Buffet: Tricks of the Trade for the Common Eater

Buffets… Formidable, Mouth-watering, expensive… And throughout the years of being an avid fan of the service style that is buffet, I have come to know some “tricks of the trade” that would maximize my dining experiences. It's funny that I've developed my own formula for such an occasion, but I've seen a lot of people go and eat something they don't have to leave home to find. (Read: waste of money). So let me share with you some tips for making the most of your meal:

 

1. Make the Necessary Preparations

If you know in advance that you are going to an eat-all-you-can restaurant, you can prepare by a sort of “detox” through the earlier part of the day. *Eat “diet” foods like oatmeal or fruit. That’ll fill you up but empty out pretty fast, so that you get to the buffet with a nice whet appetite. DO NOT, however, think of fasting to starve yourself. An empty, rumbling tummy just backfires badly, and you do not want to experience empatso while on a FULL stomach. It. Just. Plain. Sucks.

 

*It’s basically practicing the principles of a healthy diet (i.e. choosing foods that fill you up, though they rest on the digestive system lightly), but using it in reverse. lol

 

2. Treat the Buffet like a Personal Degustation

Take only a small serving of each dish, so that you can taste the whole buffet. Then you can go back to the dishes you liked best. Part of the experience is the appreciation of the spread, and you can't do that if you're not game to try what the place really has to offer.

 

3. Choose Food Wisely

Consider the quality of what you are eating. Pick stuff that you don’t usually have at home (perhaps imported/exotic items or dishes that take lots of time and effort to prepare). But don’t forget to eat your favourite food, regardless of if it’s only a simple dish. It is, after all, still about your enjoyment.

Are you set on consuming carbs? Do you have to have rice with all viands? Having little or no rice/bread will leave so much space in your system to try other foods, especially in a round-the-world cuisines buffet like at Spirals or Circles.

 

4. Don’t Fill Up on Drinks

Go with water, and only a little bit. Take a few sips if you find your throat dry or if you think you might start to choke. Skip sugary drinks that can only serve to bloat.

 

5. Have Your Tanggal-Umay

You may start to feel like you've been consuming too much of the same thing and all the food starts to play heavily on the palate. This is commonly known as umay. And it can happen any place, any time. But you can use the available food around you to your advantage by munching on something with a distinct, palate-cleansing taste. This is your tanggal-umay.

Some places (like Spirals) will offer sorbet. But in cases that it is  not there, you can always grab a small morsel from the dessert or salad table. Preferably, something tart or sour. Or something like Oolong Tea, which I swear by for post-meal umay.

Note: When you're full, you're full. There is a difference between suffering from umay and being stuffed to capacity. Having a full palate is definitely different from having a bursting gut. Know which is which and when to stop and take a breather. This isn't an eating contest anyway.

 

6. Consider Skipping Dessert

Unless you’re in a 5-star hotel with highly experienced pastry chefs, the desserts in most buffets aren’t all that good. The cakes tend to be either dry or bought from industrial cake suppliers. –Though the ice cream is pretty decent, albeit generic. (Nestle, Selecta, etc.)- Often, the desserts are a non-committal “Meh…” at best, so maybe you should do without them and save more room for tastier dishes.

My personal exception is made, however, for creme brulee. I find that this is usually a safe bet in restaurants, since the mousses tend to taste like airy, jellied milk (if the cream they use is too light) and puddings can get too dense/sticky. A custard dessert is often well-executed because a lot of people are familiar with making leche flan.

 

7. Live with Yourself Afterwards

Obviously, you’ve done your pigging out. Now it’s time to deal with the consequences. Here are your options: a.) Burn it off at the gym; b.) Diet for the rest of the week; or c.) Sit your ass down, but handle the guilt.

 

 

Places that I would love to see having affordable all-you-can-eat specials:

1. Krispy Kreme – At 200 calories a donut, you’d definitely hate yourself the next morning. It’s a lot like the Haagen-Dasz ice cream buffet, since that brand supposedly has some of the richest ice creams inAmerica.


