Buffet Dining

I almost never go to Sizzler. It used to be a great family night out but all you can eat buffet dining is somewhat frowned apon in Australia. Perhaps it is because it perpetuates that stereotype of western consumerism and the grassroots of our obesity epidemic. Or maybe because it is about as gormet as a Happy Meal. Either way, I miss it. If it wasn't for my wife's guiding words, I'd probably be woofing down a plate of cheese bread right now before taking on the ice cream machine.

When I travel for races, the team is accommodated by race organizers in a hotel. Some hotels are good, some hotels are not so good, but they all have one thing in common; buffet dining. Buffet breakfast, buffet lunch, buffet dinner.

This is great if you like to partake of the host country's native delicacies, as the buffet usually consists of mainly local cuisine with a few western dishes thrown in for good measure. But it is also dangerous.

Denying myself of buffet dining back home means that when I do get to eat from one it is somewhat of a treat. This treat is generally few and far between so I make the most of the opportunity and eat until I am about to burst in an attempt to have one of everything on the table. As a once every-now-and-then thing, this is acceptable but when the team stays in a hotel for a week at a time, it has it's complications.

My mind is torn in two as I struggle to fathom that I dont need to eat one of everything and the buffet will be there again later. By the time lunch rolls around, I'm still digesting the 4 plates that I ate for breakfast!

I also know that hotel food is not a true example of the local cuisine but a more westernized, often milder version of the real thing. So on the other hand, I also want to get out of the hotel to try some street food but I am too full to do it.

I know what you are thinking, 'Oh no. Poor you, it must be horrible', and I appreciate your concern but will always stand by my motto. My father passed it down to me from a family tradition of over-eating: ALWAYS MAKE THE MOST OF A BUFFET MEAL.