Latest news with #buffet
The Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Three savvy ways to enjoy a hearty breakfast without breaking the bank
IT is the most important meal of the day – and heading out for breakfast is a treat that needn't cost the Earth. Many chains across the UK offer special deals to help you enjoy a morning meal. Here are some of the best on offer . . . ALL YOU CAN EAT: There is ann all-you-can-eat buffet at Toby Carvery, £7.49 or £7.99 at weekends. Choose any ingredients to customise your full English. Beefeater and Brewers Fayre pubs sell an unlimited breakfast for £10.99, offering everything you need for a full English, plus continental options. Two kids under 16 can also eat free with this deal. For top value, selected Sizzling Pubs offer unlimited breakfast from the carvery for £5.99. You also get unlimited tea and coffee. Just check that your local serves brekkie, as not all do. UNDER A FIVER: Head to Wetherspoon and you can get a small breakfast of egg, bacon, sausage, baked beans and a hash brown for £2.99. Or opt for tea and toast for £2.49, plus free tea and coffee refills. Alternatively, you can combine a shopping trip at Ikea with a visit to its cafe and grab a six-piece cooked breakfast for £2.75. Or in Sainsbury's you can tuck into an English breakfast for £4.25. OVER SIXTIES: Morrisons cafes offer a small breakfast, along with refillable hot drinks, for £6. Or at Asda there is a ten per cent discount for seniors on Wednesdays, including breakfast. All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability. 7 Deal of the day THIS pair of coffee tables is perfect for living rooms short on space. The two are down from £119 to £29.75 at Dunelm. Cheap treat 7 HAVE an indulgent moment with Iceland's triple chocolate ice cream, £2.50 Top swap STEP out with a little retro style in these Adidas Handball Spezial trainers, £89.99 from Office. Or walk off in the more affordable £18 pair, from Tu at Sainsbury's. Shop & save FILL up those pencil cases with this eight-pack of coloured pens, down from £3.75 to £1.75 with a Clubcard at Tesco. PLAY NOW TO WIN £200 7 JOIN thousands of readers taking part in The Sun Raffle. Every month we're giving away £100 to 250 lucky readers - whether you're saving up or just in need of some extra cash, The Sun could have you covered. Every Sun Savers code entered equals one Raffle ticket. The more codes you enter, the more tickets you'll earn and the more chance you will have of winning!
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Miss Manners: You sound fun to be around
Dear Miss Manners: When my husband and I went to a professional baseball game, part of our ticket package gave us access to a special club at the stadium that features a large buffet. We got to the club shortly after it opened, about an hour before the game started, and a large number of people were already there. There weren't many places left to sit, but we were able to find a tall table with four chairs.
The Guardian
02-08-2025
- General
- The Guardian
‘Serve me these with an aperitivo immediately': the best (and worst) supermarket salted crisps
'What I've learned today,' says my friend Lucy, stepping firmly away from the crisp buffet, 'is that you can have too much of a good thing.' My volunteer testers and I were enthusiastic about the prospect of tasting our way through 10 types of lightly salted, crisply fried potato, but we all agreed, once they were laid out side by side in anonymous bowls, that it was surprisingly hard to differentiate between them. That said, good news: every single one had its cheerleaders, so there were no real duds in this sample. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. To outline what I'm looking for from a salted crisp, it should be crisp, obviously. To this end, all the bags were opened at the same time, just before the blind tasting. Salt levels are a matter of personal preference, though it should be upfront rather than a mere seasoning, while, in an ideal world, the potatoes themselves would be the primary flavour, rather than a mere texture. They should be cooked long enough that they crunch, rather than melt between the teeth, but it's a delicate balance: too long in the oil and they'll be bitter. And that oil – if you can taste it at all – should be pleasant: too strong a flavour, even of the best fat, will overpower the spuds. Last, crisps should be dangerously moreish: if you can eat one and stop, they're not good crisps. ★★★★☆ The most divisive crisps of the day, with marks ranging from one (Rose, seven, and representing the youth vote) to five (me). Noticeably yellow, thanks to the extra-virgin olive oil they're cooked in (which, unlike the Himalayan pinkness of the salt, comes through in the flavour, hence, perhaps, the loss of the kid vote), they prompt the demand: 'Serve me these with an aperitivo immediately: crunch, salt, good oil – YES.' Sadly, these Andalusian crisps have a far higher fat content than any of the others tested. One for picking at elegantly over a chilled glass of sherry. ★★★★☆ Though some find them a little undersalted, these chunky crisps' 'classic flavour' finds favour, with several testers noting with excitement that they 'actually taste of potato!' While the comments section attracts several variations on 'mid-range' (Rose judges them merely 'OK'), the decent flavour and excellent crunch make this a great value choice. ★★★☆☆ Rose finds these too crunchy, but that very quality appeals to the person who says they'd be perfect for a hangover. 'Nice enough,' someone else says, 'but surprised not to find one I like more.' That sums these up – a decent, aggressively crunchy crisp with a high salt content, but missing that elusive potatoey flavour. ★★★☆☆ 'Perfectly fine,' one tester finds, before admitting: 'Actually quite moreish.' Someone else judges them 'generic'. Thin and crisp, which divides opinion, from 'nothing to them' to 'better – lighter!', Rose judges them 'too spicy', but I rather like their saltiness and the fact that – hurrah! – they taste of baked potato. I'd buy these again. ★★★☆☆ Cooked skin on, which gives them a decent potatoey flavour. There are a few slightly sweet, caramelised ones in here, suggesting an older potato, but in general these are crunchy, well-balanced crisps that would perform well in most situations, from festival pre-drinks to family picnics. 