The Buffet Strategy Thread

General Discussion
61

Over here the best buffet is called the Main Chinese Buffet. It was pretty nasty back in the day until they upgraded their Sushi bar. Most buffett only have like 2 or 3 sushi, here there is about 15 or 20 too choose from. Here are my strats.

I only go during lunch as they have specials for only $8.50. Dont got during mid week as i feel they may recycle old food like the chicken, best go during Monday or Thursday. I avoid breakfast & the buffet usually will last me the whole day so no dinner too.

Round 1
I usually get two plates. 1 plate is kind of like your Banchan. Some kimchi, yellow pickle radish, tofu, seaweed, & fried shrimp to wake up the taste buds. The other plate is full of Sushi, Sushi, Sushi, Sushi!

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r225/baklakiller/2013-05-02122146_zps627bd0f1.jpg

Round 2
I usually do the try everything else. Some more Sushi & fried shrimp.
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r225/baklakiller/2013-05-02123939_zps72b8aa5a.jpg

Round 3
My last round, get stuff that is sweet to remove the grease taste out of your mouth.
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r225/baklakiller/2013-03-30151458_zpsf05b0d7c.jpg

Im not sure why though, maybe im getting old but i cant seem to get my money’s worth anymore when it comes to buffet. I used to be able to eat like 7 plates & still be able to eat something else later on that day. Now it takes like 2 or 3 days to recover & i can only do buffets like 1 every 2 months or so…

62

I’m all in on meat skewers and prime rib. Then it’s off to pie and waffles.

C"MON MAN to the the families who co-ordinate and clear out the ‘precious’ items (lobster, crab) in one go - every time the item is replenished.

63

I couldn’t eat that much if I fucking try… Goddamn @rcaido…

64

Oh man, you want to talk pathetic, you only need to look at the lineups that form once every couple of years up here for a “free buffet” offered by the Mandarin. You see, every couple of years on Canada Day the Mandarin buffet restaurant does a publicity stunt by offering a free buffet. Needless to say, the crowd that lines up for hours for a free lunch speaks for itself:

I could understand if you’re homeless…

EDIT:

@Soviet

You want to talk strategy you better eat amongst these fine folks first and than come back here:

65

I have not been to a buffet since I was a teenager (I don’t get why adults go to them, really.) but I remember always getting the meats. There’s no reason to fill up on carbs, except for dumplings because dumplings are delicious. I used to also stay there for hours because the wait staff loved us. And we had bags in our bookbags to stick food into when no one was looking.

Man, I was super poor in college.

Now I just go to cheapish restaurants unless it’s a fancy date. I get awesome food without having to worry about feeling like shit later on.

66

Word man, word.
same story, but I still go to buffets after a big ass workout, because otherwise I’m finding myself ordering too much food.

Sushi buffet is amazing after a 3-hour gym session…
Indian food is packed with carbs, and is amazing after a 5k run.

67

I’ve never eaten any restaurant food after a workout. I go home, have a protein shake with or without some carrots and hummus, shower, and go out to drink.

Every time.

68

I was doing that…
But then I’d be hungry again in like 10 minutes… :frowning: Vegan protein shakes suck ass… Whey allergy, I hate casein, and egg protein… I’m left with pea, hemp, and cranberry… And they just leave you hungrier… :frowning:
Then again, I’m always hungry, so it’s just me. lol

69

YESSSSSSSSSSS++++

I only ever went once (there are like two Mongolian’s nearby me, one in Toronto and another near the University of Waterloo which is asian central around here, and usually called Waterwoo, hurray for racism!). It’s like an hour+ drive from where I live to get to one, but holy GOD are they incredible.

I’ve never really been at a buffet that allows you to grab multiple plates. I usually just pile one plate sky high, annihilate it, then immediately go back for another plate, then repeat this like 3-4 times. My mother gets like 1 plate of food, then taps out, then gives me this look as I go up for like my 5th plate of food. You have to be creative to get food to stack that high. Use ribs as barriers. Noodles can work well too, if you do a kinda birds nest with them, and just put all your good stuff in the middle. Saucy foods have to be kept away from each other for obvious reasons, and can cause a lot of trouble on my plate.

THIS is the strategy I created this thread for. Yeah, I usually drink Iced Tea when I go, or alcohol if my dad is paying :slight_smile: I always wondered why they were always on top of you with the refills. Now i understand their crafty asian magic, and I will be better prepared.

Me and some buddies did that once, and got booted right before the next meal change took place. They don’t like it when you’re there from lunch into dinner. I should have taken them to court, a la The Simpsons.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury…does this really look like a man who had all he could eat?”

Unless I have eggs or meat, I generally skip breakfast each day . So no problem there. I usually eat a tiny lunch or no lunch too, if I am hitting up a buffet though. I remember once my parents surprised me with a dinner buffet, and I had eaten a late, and large, lunch. I went and picked at one plate of food, tried for a second and failed, and felt like a colossal disappointment, like how Daigo must feel when he gets perfected. NEVER AGAIN!

