(Portion/Super) Size me?
A couple of days ago, I was talking to a friend and, both of us being Chinese, we went through the usual Chinese questions, including “have you eaten yet?”. For westerners, this phrase might sound really odd (specially considering that this conversion was around 3:00 p.m.) but it is so culturally embedded that it is extremely difficult for me to even try to explain it. But, back to the conversation…
I asked him where he went for lunch and he mentioned a nearby all-you-can-eat sushi spot, mainly because he was bringing somebody for “business purposes”. Now, I won’t condemn him about going to an AYCE; he himself was expressing his own disgust, specially after over-ordering and ended up chugging the extra food. Nor I will comment about the rationale behind taking a business partner there out of all place (though, putting quality aside, the fact that sushi is cheap/readily available compared to other places in the world sounds like an incentive…). Instead, this post is, as the subject suggests, about portion size.
Wait, what does AYCE have to do with portion size? Simple: When you go to a regular restaurant, a serving is determined by the restaurant; whereas in an AYCE is up to you (and your perceived hunger). Sure, you could order extra in a regular restaurant but, when that means paying extra, you will give it a second thought. (Of course, making your $$$ worth in an AYCE is a completely different topic of discussion!). Likewise, the opposite could occur: in a sit down restaurant the portions can be utterly ridiculous (Anton’s anybody?), which, for some people, somehow translates into a “good deal”/”good restaurant”. So, based on this, let me ask the following: When you go to a restaurant, portion size wise, what are your expectations?
In my case, to paraphrase fellow blogger Sherman, I hope not to go for a filet-o-fish after the meal; however, I do not expect to be taking a doggie bag either. Of course, in some restaurants, like those where you order dishes to share (think tapas), that is tricky business, as you don’t know how much is too much. That also brings something on the restaurant side. A lot of times, the description of the dish does not give you an idea of how much food will be on the plate. Talk about leap of faith!
And, there brings the other related topic, once the food is served, what do you do if the portion is too small or too big? I have to admit a couple of things: A lot of restaurant’s serving size is a big larger than I wish it to be. But, in the end, me being a big eater, i usually end up cleaning my plate. At least I have started to learn to stop when I feel I am “there”. (Though the fact I am a fast eater does not help in any way). Darn you slow eaters! In the case it is a small portion… Well, I guess I now have an incentive to buy a smartphone to find the closest fast food restaurant… ^_^;;;
Finally, the tricky question, what about the relationship between $$$ and portion size? Let’s take Stepho’s as the best possible example (which I have blogged here previously). While the food is decent in its own ways, people endure long queues for the promise of a “cheap” meal and large plates of food. In my case, sure, I do create a link: If I get a small plate for big bucks, I will certainly cry foul, unless I know there is a reason behind the cost. I mean, if I have to pay $20 for a small chicken breast with no sides… On the other hand, if a meal is really cheap but I am left hungry, well, either I order something more or find the closest fast food restaurant. ^_^;;;
So, what are your thoughts? Do large servings automatically translates into a good deal? Or you wish the servings were “enough” for an average person?
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in a way, i think “have you eaten?” represents more in our way of caring than a “how are you?” would sound. for me, a “have you eaten?” automatically takes on the role of caring for another individual; if that person says “no,” you immediately treat him/her to a meal, even if you HAVE eaten. a “how are you?” is more like a “tell me how you are doing, i’m listening.” but a “have you eaten?” is more of an active role. i think it just represents the two different ways that our culture differs in caring for others.
p.s. – i hope that i didn’t imply that the chinese “have you eaten?” somehow means that we care more; in my opinion, it’s our different representations of caring for others; equal, but different.
Restaurant portions are huge. Since I’m trying to lose weight, I really wish that some restaurants would start serving “proper” sized meals or at least have an option to. I’d even pay full price for a smaller meal. Yes, I know I could pack up half my meal to go but when it’s there starting at me I will eat it. I could ask for a smaller portion but I don’t like acting princess-y.
Portion sizes are such a funny thing. Talking it over with quite a few friends, it seems people would like to have a ‘full’ sensation in most cases to quantify the value. IE – I’m so stuffed, what a great meal.
I come from a family that never took left overs home. Maybe once or twice in all my years has someone not finished their meal. The idea being, they made this food for you, so you better eat it.