'Middle of the road,' as Rob observes. Sign up to The Filter Get the best shopping advice from the Filter team straight to your inbox. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. after newsletter promotion ★★★☆☆ Fun fact: I once visited the Kettle Chips factory in Norwich and was allowed to cook a kettle of crisps, so I can confirm that, as the packet suggests, they are indeed hand fried in small batches. They're not my favourite, though, even when cooked by the pros – I find these a bit greasy, while other testers judge them 'blah' and 'cardboardy … does not break when you bite in'. Several testers say they 'need more salt', but I'll let them off, given they're described only as lightly salted (always a red flag for me). ★★☆☆☆ 'Bang average' sums up the response to these. 'Wouldn't put out for guests.' Rose finds them 'too bitey' (they are, it must be said, very crisp), someone else finds them 'bland', and several tasters say they feel 'cheap' and 'basic', which is not reflected in the price. Disappointing. ★★☆☆☆ These apparently taste as if 'they were opened last night'. 'A bit stale,' someone else agrees. 'Wrong texture, dense.' Personally, I like a thicker crisp, but these are a little too chewy and even I find them a touch salty, though, checking the labels afterwards, they contain less salt than some of the others, so maybe it's just that the flavour is more intense. Might be better served with a creamy dip to balance this out. ★★☆☆☆ 'Too thick, like eating greasy batter out of the bottom of the chip paper, and not in a good way,' one tester says, and although I love a thicker crisp, I'm inclined to agree – these are a bit tough, rather than snappy, and taste, as Rose notes, 'too oily'. ★★☆☆☆ Rose, who confides in me that these are the only crisps she knows, picks them out from the lineup in seconds – they're far paler and more uniform than the others – but even she's not that enthusiastic. 'Not crunchy enough' is a common complaint, while someone else thinks they're so light, they're almost 'a health snack'. The final damning verdict comes from Claire: 'An anaemic pub crisp. Fine with a cold pint, otherwise lacking.'
Telegraph
17-07-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
What your buffet behaviour says about you
The heels are high, the tie knots Windsor, the conversation genteel and nobody has yet started to worry about the babysitter. The wedding reception is going smoothly. But there's a beast behind the nearby sneeze guards. And, when it's set loose, the atmosphere changes. It's the same at golf-club socials, corporate away-days and resort hotels – because when you put Britons and a buffet in the same room, human behaviour turns from pristine to primitive before you can say 'cocktail sausage'. We're different from many European countries when it comes to communal feeding. Picture the aperitivo spread in a Milan bar: exquisitely made snacks – arancini, tramezzini, bruschetta – to place, one by one, beside your cocktail glass. This could never work in Britain: too many of us would sweep an armful of goodies into a carrier bag and leg it. Here, it's less 'eat as much as you like' and more 'eat as much as you can before gout kicks in'. So what do our dining habits say about us? We asked Dr Sean Thomas*, an NHS behavioural psychologist, to analyse buffet behaviour. The front-of-the-queue diner Always first to the spread, they approach with a speed usually witnessed in children fleeing a wasps nest when the cold cuts are first sighted. 'This behaviour might relate to a sense of entitlement, a self-centredness bordering on self-importance,' says Dr Thomas. 'Some people just believe they are more important or deserving than others, which might stem from social status, age or cultural norms they've internalised. They may not even realise they're being rude – they just assume it's acceptable.' Such guests are the Elon Musks of the dining room; imbued with a messianic sense of superiority and no small measure of avarice. They cannot function in polite society until they have secured the silkiest salmon slice, the largest muffin and the most perfect poached egg on their plate – to the chagrin of everyone queuing behind them. The pile-it-high purveyor Who says you can't have lasagne, chow mein, pizza, pâté en croûte and a scoop of ice cream on the same plate? Not this trougher, that's for sure. The only thing preventing them from upending entire steam trays into their mouths are simply logistics. How can you lift an entire platter of sausages when you're already holding a plate so unstable with comestibles that a slip on the carpet could render it a culinary carnage resembling a (barely) edible version of the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan? 'What can look from the outside like greed often has its roots in experiences of scarcity,' explains Dr Thomas. 'People who take this approach may well have had times in their life why they couldn't rely on food being available, and so have learnt to make the best of any opportunity they have to eat.' It makes for an unedifying spectacle. And a whole lot fewer roast potatoes for the rest of us. The little-and-often eater This can be interpreted, incorrectly, as the behaviour of a buffet arriviste. But be in no doubt, this is a long-practiced assault plan. Visiting with a clean plate each time, they sample every single item the buffet has on offer, while giving forth the impression that they are being selective and frugal. The true sophisticate butters up a member of serving staff to ensure that their vessels are removed immediately from the table, lest a pile-up of crockery give away their multi-plate manipulation. 