Chinese Buffet Coming Up - Advice please?

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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)

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

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!

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

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

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).