An expert's guide to buffets
All-you-can-eat buffets are both a gift and a curse to the world. While they can be incredibly satisfying for those who manage to get their money's worth, most people usually get scammed and return home with empty stomachs and emptier wallets.
Lucky for you, here's a guide on how to effectively tackle buffets, as suggested by an expert.
DON'T START ON AN EMPTY STOMACH
A common mistake most people make is starving themselves before heading over to the buffet. The idea behind this is that not eating anything will make you hungry, and thus you'll be able to eat more. While it may make sense on paper, the results are the exact opposite. When you're hungry, you're likely to eat less food than more as consuming a small amount already makes you full. The solution to this is to control your diet. Don't starve, but don't stuff yourself either; just manage your portions to eat a little bit less than you normally do during meals.
CHOOSE YOUR PRIORITIES
Once you've reached the restaurant, take a while to carefully judge the menu and mentally rank them in your head. You should accept the fact that it may not be possible to try every single thing on the menu, so you need to prioritise which items you like more. Take as long as you want in doing this as it is a vital step.
KEEP YOUR PLATE SMALL
There's no limit to how many times you can go and pick new items, so don't try everything at once. Your goal here is to try the items you find appealing and then go back for the ones you liked most. Rank your top-rated items and take everything at small amounts. If your plate is overflowing, that's not a good sign. Minimalism is key.
DRINKS ARE YOUR ENEMY
You certainly don't want to stuff yourself up on liquids when you have a gourmet course waiting for you. Drinking in between meals is important, but drinking too much won't leave you any space for the meals themselves. Make sure to never fill your glass fully, and drink at small amounts when you get too thirsty.
TRY DESSERTS FIRST
If you have a sweet tooth like me and love desserts, you don't want to leave them for the end because you most likely won't have any space in your stomach left. Instead, when you're trying all your top-rated items, also include your top-rated desserts in those. This way, you won't go home with regrets. This brings us to our final point.
HAVE NO REGRETS!
This is the key goal here. No matter how much money and time you spent, you want to make sure you have the best experience possible with little to no regrets when you head back home. Before stuffing yourself on your favourite items, make sure you have tried everything that you wanted to. This way, you don't have to keep on attending the same buffet because of one or two items and can move on to bigger and better things.
Saamin Azam Suha is a fandom connoisseur, professional procrastinator, and wannabe MasterChef. Send her compliments at [email protected]
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