Plate 1/5 at Todai (via xyzprincess)
God Bless American Excess
Todai is an “international seafood and sushi buffet,” with locations in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and suburban malls in American cities near you. But I’ll always associate it with the excesses of suburban American consumption. In Houston, there was one in the Marq*E Center at the intersection of 610 and the Katy Freeway. My mother and Julianne’s family are big fans (actually pretty much every Asian family). I went there quite often as a kid and gorged myself to the point of not being able to walk. When I got older, pretensions of discriminating fish quality and the slightly vulgar spectacle of mass bingeing prevented me from visiting on my own (though I would never pass up a meal with my favorite Filipino family!). The last time I visited, they had started serving Brazilian churrasco. Waiters came around with spits of all kinds of grilled meat and cut slices onto your plate for you when signaled.
Sometimes I go in there, determined to not eat too much of anything so that I can try a little bit of everything. So I’ll only get a tiny piece of everything (and they cater to this; sushi pieces are like half the size of “normal” ones). But even before the addition of the churrasco, it was too much food even for this glutton. I always feel like my stomach is ready to explode when I leave Todai.
This time, in suburban Northern Virginia, wasn’t much different. Side note: my family lives in the suburbs that put other suburbs to shame in its suburbanity (not actually a word… yet). It was my cousin’s 18th birthday. So the three of us, my cousin, my aunt and I took the trip to the local mall. They told me it was a “sushi buffet” without telling me the name and drove to the mall. Naturally, I was wary. But honestly, walking around the corner and seeing that familiar little round yellow man or whatever it is was not only amusing but also quite comforting.
So the fish quality may not be the best. And we all look like pigs scrambling to get in line for the baked lobster and jumbo shrimp (there’s a schedule posted and you see the Asian people scrambling to the line on the hour, no bell necessary). But it’s fun. And it’s a great guilty pleasure to stuff yourself silly on plates packed full of tiny portions of food with your family. My aunt, the mild anorexic, had two plates (and a few bowls of miso soup). Me? Not gonna lie, five, including dessert. Okay okay, one or two of the plates were pretty sparse since I just went back for some of my favorites.
They did a nice imitation of tuna tar tar with their maguro (tuna) salad. I tried to get my cousin to try the salmon roe sushi but my aunt tried it first, made a look of disgust and commented that it tasted like the fish oil caplets she makes us take every dinner. To which I responded, hey, I love those caplets (the burst of fish oil is quite tasty), to which my cousin said, no wonder, and dropped the sushi back on her plate. I ended up eating it for her. All the Asian families (90% of the clientele) were mad about the stone crab. They even had raw oysters on the half shell. Sometimes, I still manage to be impressed by how much food Todai offers. No churrasco here though.
So here’s my strategy / advice if you ever find yourself at a Todai (or any similar buffet restaurants) and want to get the most out of the $20 - $30 all-you-can-eat price tag:
- skip the sushi, load up on the sashimi and nigiri, especially the more expensive fish, such as uni and salmon roe
- load up on the raw or cold seafood (if you’re a fan / can stomach trying it): stone crab, oysters on the half shell, etc. this does not include cocktail shrimp.
- slow your roll on hot dishes. it’s not as good (it’s often just a poor imitation / bastardized version of the real thing), way cheaper to mass produce, greasy and fattening and will make you full faster. especially fried or baked seafood. because all that breading and butter that they dump on there obscures the natural flavors.
- when between plates, take several laps around the buffet. i am so serious. one, to check out the food and any new things that might have been put out. two, to work off the previous plates (although the effectiveness of this is highly questionable).
- try a small selection of their desserts. they had green tea and red bean ice cream (with actual red beans!) at this one and i think they were authentic so it was quite good. i always enjoy the crepe station.
- go for the churrasco, if available. because really, who would pass up slabs of grilled meat on any occasion?
- and always always only take as much as you can eat. consider the size of your stomach, not your appetite. it’s alright to gorge yourself, it’s not alright to waste food. think of the hungry kids in laos. the Todai in Houston charged waste fees, this one in Northern Virginia didn’t, but they should. they have to throw out everything you put on your plate. if you don’t get greedy, then they won’t have to make as much and use up as many food resources. it’s a win-win-win, for the restaurant, you and those hungry third-world kids (i’m guessing).
As for the morality, consumerism and sustainability issues of these kinds of places? Well, that’s for another time, another blog. (Let’s ignore the effect of these kinds of restaurants on world hunger and food resources for a moment. When in Rome, make the best of it, because Rome actually isn’t that fun.)
Gan bei! (I’m testing it out as my “bon appetit.”)
