Chinese Buffets

I went to see my folks and sister yesterday and we were happily chatting away about what we'd all been up to over the weekend, when my sister suddenly announces "Don't go to the Chinese buffet in Morden!". I KNEW what was coming so I braced myself, "Why?" I asked, knowing full-well what was coming and wishing we could just move swiftly on to stories that didn't involve the aftermath of Chinese buffets. But like I've said before, it's like car-crash viewing, I just have to ask! I have to know, even though I'll be obsessing about the details for hours. Anyway, it turns out she'd been out for dinner with colleagues, woken up at 4.30am with agonising stomach cramps and proceeded to spend a good while in the bathroom, shall we say. My blood ran cold as she was telling us. "It was really violent. You know how sometimes you can just throw up, but other times it's just really violent?" MEH! Obviously, I surreptitiously ruled out the dreaded noro "Was anyone else ill?". "Yeah, Damian and Grace, but I haven't checked with anyone else". Cool, not noro then. But still, MEH!

Two points here people, two points. Firstly, she was so blasé about it! To her it was just 'one of those things'. Not a paricularly pleasant experience but far from the end of the world. How is this?!! I listened with a mixture of absolute horror and forlorn jealousy. My life would be so much better if I had the same attitude to throwing up. Secondly, Chinese buffets. Or any kind of buffets for that matter. I mean seriously, why do people eat at these things? Big piles of sloppy, luke-warm food, festering away under heat-lamps for hours and hours on end? Yesterdays left-overs thrown in. Isn't it just asking for trouble, dining at places like these? Rationally, no of course not. Thousands of people enjoy this kind of meal every day with no ill-effects but I'm still frequently hearing stories of people who get sick after eating at these places. There's just no way in hell I'd eat somewhere like that. Is it just me?