2. Frozen Yogurt (Red Mango, if possible) – Red Mango yogurt is so creamy, it’s practically ice cream!

The McDo Mechanism: Monster-, Double-, -Duo, Overload-

McDonald's has a way of making "new" products, without actually changing their menus all that much. In fact, other fast foods employ the same tactic as well. They'll end up offering you upsizes or upgrades, but you can never expect a whole world of new choices awaiting you.

I went to McDo, Gateway, and saw the "new" offerings. Dessert upsizes.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="687" caption="McDesserts = Level Up!"][/caption]

It was irritating to see that the only way you could get a hot fudge + caramel sundae was at P40 a pop and at a bigger size... What if I don't want to eat so much soft-serve?

When they were promoting the regular-sized caramel sundae a few years ago, my cousin would ask the cashiers if they could make us a cup of half-fudge-half-caramel sundae. They usually allowed it, until a time when a new policy was implemented that mixing was no longer allowed.

...And now they have decided to offer it as a premium product.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="360" caption="My Cup of Duo Sundae"][/caption]

At any rate, it was a hot day and I felt like ordering some dessert. For P40, I got a big cup of too-sweet syrupy sundae. The ice cream was a tad too soft, even for soft-serve standards. It was in a slightly foamy, half-melted state when I dug into it. I would've preferred the same big cup of sundae, only with half the syrups in it and, if possible, half the sugar on the ice cream base itself.

Since getting used to ordering cups of milk tea with only 50% sugar, my tolerance for sweetness has decidedly lowered. I don't think a sundae is my go-to dessert anymore, but I will try their Oreo Overload McFlurry, since that's been my favorite out of all the variations of soft-serve they have.

Oro Gold Manicure Set

I was in Eastwood City, Libis last Sunday, roaming around their new mall (the one with the dancing fountains in front), when I saw a small space to the side that sold 24k Italian gold-infused beauty products. I was intrigued but knew that it would be expensive for sure, so I did not dare come near the salesman who seemed only too eager to demonstrate the effects of the products.

Later, I passed by again and curiosity got the better of me, so my Dad and I started to examine their gift sets that lined the shelves. A European lady approached me and said, "May I see your hand?" I acquiesced to her curious request, and she immediately called the salesman over.

He pointed out that I had a lot of unsightly lines and yellowness to my nails. Then, before I could fully absorb what he was telling me, the salesman started to use this multi-sided nail buffer. He explained that 1 side was for removing the dead cells, another side was for encouraging oxygen into the nails, and another was for polishing. There were 4 sides, I think, so I may have forgotten what 1 side was all about.

After the process was finished, he wouldn't let me see my thumbnail just yet. He had to pause for dramatic effect before letting go of my hand and allowing me to observe the results:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="384" caption="My right thumbnail was shiny like there had been a coat of colorless nail polish on it."][/caption]

I was obviously surprised that I didn't have to deal with coloring my nails (and subjecting it to acetone after) to get a very clean-looking result. Kitchen work takes its toll on your limbs. The hands, in particular. It is quite common to get rough palms and beaten-up nails. Sanitary codes forbid the use of nail polish and, naturally, you don't get to let your nails grow much longer either. It was so much fun to see a natural shine on my nails.

However, beauty comes at a price. The buffer comes in a set (with some tea tree oil, a nail file, and a tube of hyacinth lotion) and costs P2,700+ (or was it P3,000+?). I knew even before they demo-ed the product on me that, bottom line, I wouldn't be able to afford it.

The salesman mentioned that the shine would last up to 2 weeks, and he was right. For week 1, it had a high gloss like nail polish. For week 2, the nail survived daily activity and a cooking exam and still has some buffed shine to it after the week was up.

For those who want to check out this manicure set on the web, go to Oro Gold. Or you can scout out the small booth in the posh Eastwood Mall.

School Wars

Today, I stumbled upon a blog entry that documented a school paper war wherein members of one old Catholic school (School A) dissed the members of another (School B) for supporting the RH Bill. They said that School B was anti-poor and whatnot.

And all I thought was... "Here we go again, just like Jesuits vs. Dominicans in the 1800's. We're supposed to have gone a long way from the time of Rizal, but it seems to me that nothing has truly changed."