'Novelty-seeking is well-established as a psychological trait, often associated with a drive for exploration,' explains Dr Thomas. 'People high on this trait find new experiences rewarding, and can easily become bored with repetition and routine' – sweet succour to any guests unfortunate enough to sit next to the buffet binger, since they'll soon get bored, move to sit somewhere else and leave you with a chance to pick at the crumbs of whatever hasn't yet been snaffled up by this highly skilled gourmand. The dessert-only diner 'The evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker has written about how desserts (cheesecake specifically) hijack our evolved preference for rich, fatty and densely calorific foods, which are rare to find in nature,' explains Dr. Thomas. 'The instinctive pull towards these kinds of foods is very strong for some people, and hard to overcome with willpower alone.' Hence those who swarm around the pudding station, studiously ignoring anything that doesn't have cream, chocolate or ideally both ladled on top of it. How on earth do they deal with the comedown from the sugar rush, which must scupper any plan more arduous than taking Nurofen in bed the following morning? Teeth throbbing with pain, but who cares – how often is it that you can eat 24 profiteroles in a public place without it looking like a YouTube challenge? Only at the buffet, my sweet friend. The make-friends-with-the-server manipulator The Gareth Southgates of the buffet crowd, able to get the right people on side with their easygoing charm, and using said charisma to divert from the fact that they're getting far more food than they deserve. A cheeky wink, a bit of soothing patter ('Cor, can't be easy serving up the spuds in this heat, eh?') and, with any luck, the server will squeeze just a little more roast beef and the largest available Yorkshire pudding onto their plate. 'Humans are innately social animals,' says Dr Thomas. 'In evolutionary history, our capacity to get along with others was highly tied to being able to survive. Some people are very adept at leveraging social connection to get their needs met.' If you can wangle an extra spring roll from a bain-marie, then access to a more lucrative buffet of life will surely follow. The take-away smuggler The smuggler doesn't see the buffet as a single meal; it can support a further three or four meals if the right combination of large shoulder bag, a plentiful supply of napkins and a furtive ability to transport items from plate to holdall can be implemented over the next two hours. 'This speaks to a capacity for planning ahead and strategic thinking,' explains Dr Thomas, who points to the famous 'marshmallow' experiments conducted by psychologist Walter Mischel in the 1960s. 'Mischel suggested that some people are more adept than others at delaying gratification in order to meet longer-term goals. This is a tendency that can be seen even in childhood, and might to some extent predict success across a range of different life domains.' The smuggler may have done well in life. But don't share a taxi home with them after the buffet; the smell of egg-mayo sandwiches emanating from their bag will really start to nauseate by sundown. The clandestine consumer The supreme buffet coward who deploys their partner to refill their plate while they stare at their knees, and ever-expanding waistline. 'There are strong cultural beliefs linking appetite with supposedly positive personality traits such as self-control, and with (often unrealistic) body image norms,' says Dr. Thomas. 'No wonder some people end up feeling ashamed of their own appetite.' But sympathy must also lie with the other half of this couple who is compelled to load up two plates instead of one. One day they will get their revenge. Stacking their own plate with all their favourite items, they will retire to the lobby to eat it all before returning to their partner with a plate bearing a water biscuit, a grape and a flimsy triangle of Emmental. Words may be exchanged. But this kind of 'buffet vengeance' can leave a surprisingly wholesome aftertaste.
Arab News
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Where We Are Going Today: ‘Liu Chong Qing Hot Pot' – Chinese restaurant in Riyadh
If you're seeking an affordable yet delightful hot pot experience, Liu Chong Qing Hot Pot in Riyadh is a must-try. This renowned Chinese restaurant chain specializes in Sichuan-style hot pot and boasts over 500 locations worldwide, making it a favorite among hot pot enthusiasts. The restaurant offers both spicy and mild broth, catering to a range of preferences. But the broth is just the beginning; the open buffet is truly the highlight. Guests can choose from a vast array of fresh ingredients, including shrimp, crab, lettuce, salmon, tuna, and various types of mushrooms. This buffet style allows you to pick exactly what you want, ensuring a personalized dining experience. Once you've gathered your ingredients, you can return to your table, where raw beef awaits. One of the best parts of the experience is cooking the beef to your liking. You can choose how you want it done — whether rare, medium, or well-done — adding a layer of customization to your meal. It's exciting to watch the raw meat sizzle in the hot pot. You can wrap the cooked beef in lettuce or enjoy it on its own, perhaps with a side of rice. Refreshing fruits and traditional Chinese tea are served at the end of the meal, which rounds out the experience beautifully. The restaurant's location in the vibrant Hittin district of the Saudi capital adds to its appeal, ensuring a lively atmosphere that enhances the dining experience. The branch in Riyadh is huge and boasts a corner that allows visitors to try traditional Chinese outfits and take pictures. From the variety of ingredients to the enjoyable cooking process, Liu Chong Qing delivers a satisfying hot pot experience that's both fun and delicious.
