How do you choose a restaurant to eat in?
- Thread starter Madusa
- Start date
Idaho
blah blah blah
I'm deeply sorry for your loss.
It's like any addictive drug. Most of the pleasure comes from scratching an itch that was caused by the tickle of your last fix.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
really? Surely they're the worst places to go?
100% masahiko
i is a professor and is magical like totoro
I suppose it depends where you are in the world.
Most of the places I go to have at least one chinese/or Irish establishment - it's just to get some info, I'm not one of those brits that hang round other brits in a foreign country mind.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
oh right, cos you really don't want to be eating a Chinese in Barcelona or, especially, Prague
Lea
Well-Known Member
I know it's sad but being Chinese, me and my mates often go at least once to a Chinese restaurant in a foreign country to compare with the Chinese we get in the UK. It's become a bit of a tradition for us but the quality of food is never as good. I've been to Chinese restaurant's in Morocco and Egypt amongst other places.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
Lea
Well-Known Member
and what are your findings?
I had a mate who wanted to go to KFC, McDonalds, Burger King and Hard Rock when we went to Barca.
Surprisingly the one in Morocco was quite good even though neither the owner nor the staff were Chinese. I've been to some really dire places I think it was in Eastern Europe where the food came straight out of a tin.
To be fair, it's a bit different than a KFC or McD's abroad, even if the Maharaja Mac sounds quite enticing.
I'm always quite intrigued by the different variations of Chinese food abroad. A bit like tikka massala is a uniquely british take on indian food there are plenty of dishes in the UK that don't really appear elsewhere. US chinese restaurants are pretty different and I'll admit to trying India's most popular chinese takeaway dish - chicken manchurian (a weirdo brown sauce from what I can tell) - on a couple of occasions.
I'm always quite intrigued by the different variations of Chinese food abroad. A bit like tikka massala is a uniquely british take on indian food there are plenty of dishes in the UK that don't really appear elsewhere. US chinese restaurants are pretty different and I'll admit to trying India's most popular chinese takeaway dish - chicken manchurian (a weirdo brown sauce from what I can tell) - on a couple of occasions.
Lea
Well-Known Member
Yes, they have Hakka noodles in India which isn't usually on the menu anywhere else. I had to try that being Hakka myself.
Kameron
Kamoceratops
That would be a brainwashed sniper chicken trained to kill you when given a secret signal?
ringo
Macaroni cheese controller
That's the one, I walked past it about ten minutes ago.
the price tbh
100% masahiko
i is a professor and is magical like totoro
cesare
shady's dreams ♥
Ah, cheers. I used to go there quite a bit before it changed hands. Only once since then ... restaurant on first floor. Pretty sure it wasn't L'Atelier though, I think it must have changed hands again.
Chester Copperpot
Triple stones
I see what the food looks like in the pictures on the menu. 
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
If it's crowded with locals and I can't understand a word of the menu, I go in and eat
I would normally go with this, but me and my mates happened to stumble across the best ''all you can eat'' buffets with both Chinese and Japanese fayre on offer about 2 weeks ago! They had the usual fried things like noodles, spring rolls and chicken, etc, but they also had ALL KINDS OF SUSHI rolls being freshly prepared as you went around the buffet cart. They also had a massive section for raw meat steaks and fillets so you went up and picked off your carne and then you slapped it down for the chef on the griddle and he cooked it in front of you as you scoffed the nibbles on your plate.
All this as well as salads and other lushities... PLUS a pick and mix stand with all kinds of sweeties, freezer filled with ice cream and sorbets that you just helped yourself to... Oh man! We went there twice in one week! ..spent about 4 hours in the place the first time! The piece de resistance though was that even though it's a rare in barca non-smoking restaurant, they have sofas in the foyer so you can go out and have a fag so you can then go and eat more!
It was all fackin' lush!