Luckily, the author of the blog post was a bit more just in stating personal opinion. But since we're on the subject...

School A was going on about how School B was dividing the church. I thought, "Well, technically, the fact that you have made yourselves into different sects is as much a division of the church as anything you are claiming."

I seriously hope that they'd consider, even for a moment, ACCOUNTABILITY. You could comment all you want on being anti-poor, but when you get put on the spot to make RESPONSIBLE decisions that will affect your life and the lives of others, let's see just how many of these "supporters" pass the test with flying colors.

Last night, I saw an expose on ABS-CBN's xXx where they arrested an abortionist. It was mentioned in the program that a lot of the visitors of this abortionist were in their teens (15-16-years old).

These groups can argue all they want about what constitutes as an abortifacient, but nothing is more abortive than abortion itself. And that abortion was likely caused by misinformation, because it seems to me that some groups feel that members of the society are not entitled to the knowledge they deserve.

This is more than school spirit. This is about bringing the present and future generations up to speed  with what they seriously NEED to know.

And please don't spout crap on how you can handle hormones or temptation or evil just like that. We are, after all, only human. --And the irony is that some of the people who give fervent support for School A's stance are, I know for a fact, quite the hypocrites. There is a word for that: it's called nagmamalinis.

The P149 Pasta Buffet at Joey Pepperoni

I've gone to Joey Pepperoni 3 times: Always for the eat-all-you-can pasta when I am in a carbicide mood. And always at their Cubao branch.

*The first time I went was with M. The selection of sauces were for white (can't remember if it was carbonara), tomato, and cheese. Penne pasta comes with the cheese sauce. It's an order-all-you-can type of arrangement, and they served a full plate each time.

M, who always thinks that white sauce burns him out, preferred the tomato sauce. But my instant favorite was the cheesy penne. It was liberally cheesy and they sprinkled bacon on it. Joy!

I don't remember much about the 2nd trip. All I know is that we went to their branch in The Fort and was told that they didn't have the promo there. Selected branches only. We had to trek all the way back to Cubao.

Last week, I had a severe pasta craving and decided to drag Mother in with me. She was supposed to have eat-all-you-can as well, but changed her mind at the last minute. --Maybe it was the matakaw look I had, and she realized that she could NOT eat pasta as much as I could. Instead, she settled for the set meal (tuna panini with carbonara and iced tea).

I started off with the cheesy penne. (I'm such a sucker for it!) The first order is a full plate, but it was a bit dry. Not enough sauce. I added a bit of salt, admittedly because I've started getting used to saltier food since going to culinary school.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="560" caption="The 4th Plate: A half-serving of glorious Cheesy Penne!"][/caption]

My second plate was for the Pesto Cream, and I was glad it came at a half-serving.  I found it much more nakakaumay than any of the pasta sauces I've tried there before. I guess they were trying to cater to a more Philippinized palate, where people aren't as welcoming to oil-based sauces as they are to the cream-based variety. There were slices of potato on top of the dish, but I found them to be undercooked (crunchy like apples, they wouldn't slide off when I speared them with my fork).

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="560" caption="2nd Plate: Creamy Pesto Pasta, while in the background was Mother's Carbonara."][/caption]

Third plate was for the Pinoy Classic Spaghetti. It was quite meaty and a bit on the sweet side, but not as sweet as Jollibee. I would describe it as the slightly sweeter version of Spaghetti Bolognese.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="560" caption="Pinoy Classic Spaghetti"][/caption]

Then I re-ordered the Cheese & Penne, which had more sauce, this time, than the 1st plate. (Hence the pic of half-order penne on the top of this entry.) :D

I've gone to this place 3 times already, so it's quite safe to say that my experiences have been positive. The service at the Cubao branch is good. The pasta itself is somewhat al dente. (Not too soft, but not too much bite for those diners who find that perfectly al dente is still raw for them.) The sauce-to-pasta ratio is fine.

