Buffet: Lost taste, definition
THERE was a time the word ‘buffet’ tickled the saliva glands of Kampala diners. Served in mostly uptown restaurants, it was indeed a delicacy; you were sure to get value for money. <br>
By Dominic Muwanguzi
THERE was a time the word ‘buffet’ tickled the saliva glands of Kampala diners. Served in mostly uptown restaurants, it was indeed a delicacy; you were sure to get value for money.
Then everybody, including dingy restaurants, started to serve buffets that no longer whetted the customers’ appetites.
A visit to eateries that once served buffets attests to this degeneration in the food business. Very few restaurants serve buffets and those who do, only do it to make profits, not create an everlasting impression on their customers.
Many restaurants have managed to maintain their customers because of the quantity of food served, but the quality leaves a lot to be desired.
In some places, one gets the impression that the meats are kept for so long in the refrigerator before they are prepared.
There’s also a bone to pick with the pricing in many of these places.
Why would anyone pay sh8,000 for a lousy buffet, yet a better restaurant across the street could serve it for less?
Some restaurants, though, still uphold the value-for-money concept. For example, Serene Club Restaurant’s sh6,000 buffet. They have great boiled beef, chicken and macaroni, a treat for those particular about healthy eating.
The only problem is you have to get there early because you may walk in after 1:00pm, and will be told there is hardly anything left.
That speaks volumes about the number of customers they get, as Thomas Kityo, the manager of the defunct Super Paradise Restaurant on Crested Towers, says.
“These establishments are often overwhelmed by customers and you find that food is finished within the first hour.â€
He adds sometimes, one may make a little bit more than usual, but it is not finished. When this happens, the food is wasted and this is a loss to the proprietors.
This is hard to deal with, especially with food stuff prices soaring each passing day.
“Sometimes the high prices are to compensate the losses we make. It’s not an easy business because you’re torn between giving customers quality and also making profits,†says the proprietor of Seascallop Restaurant in Kamwokya.
What are clients looking for?
Mulakha Twaha, who has been in the restaurant business for 10 years, says: “People go to a particular restaurant for a particular service.
The customers who come to places like Mamaz and NiNaz prefer boiled food and those who go to Subway Restaurant and Crested Towers along Nile Avenue prefer spiced food.â€
Generally, Ugandans do not look out for these distinctions. They are more interested in a restaurant that will give them the liberty to overindulge.
“Ugandans on average do not seem to value things like quality, ambience and price. Their primary concern is to fill their tummies,†says Denis Ssali, a diner who confesses that he is least concerned by quality and price.
It perhaps because of the likes of Ssali that many restaurants in Kampala are becoming complacent about their services, and have resigned themselves to lukewarm service to their clientele when it comes to the buffet.
THERE was a time the word ‘buffet’ tickled the saliva glands of Kampala diners. Served in mostly uptown restaurants, it was indeed a delicacy; you were sure to get value for money.
Then everybody, including dingy restaurants, started to serve buffets that no longer whetted the customers’ appetites.
A visit to eateries that once served buffets attests to this degeneration in the food business. Very few restaurants serve buffets and those who do, only do it to make profits, not create an everlasting impression on their customers.
Many restaurants have managed to maintain their customers because of the quantity of food served, but the quality leaves a lot to be desired.
In some places, one gets the impression that the meats are kept for so long in the refrigerator before they are prepared.
There’s also a bone to pick with the pricing in many of these places.
Why would anyone pay sh8,000 for a lousy buffet, yet a better restaurant across the street could serve it for less?
Some restaurants, though, still uphold the value-for-money concept. For example, Serene Club Restaurant’s sh6,000 buffet. They have great boiled beef, chicken and macaroni, a treat for those particular about healthy eating.
The only problem is you have to get there early because you may walk in after 1:00pm, and will be told there is hardly anything left.
That speaks volumes about the number of customers they get, as Thomas Kityo, the manager of the defunct Super Paradise Restaurant on Crested Towers, says.
“These establishments are often overwhelmed by customers and you find that food is finished within the first hour.â€
He adds sometimes, one may make a little bit more than usual, but it is not finished. When this happens, the food is wasted and this is a loss to the proprietors.
This is hard to deal with, especially with food stuff prices soaring each passing day.
“Sometimes the high prices are to compensate the losses we make. It’s not an easy business because you’re torn between giving customers quality and also making profits,†says the proprietor of Seascallop Restaurant in Kamwokya.
What are clients looking for?
Mulakha Twaha, who has been in the restaurant business for 10 years, says: “People go to a particular restaurant for a particular service.
The customers who come to places like Mamaz and NiNaz prefer boiled food and those who go to Subway Restaurant and Crested Towers along Nile Avenue prefer spiced food.â€
Generally, Ugandans do not look out for these distinctions. They are more interested in a restaurant that will give them the liberty to overindulge.
“Ugandans on average do not seem to value things like quality, ambience and price. Their primary concern is to fill their tummies,†says Denis Ssali, a diner who confesses that he is least concerned by quality and price.
It perhaps because of the likes of Ssali that many restaurants in Kampala are becoming complacent about their services, and have resigned themselves to lukewarm service to their clientele when it comes to the buffet.