How to order food at a hotel

Control the amount of food to not exceed the standard

Fan Zhihong, associate professor at the School of Food, China Agricultural University, said that when people eat out now, they often order hot dishes per head, and then add cold dishes, soups and snacks. , I usually can’t finish it.

“When everyone enters the restaurant, pay attention to the amount of dishes on other tables, and then order as appropriate.”

Xie Wenmei, secretary-general of the Nutrition and Gastronomy Professional Committee of the China Cuisine Association, was talking to reporters During the meal, she also taught her the tips for ordering dishes. "Usually for three people to eat, ordering 3 hot dishes and 1 cold dish is just right. The three hot dishes can be vegetarian dishes, meat dishes, semi-vegetarian dishes, and semi-vegetarian dishes. In terms of cooking methods, they can include stir-fries, stews, and soups. This way the combination is more reasonable. "It should also be noted that the portions of ordinary stir-fried dishes in each restaurant are roughly the same, but the portions of some special dishes are larger, such as boiled fish, Northeastern stew, Dongpo pork, etc. When ordering, you can ask the waiter to indicate the size of the plate, so as not to wait until the dish is served before exclaiming: "It's such a big plate, I can't finish it!"

Fan Zhihong also said that when ordering, you should according to the table. Depends on the guest's situation. If there are more women and children, you can follow the principle of one dish per person; if there are more young men, you can add one or two dishes as appropriate.

Choosing cooking methods is more important than choosing dishes

“Nowadays, when people go out to restaurants, they will consciously order some healthier dishes. However, many people choose the right ingredients but ignore the cooking methods. In fact, choosing cooking methods "It's more important than choosing dishes," said Professor Chen Xiafei, director of the Nutrition Department of Shanghai Huadong Hospital. Taking tofu as an example, stewing or making soup is very healthy, but the tofu in some dishes is fried first and then cooked - such as the home-cooked food in the north. Tofu adds a lot of extra oil and calories. Xie Wenmei also attaches great importance to the preparation of dishes. The reporter had a deep understanding of this when dining with her. Professor Xie ordered a dish of vinegar and pepper fish. The fish and enoki mushrooms are stewed into a clear soup, and then seasoned with salt, pepper and vinegar. "This dish has vegetables and soup, less oil, and added mushrooms. It is very healthy." Xie Wenmei said. When ordering food when dining out, a common problem among people is that they order too many meat dishes and almost no vegetarian dishes. Sometimes there is only one plate of green vegetables on a large table, and it is gone after one person picks up only one chopstick. "We generally recommend a table of dishes with half meat and half vegetables," Fan Zhihong said.

In addition, experts also gave the following suggestions on the selection of cold dishes, hot dishes, and staple foods.

Choose freshly made cold dishes. Fan Zhihong said that cold dishes have less fat and include meat and vegetables. If you order more refreshing vegetarian dishes, you can balance the problem of excessive fat and excess protein in the main dish. However, most consumers habitually order fish and meat cold dishes such as beef and soy sauce, which makes the cold dishes lose this effect. A better choice is to mainly use raw vegetables, vegetables with dipping sauce, starchy foods (such as soba noodles, fern root powder, etc.), root foods (such as lotus root slices, yam, etc.) and fruit salads, etc. Serve one or two less fatty fish and soy products. Chen Xiafei reminded that many food poisonings are caused by cold dishes, so it is best to order freshly prepared cold dishes, such as mixed vegetables. Many of the salted duck, pickled pepper chicken feet, etc. are refrigerated in advance. If the storage conditions are not up to standard, problems can easily occur.

Lighter hot dishes are fresher. Northerners have strong tastes, but the dishes on the table should be salty or light, sour or spicy, so as not to overly fatigue the taste buds. "Actually, strong-flavor cooking will cover up the stale smell of food ingredients, so restaurants often enthusiastically encourage diners to order such dishes." Chen Xiafei said, when I go out to eat, I rarely order such dishes where the original color cannot be seen. The food does not taste original. Fan Zhihong suggested that when ordering, you should order some dishes with refreshing seasonings, such as steamed, boiled, and stewed dishes. Just have one or two strong dishes to satisfy your cravings. Pair it with a spicy and sour side dish to refresh your stomach.

Most of the staple food should be steamed. The staple food at home is often the same, but it is different when it comes to restaurants. Pumpkin pancakes, scallion pancakes, durian cakes, dandan noodles, steamed dumplings, and steamed buns are all available. “Generally speaking, a lot of oil is put into the dim sum staple food called XX puff pastry to achieve a crispy texture, so it’s best to eat less of it.

"Chen Xiafei said: "Since other dishes in restaurants contain much more oil than cooking at home, I usually only choose steamed staple food, such as clear soup noodles, steamed steamed buns, wild vegetable dumplings, etc. Vegetarian stuffed buns are also good, and leavened dough The skin is easy to digest and the filling is not greasy. "Many people eat their staple food last, which can easily lead to excessive calorie intake." In fact, it is most appropriate to serve the staple food in the middle of the meal, which will not ruin the atmosphere of the table and also allow you to eat healthier. "Xie Wenmei said.

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