Or Valencia, especially not valencia
Lea
Well-Known Member
I would normally go with this, but me and my mates happened to stumble across the best ''all you can eat'' buffets with both Chinese and Japanese fayre on offer about 2 weeks ago! They had the usual fried things like noodles, spring rolls and chicken, etc, but they also had ALL KINDS OF SUSHI rolls being freshly prepared as you went around the buffet cart. They also had a massive section for raw meat steaks and fillets so you went up and picked off your carne and then you slapped it down for the chef on the griddle and he cooked it in front of you as you scoffed the nibbles on your plate.
All this as well as salads and other lushities... PLUS a pick and mix stand with all kinds of sweeties, freezer filled with ice cream and sorbets that you just helped yourself to... Oh man! We went there twice in one week! ..spent about 4 hours in the place the first time! The piece de resistance though was that even though it's a rare in barca non-smoking restaurant, they have sofas in the foyer so you can go out and have a fag so you can then go and eat more!
It was all fackin' lush!
Sounds yum. Which town is this in?
Barcelona. Oh god, I'm drooling thinking about it all! You do feel like a right lardy walking out the restaurant though. Especially when for dessert, you opt for two rounds of ice cream and then go back to a couple more rounds of savoury meals to really ''finish up''
All for about €12 including a drink of something or other, so you have to get your money's worth!
Lea
Well-Known Member
Barcelona. Oh god, I'm drooling thinking about it all! You do feel like a right lardy walking out the restaurant though. Especially when for dessert, you opt for two rounds of ice cream and then go back to a couple more rounds of savoury meals to really ''finish up''
All for about €12 including a drink of something or other, so you have to get your money's worth!
That does sound nice. I think that I would do the same thing.
Thing is, the best way to tackle it is start off small. No rushing to the filler things like noodles and rice... small bites of sushi, salad, tiger prawns etc. They even had octopus, lol and then work your way up to a steak...Trick is, not to peak too soon cos you got excited and piled your first plate up high. We learnt from our mistakes!
Lea
Well-Known Member
Thing is, the best way to tackle it is start off small. No rushing to the filler things like noodles and rice... small bites of sushi, salad, tiger prawns etc. They even had octopus, lol and then work your way up to a steak...Trick is, not to peak too soon cos you got excited and piled your first plate up high. We learnt from our mistakes!
Work your way up to a steak. That made me laugh!
A friend and I went to Bremen recently and stayed at the Hilton where breakfast was included in the price. Did we ever stuff ourselves at the breakfast buffet. Cooked breakfast including German sausages, smoked salmon, herring, pastries. We had the whole lot.
It's pure gluttony but we saved on lunch as we were too full to eat for the rest of the day.Work your way up to a steak. That made me laugh!
A friend and I went to Bremen recently and stayed at the Hilton where breakfast was included in the price. Did we ever stuff ourselves at the breakfast buffet. Cooked breakfast including German sausages, smoked salmon, herring, pastries. We had the whole lot.
mmmm! Nothing like a ''complimentary'' breakfast buffet!
At the Hilton too, no less!
LilMissHissyFit
Disturbed in a pink bra
Some times word of mouth. When I moved to Portsmouth a quick mail on the office message boards got the best two or three restaurants in Portsmouth. But then some places just seem to look the part - there's a lovely Turkish place near to where i live, the sort of place you get in Dalston - and the place just looks the part, you can see the barbecue from the front window - the place is always busy and is immaculately clean, staff well turned out and friendly. I reckon you put that together and you've got a winner.
My one exception is curry restaurants - I'm now convinced that vast majority of the public like rank disgustingly bland curries - there's dozen of curry restaurants in Portsmouth and 95% of them are pretty grim - but a lot of them are always busy - can only mean one thing - the paying public love bad meat, in greasy thick bland gravy. Since hitting Tayyabs and Lahore Kebab House in London - going out for a curry anywhere else is usually a disappointing business.
My one exception is curry restaurants - I'm now convinced that vast majority of the public like rank disgustingly bland curries - there's dozen of curry restaurants in Portsmouth and 95% of them are pretty grim - but a lot of them are always busy - can only mean one thing - the paying public love bad meat, in greasy thick bland gravy. Since hitting Tayyabs and Lahore Kebab House in London - going out for a curry anywhere else is usually a disappointing business.
