Chinese Buffet Coming Up - Advice please?

Graelwyn75

I have had chinese meals before, but not a buffet. Never really used to worry too much as I only have chinese once a year, if that, but I am on a cut right now so want to know which options are going to give me the most bang for my calorie buck. I will most likely be working out the same day, and will have about 2000 calories to play with.

Here is the link to the menu, if you guys with Chinese food experience can give me some ideas.

http://www.kachina.co.uk/buffet.htm

darrensurrey

I don't get the idea of going to a buffet and only eating one lettuce. You are better off not going. Just go and eat everything.

My choice is usually based on protein and monetary value. So I eat meat. Lots of it. Screw rice and veg. My plate looks like roadkill.

PS I know you bust your *kitten* in the gym anyway so you won't notice it in a week if that.

Graelwyn75

Yeah, I know I bust my *kitten*, but I also fell off the wagon in a big way, food-wise, the last few months and am only just gathering myself back up again, haha.

This buffet is a treat for my bf's birthday. He really wants to go to a chinese buffet so I booked one up for Monday.
I definitely plan on avoiding too much rice, but veggies, I will definitely be having.

AliceDark

Oh, wow, they cook stuff to order? You're golden! A lot of their appetizers look good, like the satay or the prawns on toast. I'm not sure if they'll let you each order a different entree or if it has to be the same for both, but if they're cooking to order you might have a ton of flexibility in terms of how they prepare your food. Calorie-wise, anything battered or described as crispy will probably be the highest, but they have a lot of other options.

ana3067

I'd say load up on veggies and choose lean proteins, and possibly allow this to be a maintenance day. So if there is a nutrition calorie info thing for the buffet online, use that and prelog what looks good (maybe choose a few choices thata re similar in calories/macros) and then eat a bit shy of maintenance all day. One day at or a bit above maintenance won't undo any of your progress. Especially if you've been cutting for a little while now without a break.

Graelwyn75

I'd say load up on veggies and choose lean proteins, and possibly allow this to be a maintenance day. So if there is a nutrition calorie info thing for the buffet online, use that and prelog what looks good (maybe choose a few choices thata re similar in calories/macros) and then eat a bit shy of maintenance all day. One day at or a bit above maintenance won't undo any of your progress. Especially if you've been cutting for a little while now without a break.

Only just returned to a cut actually, literally a few days in... I had a few months of oopsies, lol.
Sadly, no nutritional info, here in the Uk, only a few chain restaurants tend to do that.
I can maybe see if I can find another chinese restaurant online that might have a nutritional guide to give me some idea.
I was hoping beef or chicken and broccoli would be an option for the main.

Graelwyn75

Oh, wow, they cook stuff to order? You're golden! A lot of their appetizers look good, like the satay or the prawns on toast. I'm not sure if they'll let you each order a different entree or if it has to be the same for both, but if they're cooking to order you might have a ton of flexibility in terms of how they prepare your food. Calorie-wise, anything battered or described as crispy will probably be the highest, but they have a lot of other options.

Yep, I definitely intend on avoiding the battered things. I am not into soup really either, though I have heard soup is usually a good idea.
From the reviews I read, many people get so stuffed on the starters that they do not even make the main course part. :laugh:

AliceDark

Oh, wow, they cook stuff to order? You're golden! A lot of their appetizers look good, like the satay or the prawns on toast. I'm not sure if they'll let you each order a different entree or if it has to be the same for both, but if they're cooking to order you might have a ton of flexibility in terms of how they prepare your food. Calorie-wise, anything battered or described as crispy will probably be the highest, but they have a lot of other options.

Yep, I definitely intend on avoiding the battered things. I am not into soup really either, though I have heard soup is usually a good idea.
From the reviews I read, many people get so stuffed on the starters that they do not even make the main course part. :laugh:

That's awesome, the starter menu looked like it had more low-calorie options than the main course menu! Even the baked prawns or baked squid looked like they could be good options, even though they're battered. Have fun!

Chief_Rocka

Step 1: "Meh, looks like 1500"
Step 2: Om, nom nom

Graelwyn75

Step 1: "Meh, looks like 1500"
Step 2: Om, nom nom

:flowerforyou: :laugh:

jazzie_red

I worked at a local buffett here in Utah and lost tons of weight at one time eating there every day. Mmm.. I so mis my fish salads with beats.. Mmmm.. (I am really hungry.)

My advice is stay away from the fried foods. MMM... Fried foods...

If they offer a build your own stirfry, I would go with that because you can really control your ingrediants.

Mr_Knight

I definitely plan on avoiding too much rice, but veggies, I will definitely be having.

Why? That's a great way to blow through a calorie budget, as chinese buffet vegetables are generally loaded with cheap oils.

Graelwyn75

I definitely plan on avoiding too much rice, but veggies, I will definitely be having.

Why? That's a great way to blow through a calorie budget, as chinese buffet vegetables are generally loaded with cheap oils.

Maybe not, then. I shall just have some veggies at home beforehand or something. I love vegetables was the main reason why. I am imagining most of the meat dishes will be done with a lot of oil too ?

AliceDark

I definitely plan on avoiding too much rice, but veggies, I will definitely be having.

Why? That's a great way to blow through a calorie budget, as chinese buffet vegetables are generally loaded with cheap oils.

