As we grow up our parents often tell us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I always thought it was because they want you to eat healthy and get all the recommended vitamins, nutrients and minerals to last all day at school.
How wrong I was.
See I think the truth is that they were just secretly preparing us for when we started travelling. They knew that an all you can eat buffet at breakfast is the travellers best investment after visiting local markets.
Travellers Guide to an All you can Eat Buffet
I love a good buffet when we are travelling. Sure there is a time and place for them because you may not get the local delicacies in a European style buffet. But usually when you are traveling to different countries they do vary so much from place to place.
Plus, if you are on a budget then a good breakfast buffet can set you up for the rest of the day.
My all time top 3 all you can eat buffets in no particular order are; a breakfast buffet in Olso, a dinner buffet at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and a breakfast buffet in Phuket.
Oslo; Home to a good breakfast buffet and crazy statues
Maybe it’s the value for money, or maybe its just the fact you can stuff yourself with a huge variety of tasty food until you are at bursting point that makes a buffet appealing to me.
But over time I have realized there is a certain way to attack a buffet to get the best out of it.
When I went to my first all you can eat buffet I remember grabbing the first thing I saw, and filling up before I could even make it to the hot section.
Amateur hour.
Since then I have refined my skills and now like to think of myself as a buffet professional. And if you follow my expert travel tips below, I promise that the next time you meet an all you can eat buffet, you will leave satisfied and ready to get on with your next adventure.
The walk through
DO NOT start piling your plate sky high at the nearest buffet table.
After finding a seat, stand up and take a couple of minutes to scope out the lay of the land. Find out exactly what is being served. There is nothing worse than hitting bursting point and discovering a whole new section you never knew existed.
You don’t want to miss out on the desserts section
Get a table
It sounds obvious, but make sure you get a table BEFORE you get your food.
While we were at a breakfast buffet in Oslo we were amazed at the number of people who would get their plate of food before finding a table. They had to wander around aimlessly trying to find a seat while their food was getting cold! Rookie mistake.
Limit the carbs
I know breads, chips and pasta can look tasty. They are hard to resist and bread has been known to be my downfall at an all you can eat buffet because I love trying out all the different types.
But carbs will fill you up more than anything else in the buffet. It is why why they sneakily put them near the entrance! Avoid them and save room for the other tasty treats on offer.
Don’t fill up on just bread (Photo).
Limit your fluids
Freshly squeezed orange juice, fizzy drinks and ice cold will tempt you to the dark side. But stay away from the fluids as they to will fill you up.
I’m not saying dehydrate yourself, but just try and limit yourself to one glass while you are there.
Don’t fill up on freshly squeezed juice
The Sampler
This could be one of the most important rules of all and I promise it is the hardest to master!
Only take a spoonful size portion of everything you like the look of. NO BIGGER! This will allow you to try as many things as possible. And if you don’t like something you won’t be wasting a bucket load of food. There is nothing we hate more than saying food go to waste!
Plus if you really love something you can go back and get another spoonful, or two.
Stagger your trips
This is one of my favorite things to do at a buffet.
If you are travelling as a couple, or in a group of friends then don’t all go up at the same time. Instead try to stagger your trips. This way you can listen to your friends recommendations of what options are the tastiest. You can also act as each others eyes and ears, so when a fresh dish comes out you will be the first to know and ready to pounce.
You only have 20 minutes
We watch a lot of Man vs. Food, and Adam (the host) always explains that it generally takes your brain 20 minutes to register that you are full.
So while you will regret it about 30 minutes after you start an all you can eat buffet, I figure you have 20 minutes to fit as much in as you can before your brain catches up.
Going back for one more plate is usually a bad idea
Need I say more? If you are full, don’t push it! The shame in wandering around sightseeing with the top two buttons undone on your jeans is sometimes too much.