70

hehehehe, yeah, Mandarin I mentioned earlier. That is one of my stomping grounds. FYI:

TODAY IS CANADA DAY!!!

I think this is a video of mandarin inside. I have trouble with youtube and TOR, so it’s hard to tell right now lol:

Probably one of the best buffet’s I’ve ever been too, although King’s Buffet downtown is giving it a good run for its money. That place has like 3 collossal rooms of just pure food to choose from. I remember last year I had an early easter dinner, and when actual easter came up, I didn’t want to cook. So I was driving around, and came across King’s Buffet, and decided fuck it, I’ll go there. I walk towards it, and some asian dude out front was shouting about the cheap food. I walk up to him, and he announces I can eat all I can eat for 1 dollar, because nobody was in there due to the holiday. So yeah, me and a few of my friends had an entire buffet to ourselves, for a few hours, for one fucking dollar.

Tiny asian girls are magically able to pack away a fuckton of food. They celebrated the release of that crab like it was the birth of their child, lol

71

With buffets, the best thing to do is take a lap around the restaurant to see what you want before putting anything on your plate. You don’t want to be the guy who finds out about the good food later on when he’s practically full. Oh, and I don’t get why people build Mt. Everest on their plates like they can’t just get another plate for round 2.

72

That shit is hilarious, especially when they start mixing sauces… Shit’s nasty. No thank you, but general tso sauce does NOT taste good with my coconut sauce, and I don’t want want that sweet and sour sauce coming anywhere NEAR my sushi.

73

Having just gotten back from vegas I just survey the foods they have available and try to go for the things I don’t have frequently ie crab or prime rib.

74

I meant to give this an “Insightful” but my blind ass accidently his disagree. I had to learn this lesson to. Especially when some buffets start serving different meats when one meat was gone.

75

https://redrock.sclv.com/Dining/Feast-Buffet.aspx

^ Cheap buffet and excellent quality. In Vegas You go to the buffets on the strip expect to pay a CRAPLOAD of money for “alright” food. Most of the buffets located in “Old Vegas” aka not the Strip are cheap and are de-li-CIOUS! Here are some tips (mostly seafood related so if you are allergic… my condolences)

  1. If your buffet offers Infinite Lobsters aka Boston Lobster Feast [http://bostonlobsterfeast.com/]… just fucking eat lobsters. You eat anything else and you just blew 40 bucks down the drain.
  2. Oysters taste the best when it lands on months that have an “R” on it. July has no R so try to avoid that.
  3. Lobster tails amazing. You essentially grab the tail and crush it in your hand. Flip that bitch belly up and spread the tail. Take out its succulent tail and devour. Dip in butter sauce for best results. Claws are optional. Just because a lobster has a big ass claw, it sometimes don’t have a lot of meat. However you will get lucky from time to time so consider this the bonus “beat up the car” stage of your meal.
  4. Avoid pudding of any kind. It will make you feel full as hell and completely unsatisfied. They have a bunch of fancy cakes and pastries. Take that shit.
  5. Rice, noodles, and bread will fill you up fast. Get your protein in first. Typically you can put away more seafood than any other meat thing.
  6. Drink minimal and don’t drink water, drink soda’s or other gassy drinks. Just enough to wet your palette. This will give you that bootleg buffet X-factor in either a burp or a fart where your body is releasing gas to make more room for food.
76

btw the wicked spoon at the cosmo in vegas is on point. duck ravioli all day

77

Because I like the challenge. Not to mention, if I go to a buffet, I feel as though I should eat like one of everything. I do about half a plate of noodles, but it’s the various noodle dishes with their meats, mostly the meats. Then the other half will be things I don’t mind mixing like ribs and big pieces of meat, and dry foods. And always some shrimp. Then I can usually layer another layer of goods on top of that.

There is this more upscale buffet halfway to Toronto called Tucker’s Marketplace. I usually go there with my family every new years, seeings as it’s pricey as fuck. No other way to put it, but they pretty much serve european and north american styles of food. Lots of white people foods lol. Lasagna’s and pastas from italy, breads and cheeses and shits from France, grilled chicken breasts and sausages and prime ribs, tons of other meats and seafood, lots of badass desserts. I have to approach that one completely differently. They have a make your own stir fry and make your own pasta section, and that gets pretty creative itself.

78

Man, I haven’t been to a buffet style place since I graduated HS. I’m going to employ these strategies and techniques soon enough…
Last time I went though, my main strategies revolved around actual nutrition and bizarre combinations of food. Last time I went to GC I ended up with honey bbq wings stripped and stuffed into a dinner roll with a salad, vegetarian pizza and jello in an ice cream cone with gummi bears.
I’m thinking the next time I go to a buffet I’ma try to get steak and incorporate that with some kind of breadless sandwich technology.

79

make sure you hit up some yogurt at the end for digestion.

80

Maybe a new question needs to be asked.

What’s the best thing you’ve had at a buffet?