AYCE’s are such a separate beast. I’ve read tons of literature about excess food leading to excess eating. Big plates = eat more. Fellow dinners eat seconds = you are more likely to eat another round. Food cornucopia (buffet) = almost guaranteed over indulgence. I think it’s how people justify the price. With a typical brunch costing $20-$50 per person, I’ve dined with enough people who actually say at the end – yeah, I think I ate $35 dollars worth. WHAT! It’s one thing to have some eggs and toast at home, but how ridiculous is it to throw in juice, pancakes, sausage, bacon, seafood, cheeses, and treats! Who eats danishes and tarts for breakfast?
$ vs portion is relative to me now. After losing a fair chunk of weight and learning about nutrition, I try and look at dinners independently from each other. It can be very unfair to compare a meal you get at White Spot to one from Tojo’s. Yes of course if I paid $30 for a chicken breast I would be sad/frustrated, but this could be made more reasonable by the scale of the dinning establishment, cost of accompanying ingredients (chicken breast on foie gras) etc..
Gah. *steps of box* I think I just took my first breath since starting. Hopefully that makes some sense Kim.
I think “enough” for an average person is very hard to define, because who do we define as the average person? A man or a woman? The only way to define something like that would be to put it into actual measurement, like 12oz or 500ml, etc.
I think portion size does have a effect on the definition of a overall good meal, but it would probably only be 10%. What truly matter the most, to me anyways, is the taste of the food (60%). Then it would be 15% for the price and 15% for the service, unless you are at a Chinese restaurant, then I would allocate 5% to service, and 70% to taste.
So in the end, a big portion size does not equal a good meal, but good tasting food = a good meal.
Funny thing. My friend works at a White Spot and says that when Americans visit that location, they complain that the portion sizes are not big enough. Well, I don’t blame them if they are used to portion sizes at establishments such as Cheesecake Factory and Claim Jumper. Those places serve portions that most people should not finish. My profile picture on Urbanspoon is me in awe over an “appetizer” at Claim Jumper. Mind you, that appetizer was with the intent of sharing with others. It only costs $20! So are we trying to get the biggest bang for the buck or are we going for quality? My thoughts are that we should be looking at both equally. It’s ridiculous if we pay a huge amount for very little food, even if it’s of really high quality. At the same time, it’s also ridiculous to pay modestly and receive copious amounts of food. After awhile, you begin to not enjoying eating it because there is too much of it. Balance is always the key to everything in life. I will agree with Jenny though, a large amount of food that is questionable will never be good value compared to great tasting food at modest portions (ie. Anton’s).
I would prefer bigger portions. We tend to order more dishes than we can finish and we always have take-home leftovers. The big portions must also be edible.
Pearl, thanks a lot. I think you were able to express it better than me! ^_^
Jessica, some time ago, when I was trying to lose weight as well, I had the same problem. However, that’s where I learn to control myself. In the case of take out, when I get the food, I put half (or whatever appropriate) in a container and the rest in my plate. I know that is more difficult in a restaurant but I usually said to myself “1/2 (or 2/3s) and that’s it”. Sometimes worked, sometimes it did not…
Raidar, deep breath, deep breath… Yup, that makes sense. Keep your thoughts coming!
Jenny, good counter-question. While I do get the idea behind what you are saying, unfortunately, in my case, you have no idea how many times I have been served a small portion and it ended up being so tasty that I had quite a hard time controlling myself no to dig other people’s plate or ordering a second plate!
Sherman, I hope we are not using Anton’s as punching bag on this topic! But, yes, there ought to be a balance and combining your thoughts with Jenny’s, I guess it ends up being “balance depends on each person”. Unfortunately, that does not answer any of our questions!
Jonnek, good point. Unfortunately, I won’t add more as my experience with leftovers is really limited… ^_^;;;
Interesting post. What`s wierd is that when I ask “have you eaten yet?”, I usually follow it up with, “what did you eat?” or “here, have some food” if people are at my place. (I like to feed people.) What’s even more odd is that I ask it in English too – and just noticed how wierd, in fact that is! :p
I`m generally a slow, small eater. However, when I am *starving*, I literally eat about twice what I normally eat and ai also wolf it down FAST! I’ve surprised some guy friends at the amount of food (and how little I talk) when I am hungry. Normally, however, I find that restaurant food is larger than what I can finish, and so I do pack leftovers home, or give it to M. You know a restaurant has “filet-o-fish” portions when even *I* can finish it! Or worse yet, I want to go for filet-o-fish afterwards…