Terms and conditions of this promo are different now than in the first 2 times I've gone. Before, I ate there for lunch and mirienda, but the buffet is now only available starting 6 pm. You also get a free pizza if you eat more than 9 plates, which I read was their record-holder's (I believe she is a slender young woman, by the way) maximum amount consumed.

*Sorry if I mix up the choices of sauce during my 1st visit. I honestly don't remember much about it anymore, but is still worth mentioning here.

Budget Nasi Lemak

Having P140 in your pocket can present a real set-back when you're trying to go out with a friend ("M") during the day and have a good time. It's not even enough to catch a movie or go to Chef  d' Angelo for an inexpensive buffet lunch. I was SM Megamall-bound this afternoon to run an errand, so I had to budget my expenses just right.

Once I got hungry, M and I wandered around considering what to get. Eventually, I suggested hitting up the grocery for snacks. The temptation of French Baker's garlic bread hung above us, but it doesn't seem satisfying when you're starving.

Megamall's grocery (the older one) is a good place to start the hunt for reasonably priced food. There are small stalls and kiosks that line the outside of the shopping area. Food choices contain takoyaki balls, Jamaican patties, hamburgers, rice meals, etc. There's also a Jollibee and Dunkin' Donuts beside the grocery entrance. --Obviously, an easy solution would be to go to the fast food instead. But I was quite sick of the usual selections they had there.

I stumbled across a modest stall called Laki Tiyan Nasi Lemak, and I had to decide between that and a ham and egg burger from a neighboring kiosk. Laki Tiyan offered meals ranging from P45-P49. All meals come with a small cup of gulaman drink, and the staple to the sets are the famous coconut milk rice, some dilis (dried anchovies), some peanuts, thin slices of cucumber, a fried egg, and some sambal belacan. What differs is the main viand where you can choose from Singapore-style kikiam, crispy chicken wing, chili chicken wing, etc.) and the option to buy extra components of a meal (e.g. P10 for an extra fried egg).

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="420" caption="Laki Tian NASI LEMAK"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="800" caption="Menu"][/caption]

Upon settling on the nasi lemak meal (because sometimes rice just makes you full in a happy way), I opted for the chili chicken wing since the "original" variant is no longer available and the "crispy" one seemed too plain. Service was quick. The meal was put together in less than 5 minutes, considering that there was an order before mine.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="The styro container."][/caption]

The cashier explained to me that the specific way to eat Nasi Lemak was to, first, mix the rice with the sambal, peanuts, and dilis to have an authentic experience. Funny, because I've always eaten everything separately. I'd munch on the peanuts and fish before I'd eat the rest of the meal.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="My Chili Chicken Wing NL Meal with extra sambal sauce on the side."][/caption]

M and I settled on SM's makeshift "dining tables", which resemble oversized cocktail tables with a rubbish hole to one end. There is no other way to eat there but standing up. --On a side note, cocktail tables instead of tables and chairs is soo SM. It's awful, but we manage to put up with it. WHY?!

I diligently mixed all the items I was told to mix. Then, I shredded the egg and tossed that together too. The chicken, has a THICK batter. If you've eaten a maruya (banana fritters), then you'd instantly recognize the same sort of batter underneath the chili glaze. The sambal sauce was more like a sweet chili sauce than some of the versions I've tasted that had more elements to them (such as tamarind or ginger). But the rice was good. If you taste it before you mix everything, you get the rich coconut milk.

M, who was still hungry, ordered the Nasi Lemak Meal with Porkchop. He found it okay, but said that the peanuts were too sweet for him. Also, he didn't mix the rice.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Porckchop NL"][/caption]

What you get is definitely the fast food version of Nasi Lemak. You receive a heavily breaded piece of chicken, but I would have to say the same fore KFC or Jollibee. And the price is, at least, competitive. Your P50 gets you a viand with premium (read: timplado) rice, an egg, some peanuts, and a small cup of gulaman; whereas McDonald's only offers fried chicken with plain rice, gravy, and a regular softdrink. And Nasi Lemak is certainly a more balanced meal.

I would try it again next time. Maybe I'll have the spring roll viand with the sambal. Something like lumpia shanghai with sweet and sour sauce. :p