I've had all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ plenty of times—with friends, with coworkers—but never once by myself. In an earlier post I mentioned that I wanted to go back for another round, and last Friday, the first day of autumn, I decided that would be the day. After work I looked up the place I had in mind and checked the group-buy page. The description said it straight out: busy on holidays, no single diners. Excuse me? So we're discriminating against people who eat alone now? Business is good and suddenly a solo customer isn't worth a table? Fine. I didn't want to go anyway.
So the solo BBQ didn't happen that night. But the start of autumn comes with the custom of "putting on autumn weight," and the craving for grilled meat wasn't going anywhere.
Then a friend recommended another place, one where the single-person voucher works on any day, holidays included. I put it on the weekend schedule. Planning weekends in advance is how I try to make them feel full and worthwhile. Sensible enough.
A look at the map: just over a kilometer from where I live, about ten minutes on a shared bike. It turned out to be in a mall—Wangfujing. Huh, this place is huge, and I'd never been inside. Congratulations, new location unlocked. Another mall to wander now.
The whole solo buffet experience was, honestly, not great. Plenty to complain about. First, the food is ordered from a menu rather than picked up yourself, so you can't judge portions or appearance before committing. Would you believe I ended up ordering myself two strips of pork belly? That would never have happened at a pick-your-own counter. Second, it runs on charcoal and you can't adjust the heat. It's fierce, so you have to watch it constantly or things burn. The entire meal was grill, eat, grill, eat—no pause allowed. Third, the ingredients weren't well managed and the variety was thin, a long way off from the buffet I'd been to with friends.
Price probably plays a part. This one averages around 70, while the other was 90. But if I had to choose, I'd still take the earlier place.
I left the house late, so by the time I was full and done it was already 3:30. Plans never survive contact with reality. What else was there to do—internet café and games.
Sunday, August 16
The weather wasn't bad. I lay around at home for most of the day and didn't head out until after four. By then the sky had gone gray, with that ominous feel, the stillness before a storm. I walked with no particular destination, browsed around Yulin Street Market, then found a Cotti Coffee and sat outside for a while with an Americano.
Americano: Between me and life, which is bitterer?
Me: You take no milk and no sugar. Life has nothing on you.
Having consumed enough bitterness, I figured the walk home deserved a little sweetness from life too.
