on their faces ..... and by the time my little plump FT brethren staggered back to their tables with plates with food that ascended past their heads (and whilst some returned and pushed into the queue to collect "seconds" plates clearly panicing that the food might dissapear before some of us on "firsts" got theirs), mrs uk1 and I found ourselves on enforced diets. There didn't appear to be any thought about taking reasonable amounts so that others could have some as well.

Anyway, £70 for two cold chicken wings and a battered bit of tomato between us isn't good. As you can tell, I'm even sweaty about it now even though the ingress of time should have watered down the angst.

And then there's people who handle the food with their dirty little digits ..............:)

"buffinacious" I like the word uk1! I don't seek buffets out, but when I do find myself at one I usually eat too much but not enough to merit the price (or should I say cost - as to include the way I feel afterwards). I do get flummoxed at brunch buffets, especially the ones at the Four Seasons and Ritz. The sight of shrimp, crab and smoked salmon makes my mouth water. However, I do love the savory breakfast foods, omelets, eggs benedict, bacon... I just don't want both types of food at one meal. It's a hard decision, but as we're usually eating around noon, the seafood usually wins.

Thanks. If there isn't the right word .....invent one!:)

I like a good quality buffet. I also try to avoid the grazing scene.

I do like an occasional Chinese buffet for lunch...

I tend to get my value for the$. I do try to not over endulge.

Brothers in arms (not much more.)

or How much do you really drink at buffets?
 

My favourite buffets are the ones in Asia, usually Sunday brunch, that include free flow champagne or wine. At these, the answer to my own question is usually "a lot"

Singapore has some excellent ones, any time i am in Singapore I try to be there on a Sunday to enjoy one of these.

I have also had the pleasure of an excellent champagne brunch at the JW marriott in Shanghai, and slightly less posh, about 8 years ago in Vietnam various hotels offered them for around US$25 which included unlimited food and free flowing wine!

Suffice to say, the food was not my primary concern at many of these buffets :D, although in Singapore certainly the food tends to be of a high standard

I love the buffet/salad bar at fogo de chao

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.

What I eat depends on the nature of the particular buffet, but generally the benefit of a buffet is the variety, rather than just the quantity. I have explored many high-end buffets, and the food at the best of them is just excellent. I have completed two trip reports mainly on exploring the world's best buffets, and my journey continues. The best so far were Burj al Arab in Dubai, Intercontinental Hong Kong, and Cafe Too Hong Kong in the Shangri La. These are experiences not to be missed by anyone, and I would challenge any buffet-naysayer to try these out as I can't see anyone being disappointed in the least.:cool:

Here is the first buffet trip report.

Here is the second.

As you will see, some buffets can be very sophisticated in terms of environment and quality of dishes. Having gone to many of them now, I have trained myself to not over-do the quantities and usually average about four plates, and tend to only sample the desert selections. But at good restaurants, I never leave hungry anyhow, so those are "all you can eat", so to speak, as well...:p

You hate FT DO's or buffets? :D

I used to like buffets but the older I have got the more warier I have become regarding the hygiene of them. I remember staying in a hotel in Brasil where they had an evening buffet. Unfortunately for us we timed our arrival into the dining room five minutes too late. As we entered we saw a school group swarming round it.......teenagers, lifting and putting back the food not caring which spoon they were using while bawling and shouting at the same time.God only knows how much saliva was being transferred from mouth to food.

I do still partake in some, usually only hotel breakfast ones though. I go early while it is fresh and kid free.

Not a big fan of buffets. The cheap ones usually have poor quality food. The ones with high quality food are usually expensive...and I'm cheap.

This morning at Fairmont Mayakoba.. I had 2 plates of food, and 2 plates of fruit.. typically 3 glasses of juice..

Typically I have an entire plate of grapefruit to offset the additional food intake..:)

No comment. ;)

depends on the person, my Pop will stack plate after plate while I prefer to try a bite or two of what I really want to try.

Last month there was a Do at an Indian food buffet http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/commu...-7pm-byob.html I really enjoyed the buffet aspect with Indian as it allowed me to try items I had never ordered before. The restaurant was great as it also brought out little samples of items not on the buffet for our table.

I really enjoy ethnic buffets where I can sample a wide variety of dishes that I've never had or would never want to order as my 'main' when at a traditional restaurant. I do stay away from Chinese buffets in the U.S. as I find them to be of low quality.

It all depends on my appetite. I like buffets more because I can choose what and how much I want from a large variety of things instead of getting stuck with just the stuff I ordered.

On average I would say 2 plates of food and 2 of dessert. The first plate is usually my "sampler" plate. Try a bit of everything then go back for the stuff I liked.

I love Indian buffet. My workgroup has a favorite Indian vegetarian place that we go to every couple months. I'm usually good for at least 2 plates...and sometimes an extra samosa for dessert :)

I also like the salad bar type places like Zoopa. I always have a heaping plate of salad (actual salad salad, and not potato, pasta, cole slaw type salad), a slice or two of their veggie pizza, and a small dessert. Sometimes I'll add soup to the mix,

I remember liking chinese buffet when I was younger, but I tried one about 3 months ago after a 15 year hiatus, and well, it was gross. I felt ill the rest of the day.

