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The last time I was in Israel I stayed at a hotel that offered a breakfast buffet. The food was nothing less than amazing. They had cheeses and spreads from all over the middle east, a large assortment of fresh baked bread, familiar and exotic fresh fruit, and the most delicious yogurts I can remember having. It was very different from the breakfast buffets I have been to here in the US (less animal fat, less protein, less fried potatoes, less sweetened simple starches). In any case, most of us at that hotel ate smaller portions and seemed to be just as satisfied since the food was so fresh and tasty.

@JimInHolland: Spill now about the burger joint! I was just having this discussion with friends: I have yet to be convinced that they can make a good burger in Holland. (if you send me the name of your place, I'll give it a go!) I have not been to this Burgermeester place yet, but I am skeptical. Meanwhile, we are continuing to try and perfect smashed burgers at home instead.

Usually I hate buffets, but no one seems to be mentioning the awesomeness that is a well-done BREAKFAST buffet.

I love spending 1-2 hours on a weekend at a nice hotel breakfast buffet, chatting, reading the paper etc. There's not as much stuff to over-gorge yourself on, and it's difficult to get most of the foods horrifically wrong.

Bad, but for different reasons. I don't think they'll make you fat if you have any self control at all. I think they are a hotbed of germs and disgusting people with few, if any, dining manners at all. The first and last time I went to a buffet restaurant, I saw a little girl stick her grimy hand up to the wrist in the chocolate pudding bin. Blech!! Her mother didn't even chastise her or tell the lady at the counter what she did. When I think of all the people that came along and ate that pudding....I can't even think of going back to a buffet now!

Food-quality wise...yes, buffets are sometimes lacking. But it can still be a fun experience. Obesity-wise...people have to take responsibility for their own lives. You can't blame a buffet. If you can't control yourself, then just avoid buffets. But the government and/or fellow citizens should not be controlling what other people eat.

I haven't been to a buffet in over a year because I can't eat the amount of food they lay out and you can't take it with you! And yes, if you eat buffet every day you will weigh far more than if you go once a year. I don't think the government should regulate our eating habits. I think that each person makes a choice on what they eat. Some, like me, actually have a hormone inbalance. So, judging what is out there isn't fair to anyone, either the people eating or the establishment that is serving the food.

I like all you can eat Chinese restaurants because I like to have a few of my favourite dishes and usually I find that you have to order several big plates of dishes at Chinese restaurants just to get what you want.

i'm not afraid to admit that if i go to an all-you-can-eat joint, i'm eating all i can eat! which is way more than what i would normally eat. and i'd bet that most others do the same. so yeah, i agree and think if you eat at these places regularly you'll probably end up overeating.

It can be a great deal if the overall quality of the food is good. Some people like variety. The ones who are there to pig out would pig out regardless of where they were eating.

My favorite all you can eat deal was at a Japanese restaurant near where my mom lives. At lunch, the buffet was set up with hot appetizers and sushi. The teppanyaki station was set up for "choose your own" stir frying, so you could pick out a protein and some veggies and the station attendants would cook your meal for you. I think they were charging $8.95. I loved that!

I tend to like all-you-can-eat buffets because I don't have to commit to one dish - I can take as little or as much as I like and find out what things I enjoy.
I'd say that I probably eat less at a buffet than a restaurant where I have 2 - 3 courses, and luckily I don't find it hard to stop eating when I'm full (I found that out the hard way when I was about 5).

My father took me to a Chinese buffet place for my birthday. I did not anticipate having sushi, oysters and Peking duck.

I hate buffets, but I would NEVER think of discussing them as part of "social policy".

That snotty articles like this get written at all, and discussed seriously is the problem. Proves again what a nanny state those in the UK live in.

I can't stand Vegas, but this sort of article makes we want to go live there among the free.

the mystery quiche you ate with the pork chop is probably the crab cake. it's similar to this, but made from crab meat. the "mam chung" you are mentioning is made from fermented fish. Fermented fish is mixed with ground pork, noodles, eggs. it's then steamed.