There
was a time, when I loved eating out in a restaurant. I used to like
different types of cuisines from all over the world, offered in
specialty eateries like say Italian or Mexican foods. Some places
offered buffet lunches on Sundays. I found these particularly mouth
watering, because of the lavish spread of dishes and wide choice
offered at a reasonable cost. I could eat here to my heart's content.
Things
have changed for me with advancing age. These days I eat much less.
About three weeks ago I had gone to a club, where a wonderful Sunday
buffet lunch was laid. There was no doubt that it was a great deal as
the cost was quite reasonable and the spread really great. Yet I
decided not to try it and ordered a la carte dishes for the simple
reason that I could order only the dishes with small portion sizes
that I would be able to finish easily.
Finishing
everything to the last bite, served on my dining plate, is so much
ingrained in me that I hate to see if someone around leaves things in
his plate and which later gets thrown away as leftover food. When I
was young, we had a strict rule on the dining table in our house that
not even a gram of eatable food should be left in the plates, which
would have to be thrown away. The problem however comes, when we are
eating in restaurants and the portions served are very large. This
usually happens when dining out. With buffet lunches and dinners, I
usually serve myself just enough so that I can finish off the food.
But with my reduced consumption of food as such, this option is no
longer workable, particularly when the Buffet is laid in a
restaurant, as it is not value for money spent. I pay here a fixed
charge, which is usually very high and then eat so little.
I
recently came to know that there are restaurant chains in Brazilian
cities and towns, popularly known as “Kilo” restaurants. One can
find these in most Brazilian shopping malls and even on the
airports. These so called “Kilo” restaurants essentially offer
buffet spreads but charge the customers by the weight of the food
they choose and serve gthemslves. The spreads offered are real treats
for the foodies. Salads, rice and beans are the norm but some
restaurants offer pasta, barbecued meats and even sushi, which is
very popular with Brazilians. The cost depends upon the overall
varieties of food that are on offer. Smaller eateries may offer about
20 varieties but bigger ones even can go upto as many as 40 dishes.
The amount charged usually varies from 4 Brazilian real or US$1.79 to
about 7 real ( US$3.13) per 100 grams of food.
For
meat lovers, its a deal and a great value of money, because all kinds
of meats are charged at the same rate as that of rice, beans and
pasta. If a foodie wants to eat say 1 Kg of food, he would have to
shell out about 50 Brazilian Real or US$ 22.42. This food is not
exactly cheap by any standards, but since the food is great, the
concept has become very popular. There is a small catch though. The
serving plates are rather heavy and their weight is also included in
the weight of the food for which customer has to pay. Also people
tend to fill up their plates and serve themselves much more that they
actually need with so much of variety available. Both these things
work to the advantage of the restauranteurs. The experience of most
customers is that they tend to over-stuff themselves.
I find
that for people like me, this concept is really great. Suppose I want
to eat a little rice and beans, I could even manage it just in 2 Real
or US$0.90 and there is no wastage of food at all. I would hope that
the concept is picked up by restauranteurs in India. With India's
imaginative businessmen, we can even have slab rates for food. The
possibilities are immense. Just think! Why not pay for our food by
Kilos?
24th
June 2014
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