The Buffet Line

Last week Saturday I traveled with my spouse to visit her mother in southeast Wisconsin. For lunch we went to a Chinese buffet in a small strip mall in a nearby community. We arrived a few minutes after opening time, and were surprised at the constant customer stream during our visit. Most of the early arrivals were seasoned citizens, like my wife, and now I. An older couple, perhaps in their early to mid-70's, entered before us. The man was in fact kind enough to hold the door as we entered. They made sure to tell the receptionist "two SENIORS." Thus started an adventure in the buffet line.

We were seated, just a few feet from the buffet line, a minute after them, but waited to for the waitress to take our beverage order, before going to the buffet. That couple, went by their table and then headed right to the buffet line. This is where it got interesting. The man filled a plate, and a minute or two later was in the line again. He filled a second plate. It got even better, because he filled a third plate, and I noticed his daring to a shrimp dish, which was on the side I was heading. It is then I noticed a Chinese mix of vegetables and shrimp. He was mining out the shrimp. With deft hands, covered in plastic bags, he deftly and quickly moved the vegetables aside and harvested out only the shrimp. He must have practiced and warmed up his wrist all morning to handle to spoon with precision to move aside the bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and what have you. I saw him gather out several shrimp.  I stood there flabbergasted and watched as he mined the shrimp from the dish. We have a man who entered the line three times to my one, and then sat down to enjoy his haul. 

Chen Chinese Buffet, Mukwonago, WI
Source:  Google images

The workers were quite good at reloading the serving area, but not many patrons were gravitating toward the shrimp dish, perhaps because they noticed no shrimp in the dish. I am not sure if some grabbed or not, although we had good position to the buffet, and could easily watch what occurred since it was in the vision plane.

As we were near finished eating, I noticed the man back in the line again--at the, you guessed it, the dish that contained shrimp. He was moving the items around and around. I could see the quizzical look on his face as he searched and searched. He could not find any shrimp. I felt like jumping up and doing my best Gomer Pyle impression and say "Surprise, Surprise!" This couple sat on the other side of a half wall, with a support pillar, so we could partially see them. My wife's keen hearing picked up this conversation: Man:  "They were out of shrimp!" Woman: "Well you could go and ask for some." Man: "I think I will just leave it be."

Chen's Chinese Buffet
Source: Google images

The arrogance to complain that they were out of shrimp. As if he had nothing to do with the lack of shrimp in that pile of food.  He mined all the shrimp out of the dish, leaving everything else, which was not sufficiently reduced to restock the dish. He then has the audacity to wonder why they were out of shrimp. My wife relayed this conversation to me, and I wanted to almost laugh at his antics. They guy must be at the top of the line of the back end of a horse's anatomy.  

Perhaps he was mad that they were the second couple to be seated and maybe, just maybe the two that took food before them grabbed part of the shrimp dish. They were expert seniors--eating cheaply at lunch, at a buffet. The guy went back to the line at least four times, yes, four times. But, the last time he came up empty on shrimp. I have yet to ask for a senior discount at a restaurant. Perhaps, I am too forgetful. Next time I am in a buffet line, I will need to check out the mixed dishes to see if others mine out the shrimp.