Tag: Umami

(for context on what this series is, please see my Day 1 post here: Redundancy Review: Day 1, “A New Beginning” – Rosalia Rambles)

Good morning valedictorians and salutatorians, welcome to Day 360 of Rosalia Rambles Redundancy Review.

The initial concept for today’s piece was going to be a quick-fire review of each plate I had at the buffet I went to today, just going through one after another especially considering I have spent the full day outside going on a date with my partner.

But inspiration hit me partway through eating at the buffet for a reflective ramble, and I want to see how far I can run with it.

I was thinking about my previous record number of plates I have ever eaten at a buffet, which stands at a lofty six plus a plate of desserts, which I set when I was around eighteen or nineteen – it was definitely a pre-university event at the very least and I started my undergrad work at nineteen.

Even today I consider myself a big eater, but my teenage appetite was something else, even if that appetite manifested as my eyes being bigger than my stomach more often than not. I would see the biggest plates on menus at pubs and go “that please”, I saw buffets as a way to challenge my previous record rather than ways to experience new dishes, and I indulged in junk food way too often, eventually leading to my weight struggles of today.

The times of being a big eater as a teenager were not without consequence though. There are at least two hands worth of incidents where I would go out with family or on my own, eat far too much, and then immediately upon getting home my body would give me the signal that I had severely fucked up and was about to pay a dire price.

Although I have to admit, having that number of incidents under my belt has taught me when to stop, and knowing when not to keep eating at risk of ruining a delicious meal by piling too much on top.

Which definitely came into play today, as I blasted through plates one, two, and three. Upon starting plate four I quickly realised I was coming close to fucking up again, only really stopping myself properly when my partner told me to.

I am not going to say that I am “getting old”, I would have particular friends jump down my neck for saying that. But it is time like these that I reflect on how tenacious and resilient I was as a teenager with the feats I was able to accomplish.

Past Rosa is not a good person, and I am very glad I am not her anymore, though I have to be thankful for what she achieved. Windmilling seven plates at a buffet only to go home and be able to jam Binding of Isaac till three in the morning to unlock some of the hardest achievements in the base game at the time.

I hope if she knew where she ended up, she would look at me with fondness.

Anyway, back on track to actually talk about the plates I had at the buffet. The place is called “Umami: World Kitchen”, and me and my partner decided to go there today as a treat after having a day of shopping and watching The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act in cinemas (the review of that will come after the episode drops on Youtube – I may be a small creator, but I am not violating the request to withhold spoilers until its out). The price is £21.99 plus £4.75 for a bottomless refills soft drink, for two people plus a 3% service charge came to £53.75 overall, which is on the higher end for a night out, but considering the offerings available, I thought it was great.

Plus part of the fun of buffets is seeing what food crime combinations you can create with each passing plate, with my first one being a bizarre combination of:

• Pepperoni pizza
• Mac and cheese
• Garlic bread
• Tandoori chicken

And yes, I did use my pizza crust to mop up the leftover tandoori marinade on my plate, it was strangely delicious as a combo. Though, after putting my plate together I did realise my mistake of loading on the carbs early as opposed to trying out more vegetable and protein based offerings to ensure more room in the stomach…

…so I said “fuck it” and just decided to keep going down the route of carbs just to see how much I could, following up plate one with a second plate filled to the brim with offerings from the nacho station:

• Tortilla chips
• Cheese sauce
• Sour cream
• Salsa
• Jalapeños

Nachos in general are something I love to have at restaurants. Neon yellow cheese sauce hits different in a restaurant and I do not want to pretend otherwise, plus the sour cream was thick as all hell rather than being runny, which made it perfect to dollop on top of the tortilla chips.

Plate three came next, going with a decidedly American-style offering:

• Double beef burger, with ketchup and mayo
• Chips
• Onion rings
• Chicken nuggets
• Buffalo chicken wings

It felt a little weird that I could not see any cheese on offer for the burgers, but considering I had already gone a bit hog wild on this plate and previous ones, it was not too much of a miss. Buffalo wings were a bit… meh, not really sauced, or fried, or anything that makes a Buffalo wing a Buffalo wing honestly, though when it comes to buffets, I tend not to have too high a standard as I know I am paying for quantity more than anything else.

Plate four came along, and considering the fact the list looks like this:

• Stir-fried rice noodles
• Sweet and sour chicken
• Salt and pepper squid rings

My appetite was definitely satiated and my overload of carbs finally started to catch up with me. I was barely able to finish this one, partially due to fullness, partially due to the sweet and sour tasting not all that great, when I finally rang the bell on the savoury.

Not on desserts though, I was not about to leave without tasting some variety of sweet treats, with the plate including two pieces of vanilla cheesecake, two pieces of chocolate fudge cake, a piece of Eton Mess cake, and a soft serve ice cream cone that was split between myself and my partner.

Overall, I think I did a respectable effort. Four-ish plates plus a shared dessert plate is an admirable achievement considering all I had eaten in the day before this point was a piece of rocky road, a few slices of chorizo, and a can of energy drink…

…y’know, writing that down might not help the case that I have grown out of being a teenager. Oh well, I still strive for constant growth, meaning I will be constantly making poor decisions until I train myself into making the right ones.

Bit of a weird ramble, some reflection, and a lot of food. Regardless, thank you for reading today’s edition of the Redundancy Review. Wherever you are, I hope you can enjoy the weekend. Take some time for yourself, and just let the world pass you by – things are chaotic and hectic enough as is.

Some quiet time always does the mind good.