All You Can Eat or Buffet? or How I relate to Homer Simpson

So very few words or phrases get me excited than the word ‘buffet’ or the much more trashy ‘All you can eat’. When my mum and I went to Paris she wanted clarification on what ‘All you can eat’ breakfast buffet meant exactly the hotelier responded with a confused and very Gaul “All. You. Can. Eat?” I suppose buffet sounds classier than a suggestion you eat until cannot eat no much

Buffets bring about images of a small amount of choice that fits well together, like at a wedding or a restaurant that has a limited cuisine. All You Can Eat brings to mine Homer Simpson, a man who was never satisfied with what the Frying Dutchman could offer in it’s all you can eat range.

Homer in his quest to be full resorts to some pretty drastic action, including bringing Marge, who has a fish allergy along with him.

which results in a court case and Marge’s emotional testimony

I am obviously a Homer in this situation, I am in most scenarios involving food but All You Can Eat is never the unlimited food extravaganza you hope for. If you don’t fill up on fizzy drinks then you fill up on carbs and yes, there will be a blog about perfect buffet etiquette (send me your tips) and after the second plate you are full, except they have pudding options and you’ve already paid in advance.

Echoing The Simpsons’ Season 4 episode Bill Wisth threatened to picket Chuck’s Place when his amount of All You Can Eat fish wasn’t sufficient enough. Wisth refused to pay, the owners claimed he had violated the terms and conditions. Does that sound like a man who had all he could eat?

Buffet life is tough and often unsatisfying but the frugal bitch (another blog for another day) means that buffets whatever happens on the night feel like value for money; did get at least three plates, did I try something I will never ever try again or have fallen in love with? Absolutely. A buffet, whatever your appetite, is always worth the money.

China Royal, Chichester

Date of Visit: 28 July 2018

Address:

6 Market Avenue, Chichester PO19 1YE

Price

Mon-Fri Lunch £8.50

Mon-Thur Dinner £17.99

Sat-Sun (Bank Holidays) Lunch: £9.00

Fri-Sun (Bank Holidays) Dinner: £18.99

Children under 8 are half price

This was my first time at this restaurant, whilst it has always offered a buffet service but they brought it to your table (a Lazy Susan remains in place on large tables) now you go up to the hot trays. I went with a group of 7 and whilst there were complaints of small plates from some members of our party I actually found this lunch menu more manageable as a result.

As it was lunchtime you were limited to around 25 dishes, the website claims there are around 100 available for dinner. I stuck with the classics; spring rolls, chicken curry, prawn toast, chips and egg fried rice. The more exotic amongst you have a choice of a less beige option of ribs, mussels, noodles etc. There is nothing exciting here but it is all cooked well, hot and offers a small dessert option of vanilla ice cream and fruit, which compared to lunch options is disappointing, the ice cream is pre scooped into small silver bowls, meaning you cannot add much to it. For the £9 we paid China Royal offered an adequate lunch buffet option.

As with most buffets, there is a mark up on drinks and the service wasn’t as bad as Tripadvisor reviews would suggest; drinks were bought promptly and we were able to pay for the bill at the till with minimal issue.

Images and other reviews can be found here

China Royal’s Resturant website can be found here

Why buffets?

I’ve decided to start a buffet blog because I love buffets. I love finding new ones, I love reading up on KFC buffets in the US and I think as people are moving away from standard dining there is an attraction to buffets as the easy option.

A buffet is about choice; they might be grouped by cuisine (Chinese, Indian and Brazilian options continue to be popular) but increasingly by lack of speciality; JRC Global Buffet, Jimmy’s and Cosmo provide global buffets, an extensive selection of cuisine from ‘around the world’. Choosing to go to a buffet such as this is increasingly popular with diners as it offers value for money choice and also deals with large groups, who have their own tastes and interests.

Global buffets are increasingly offering unlimited refills of soft drinks, though this varies from branch to branch of franchises. We aren’t yet at a point in the UK where this includes alcoholic drinks, which many are used to from foreign all-inclusive options but as large chains such as Byron, Prezzo and Jamie’s Italian struggle in the current economic climate buffets appear to go from strength to strength with Rodizio Preto opening a new branch in Colchester but is the bubble set to burst with the high rents and changes in tastes that have seen larger chains move away from city centre locations. Will the buffet find itself banished to retail parks to continue to offer value for money?

My blog will mainly be reviewing buffets I know and love and those that are new to me but I will try to cover openings of new branches and the rise of new buffet chains.

I hope you will join me on my journey and please send me in your reviews and comments. This isn’t Trip Advisor but we will do our best.