You took the words right out of my mouth.

Several years back I found myself at a breakfast buffet at one of the older hotel/casinos in Las Vegas. Never again.

+1

The only reason I'll step foot into a Chinese buffet now is if they have snow crab legs or other seafood that costs too much to buy (on its own). There's one near me that it essentially is $13.99 per person to eat at dinner time and all the snow crab legs you could possibly eat from 5pm to 9 pm

This thread reminds me of a friend of a friend who once excused himself to go to the bathroom to "make room" at a Vegas buffet. :(

Buffet pigs feeding from the troff, onk onk onk:p

Most buffets that I've partaken in have been consistently "refreshed" as items are consumed or after they have been sitting out for a certain time.

I do enjoy a high quality breakfast/brunch buffet. By high quality, I don't necessarily mean expensive seafoods and meats, just well prepared items kept fresh. Dinner buffets and I don't get along well at all, as I rarely consume more than 5-600 calories after 2pm. If I am planning on a dinner buffet, and cut down my morning meal to compensate, ethnic (Thai/Indian/other Asian) would be my choice. Even then, 2 plates total, max.

That gave me a good chuckle. Add me to the "no to buffets crowd". I'm staggered at how much people can eat at those things. There is a strange obsession with them in the US. Sadly, I think it reflects a lot on what Americans prize in an eatery; calories/$.

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. There's also the benefit of immediate satisfaction: start eating now, not after waiting to order and then waiting for your food to be prepared, and be done that much sooner.

I am not the big fan of buffets today that I was at age 18. I have enough money now that I can afford quality over quantity. So I only choose buffets when they provide adequate quality at a good price. I will often ask to view the buffet before deciding whether or not to stay at the restaurant. Basically the standard I apply is, "Would I eat food that looked like this as an entree?" As a result I generally only eat at higher end buffets, normally those focusing on fresh steaks or seafood.

Indian buffets (as in India) are a new concept to me.. but quite enjoy the buffets for the curries and the fact that is good for the system and cancer prevention..

In normal open, public buffets - yes of course, you're absolutely right.

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.

So those 10 thoughtful and considerate people at the front of the queue who take what Europeans would view as 4 or 6 portions know full well that they are eating other peoples food who will probably get none. It also means that if their are a few expensive luxury items on the table that are clearly protioned at one per person - then when they take six clearly then five other people aren't getting any.

That was my beef as they say!

On the whole, I hate buffets.

In the UK, they're just awful. And I cringe every time I go past a Chinese restaurant with the word Buffet plastered on the side. It's just awful, nasty stuff. I am Chinese, and I would never touch that junk! There is a reason you don't see a Chinese restaurant with a buffet full to brim with Chinese folk, as we know it's bad food, and it's just not what we eat traditionally.

I've had a few buffets in the US as I've been taken out on meals by friends/go with the crowd. Quality of food is just awful too.

The only buffet I've ever really liked, for dinner, was at a resort in Malaysia. But then it was 'cheating' as they had a chef there make up an order of fresh noodles for you on the spot.

That time, I had a starter plate, 1 main plate and the noodle bowl, and a desert plate. So it seems I don't tend to take advantage of the buffet 'advantage'.

I think there is a world of difference between a buffet and a dinner served "buffet style", like for a wedding or other private event.

Usually not enough to justify the price. :) I use buffets to take advantage of the fact I don't care for my food to touch. I can take 3 trips to get food when others would get it in 1-2. I really like the desserts, but that is a slippery slope I try to stay away from.

I disagree with your wording. I've planned a number of lunch/dinner Do's as well as been to a number of other lunch/dinner Do's, some had buffets, not one has been the set up you describe. I don't think it is normal to have a private room.

Sorry you had a bad experience at the Do you attended, it hopefully should not dissuade any FT'er from experiencing one for themselves.

How can you disagree with my wording?:confused: You're implying innacuracy or untruthfulness on my part which is pretty annoying. I'm simply saying what happened and unless you attended I can't see how you'd know. When I spoke to others I was told "It's always like this".

Whether it dissaudes or not is up to others judgement of course. At least they'd know what questions they may ask if they don't wish to have a similar experience to my own.

easily. You stated "But, on FT "dos" the organiser often gets a private room and gives a finite number to the establishment."

All one needs to do is take a look in Community Buzz at the lunch/dinner Do's that are planned/have been completed and one will see that private rooms are not at all a common occurrence. So yes, I do disagree with your statement/wording.

You dissagree with the word "often"?!

Have it your way!

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 usually enjoy quality breakfast/brunch buffets, although these usually have someone cooking waffles and an omelet station. :) I enjoy those because I can have both an omelet and a waffle, and my omelet isn't bound by a "menu" but rather, only by what items they have, so I can create my own. :)