Buffet Items: 10 That We Love and Miss Eating!

You know what we miss because of this COVID-19 pandemic? Eating outside! More specifically, eating at a buffet! We miss seeing all the buffet items and lines of people. We also miss seeing the orange food warmers and assorted cooking equipment in restos. And because we’re craving for buffets, we made a list of food from the buffet menu we miss the most. Because we like to torture ourselves, haha! From breakfast buffet food items to buffet lunch items and dessert buffet table items, here are the best buffet food menu items we miss. 

Our list of much-desired buffet food items 

Just think of this list this way: given a choice, what food would be on our buffet table? Random spoiler: carrot cake and salad buffet items are not on this list. Sorry, vegetable lovers.

1. Ebi Tempura

This tops our list because Ebi tempura is one of the best things we have ever tasted. And Ebi tempura is one of the Japanese buffet items that is also one of the most popular buffet items ever! Once the chef finishes cooking the Ebi tempura, people descend on the serving tray. And it’s soon as empty as if the chef never cooked anything! But we really can’t blame people for liking it. The breading, the shrimp, the sauce… It’s just really delicious, with or without rice.

2. Bacon

If you’re going to ask us what’s one of the best breakfast buffet items we miss eating, we’d answer bacon! In fact, we’d actually say that along with Ebi tempura, bacon is one of the best buffet items ever. I think a lot of people would agree. Why do you ask? Well, bacon is one of the items that runs out right away. We can’t count how many times we’ve experienced looking for bacon and finding the tray empty. Unlimited bacon is a must for us on buffets.

3. Puto Bumbong

We’ve talked about puto bumbong before. We guess that tells you we really like it! It’s one of those most-have Christmas buffet items. Just writing about this treat eaten with lots of shaved coconut and brown sugar is getting us craving for it. We like it so much, we wish puto bumbong is one of the standard buffet items. Any restaurant here planning to bring out Xmas buffet items anytime soon? We might feel brave enough to go!

4. Cheese Buffet

This might not be a usual choice, but hey, who doesn’t love cheese? Eat it with ham, bread, dried fruit, or crackers. You can also eat it just by itself, then wash it down with wine. It’s a yummy experience. We miss having access to all sorts of cheese in buffets. Brie, blue cheese, gouda, goat cheese… Each one has a unique, distinct flavor, and it makes us happy being able to eat different varieties. It also helps that the different cheeses are luxury buffet items, making us feel… rich. LOL. Did we mention we miss the cheese in buffets? 

5. Roast Beef

One thing we definitely miss is heading over to the carving station and getting roast beef. We usually get three slices of thick, juicy beef, then slather them with a lot of gravy. After eating them, we take a break, then head back for more. Hey, it’s roast beef. It’s not something you can get every day. Can you blame us for taking advantage of it being unlimited? 

6. Halo-halo 

Here’s something else you won’t get every day: the super delicious halo-halo! Halo-halo is one of the classic buffet items in any Pinoy-themed ones. We can’t wait for the day where we can just mix all the ingredients, finish one glass, then come back for another. Or two. Sorry, halo-halo is just really delicious and such a treat. It’s one of the great buffet items on our list.

7. Sushi and Sashimi

We know, we know. This is the second Japanese food item on the list. We just prefer Japanese to Chinese buffet items. And of course, sushi and sashimi are always welcome in our tummies! We just really love the rice mixed with all sorts of delicious ingredients! And also the raw seafood! You can’t just get that anywhere. And you can be sure with buffets, you’re getting the quality kind of raw food.

8. Bread Buffet

What makes bread in buffets different from the ones we have at home? We also don’t know. What we do know is that they taste great, and we have our pick of bread! You have the standard loaf bread, but there’s also pandesal, baguette, croissant, and so much more! We also have the option of slathering the bread with butter or jam. Toasters are right next to the bread station, so we can even warm them up! Ahhh, we miss bread buffets.

9. Candy Buffet Items

We know, we should be watching our sugar. But with candy, we can’t help ourselves! It’s like we become kids again whenever there are sweets. And we also can’t just focus on any of the candy buffet table items. We have to get everything. If we remember correctly, usually there are gummy worms, hard candies, marshmallows, lollipops, and chocolate candies.  

10. Dessert Crepes

Here’s another personal favorite from different dessert buffet items. We miss eating this thin version of pancakes, stuffed with fresh fruits and cream, and slathered with chocolate or caramel. Sometimes, you can even have ice cream served with it! It’s also an experience watching the chef making the crepe. It will take time but you know this treat is worth the wait.

These are the top 10 buffet items that we just love and really miss eating. How about you? What buffet food items are your personal favorites?

On a personal note, while COVID-19 is still a threat, it’s still kind of scary to eat at a buffet restaurant. Hopefully, government vaccinations roll out faster, so we can be more confident to eat at restaurants. So, fingers crossed for all of us who just want to go out again. In the meantime, to make delicious and restaurant-quality food, enroll now at The Bailiwick Academy!