Maybe not, then. I shall just have some veggies at home beforehand or something. I love vegetables was the main reason why. I am imagining most of the meat dishes will be done with a lot of oil too ?

It really depends on the restaurant, but sometimes you can ask them to cook your food with stock instead of oil. I would call ahead to ask if they can do that, though, because the server may or may not have any idea what you're talking about.

rfsatar

Most of the advice is pretty common sense - stick to protein and vegbubbles, cut back on the rice.
Or, you know... go out and enjoy a social occasion.

chadya07

they usually have steamed peel and eat shrimp. also salad. and some have sushi. they always have fruit in the dessert section. kimchi. sometimes grilled octopus. usually, in my experience (i used to love chinese buffets) there are three main sections. fried stuff table, avoid. soup table, be careful, but steamed appatizers and green beans can be there. american food table, avoid. then salad bar, good, skewers and grilled salmon, ok in moderation, sushi if it looks decent.


in moderation.

i still go once in a while when my husband wants to. i limit myself to two plates. one with my dinner which is usually sushi and shrimp and veggies plus a few nuggets of something fried like chicken. , and dessert which is fruit and maybe a single cake (they make 1.5 inch slices)

rainrain83

so my advice is.

forget about how much you paid and trying to get your moneys worth.
just see it as you have paid this amount to make your bf happy end of story.

then when you are there don't bother trying
to eat healthy.
but only put things on your plate that you desperately want to eat.

why waste empty calories trying to be good with veg etc
this is a buffet restaurant everything will be loaded with extra
fat & butter etc to make it look & taste good.

Have fun.

Rollsworth

You could go around picking all the smallest, healthiest portions and load them onto your place , pick the nicest you found from the plate and choose those for your main meals, then be very careful with deserts/treats. I remember going to wing wahs and just loading the biggest meal I thought nicest first... Then loaded a big koma which I did not like and having to hand the waiter a full plate of Koma was embarrassing (Not as embarrassing my co workers failing to use the Icecream machine though).

Hope this helps alittle

neanderthin

It's one meal......relax a bit and enjoy Chinese especially if you rarely eat it.

TavistockToad

eat all the food... enjoy yourself... dont get on the scales for a few days... drink plenty of water as the sodium will be sky high.... simples!

lamps1303

Avoid items like:
Fried rice
Anything in batter or fried - sweet and sour, sweet and sour pork/chicken balls, deep fried beef/chicken, etc - anything described as 'crispy' try to avoid or eat only a little.
Anything in a heavy sauce

Stick to items like:
Stir fried noodles
Veg based dishes
Black bean dishes
Garlic/mushroom/tomato/chilli based dishes
Szechuan
Soup

There are lots of ways you eat healthier at a chinese - it's one of the better 'takeaway' style foods you can get.

jimmmer

eat all the food... enjoy yourself... dont get on the scales for a few days... drink plenty of water as the sodium will be sky high.... simples!

This.

If you can't enjoy life once in a while. What's the point?

One meal doesn't make you fat. A sustained period of calorie surplus does. Having a right royal night/day out is good for the soul and will have zero impact in reality. Enjoy!

Francl27

Am I the only one who finds those pretty much nasty? It's always bad quality Chinese here...

But yeah - soup, lettuce, lean meat, steamed veggies, maybe a bit of rice, and steamed dumplings is usually what I eat there (I haven't been in a year though).

inertiastrength

I'd hit it till I felt ill and regroup in the morning. Just sayin

maasha81

I'd enjoy the Chinese buffet and resume healthy eating next day.

Graelwyn75

Am I the only one who finds those pretty much nasty? It's always bad quality Chinese here...

But yeah - soup, lettuce, lean meat, steamed veggies, maybe a bit of rice, and steamed dumplings is usually what I eat there (I haven't been in a year though).

This one has received very good reviews. It is not all laid out, it is cooked to order. I provided the link to the menu in my first post.

dbmata

I definitely plan on avoiding too much rice, but veggies, I will definitely be having.

Why? That's a great way to blow through a calorie budget, as chinese buffet vegetables are generally loaded with cheap oils.

Yup, spent a couple years as a wok cook under the tutelage of a couple experts from Hong Kong.

Meats are generally your best best, avoid spongy veg, a lot of the dishes started with 2-4 oz of oil, then sauteed hard, and the spongy stuff would just suck it up.

LoneWolfRunner

It's a birthday... I would just pound the snot out of that buffet and worry about the bloat later....it's only temporary

Fatandfifty3

Don't go hungry. Fill up on low cal stuff BEFORE you go out. Drink as you eat. Avoid the obvious pitfalls of fried foods but it is just one night so go and enjoy it.

seltzermint555

It sounds like you have it covered.

The Chinese buffets (cheapy nasty ones all the way to very very nice ones) here in my part of the USA are so different though...they are literally buffet tables of food, and you pick up a plate and fill it yourself. The one you're going to in the UK sounds extremely different. That might explain some of the answers you've gotten so far. My usual M.O. is to fill one plate and not go back for seconds. I usually get no rice, no noodles, 1-2 pieces of the "bad" fried battered stuff and loads of veggies, fresh fruit, and probably 1/3 to 1/2 of my plate is meat (in sauces but not fried).