Too funny! I think I’m getting a “contact bloat” just imagining the sodium…
Being a natural glutton I had to go low-carb. You don’t get to eat whatever you want but you get to eat as much as you want and what you eat is filling and satisfying. Meanwhile you lose weight and all your “numbers” improve. Every once in a while I eat a whole pizza and drink way too much beer…and that’s o.k. as long as my weight stays down.
I’ve tried the low-carb, paleo thing, and liked it for a month or two. It always fell apart because I was missing something too much to give it up, usually sugar. I have a terrible sweet tooth.
This story rang so true. Especially the last paragraph. That need to be reminded of just how bad a certain food establishment is, is how I used to feel about White Castle. Once a year I would go there knowing that I would be totally unsatisfied but still I was compelled to try it one more time. The last time was maybe 7 years ago. Since then I have not eaten ANY fast food. After 50 years finally I learned my lesson.
Anticipatory regret is a common dining emotion, not a pleasant or healthful one, but common.
Please diet at any casino in Macau. It will pleasantly overturn the very American conception of a Chinese buffet.
Someday, I hope to make it to China, Hong Kong and Macau. I will certainly take your advice.
I always have a similar experience with fried foods. I rarely eat them, and when I do, I look forward to the event with much anticipation. In the end, it never tastes as good as I think it should, and I’m ultimately disappointed… until I forget about the experience and find myself looking forward to yet another meal that will remind me that fried food is not worth the time, effort, mess or calories. Sigh…
I actually once had good food at a Chinese buffet off Rte 95 in North Carolina. I was surprised. I also have never been able to find the place again despite five or six attempts. I do remember it was across the street from a McDonald’s.
Like the Phantom Tollbooth, it just vanished.
You have to tell me why this fasting thing is a good idea. I’ve never seen evidence of it.
Also: I share your perverse love of the Chinese buffet (talk about food gone wrong!), but lawdy lawd, the German version of it is even worse. It also features the horror movie version of sushi.
I’ve found a few decent Chinese buffets, but invariably the quality declines the longer they are open. My rule of thumb is to avoid them, but if you must eat at one try to pick one that’s been open less than 6 months.
Most Chinese buffets are good, in my experience, although occasionally you run into one that has some poor dishes or where it’s a good idea to wait until the new stuff comes out. I love it when you get the little steamed buns with red bean or mooncake filling, or where they decorate them to look like peaches. Yum!
The Chinese buffet experience of which you so wittily chronicle: anticipatory disappointment and dashed expectations is a synecdoche for Las Vegas. Or Disneyland.
I love sushi, but I have a rule. It must be made by someone from Japan, whose national origin is verified by a photo of a distant relative committing seppuku, and I see it made in front of me. The words “chinese,” “buffet” and “sushi” most definitely do not go together.
I am voracious but very petite. So. The diet does not apply.
My nemeses are the all-you-can-eat smörgåsbord with the greasy fried chicken and paste-like mashed potatoes with gluey gravy (disappointing) and the Lido deck buffet on Holland America cruise ships (which is actually pretty okay). With the “Carnivalization” of the Holland America fleet, the cuisine is slipping. Not as many choices, no caviar appetizers, no “Dutch Night” in the dining room, no Baked Alaska at the farewell supper and – worst of all – no Chocolate Extravaganza at one of the midnight buffets. Yes. A whole buffet of chocolate. Beyond hedonistic. Complete with chocolate fountains and chocolate sculptures although I tend to specialize in chocolate buttercream frosting.
Hahaha and lol 🙂
Too funny! I think I’m getting a “contact bloat” just imagining the sodium…
Being a natural glutton I had to go low-carb. You don’t get to eat whatever you want but you get to eat as much as you want and what you eat is filling and satisfying. Meanwhile you lose weight and all your “numbers” improve. Every once in a while I eat a whole pizza and drink way too much beer…and that’s o.k. as long as my weight stays down.
I’ve tried the low-carb, paleo thing, and liked it for a month or two. It always fell apart because I was missing something too much to give it up, usually sugar. I have a terrible sweet tooth.
This story rang so true. Especially the last paragraph. That need to be reminded of just how bad a certain food establishment is, is how I used to feel about White Castle. Once a year I would go there knowing that I would be totally unsatisfied but still I was compelled to try it one more time. The last time was maybe 7 years ago. Since then I have not eaten ANY fast food. After 50 years finally I learned my lesson.
Anticipatory regret is a common dining emotion, not a pleasant or healthful one, but common.
Please diet at any casino in Macau. It will pleasantly overturn the very American conception of a Chinese buffet.
Someday, I hope to make it to China, Hong Kong and Macau. I will certainly take your advice.
I always have a similar experience with fried foods. I rarely eat them, and when I do, I look forward to the event with much anticipation. In the end, it never tastes as good as I think it should, and I’m ultimately disappointed… until I forget about the experience and find myself looking forward to yet another meal that will remind me that fried food is not worth the time, effort, mess or calories. Sigh…
I actually once had good food at a Chinese buffet off Rte 95 in North Carolina. I was surprised. I also have never been able to find the place again despite five or six attempts. I do remember it was across the street from a McDonald’s.
Like the Phantom Tollbooth, it just vanished.
You have to tell me why this fasting thing is a good idea. I’ve never seen evidence of it.
Also: I share your perverse love of the Chinese buffet (talk about food gone wrong!), but lawdy lawd, the German version of it is even worse. It also features the horror movie version of sushi.
I’ve found a few decent Chinese buffets, but invariably the quality declines the longer they are open. My rule of thumb is to avoid them, but if you must eat at one try to pick one that’s been open less than 6 months.
Most Chinese buffets are good, in my experience, although occasionally you run into one that has some poor dishes or where it’s a good idea to wait until the new stuff comes out. I love it when you get the little steamed buns with red bean or mooncake filling, or where they decorate them to look like peaches. Yum!
The Chinese buffet experience of which you so wittily chronicle: anticipatory disappointment and dashed expectations is a synecdoche for Las Vegas. Or Disneyland.
I love sushi, but I have a rule. It must be made by someone from Japan, whose national origin is verified by a photo of a distant relative committing seppuku, and I see it made in front of me. The words “chinese,” “buffet” and “sushi” most definitely do not go together.
I am voracious but very petite. So. The diet does not apply.
My nemeses are the all-you-can-eat smörgåsbord with the greasy fried chicken and paste-like mashed potatoes with gluey gravy (disappointing) and the Lido deck buffet on Holland America cruise ships (which is actually pretty okay). With the “Carnivalization” of the Holland America fleet, the cuisine is slipping. Not as many choices, no caviar appetizers, no “Dutch Night” in the dining room, no Baked Alaska at the farewell supper and – worst of all – no Chocolate Extravaganza at one of the midnight buffets. Yes. A whole buffet of chocolate. Beyond hedonistic. Complete with chocolate fountains and chocolate sculptures although I tend to specialize in chocolate buttercream frosting.