The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]


Are Hotels Becoming The Adult Maccas?
October 4, 2006, 9:37 pm
Filed under: Comment

At cheap restaurants in the UK, they tend to pile on the chips because they’re cheap, make the plates look full and help customers believe they’re getting a great value feed.

Trouble is, I’m not in a cheap restaurant … I’m at the Westin Hotel in Sydney … and this burger is is close to being one of the most expensive I’ve ever had.

$35!

THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS!!!

For a bloody beef burger … or should I say, for a massive amount of chips with a small side of burger.

Sure, a burger is hardly the ‘healthy option’, but with chip portions like these [or should I say ‘French Fries’], it is any wonder Australia now has the worst obesity rates after America!

Mind you, for all my ranting, the plate still ended up looking like this …

… so is it any wonder I now have the fastest growing stomach after a pregnant woman with triplets? 

And given I’m traveling for basically the next 5 weeks … if I’m not careful, I’m going to be huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge. 

All this begs the question, why don’t hotels offer a ‘healthy square meals a day’ program? 

For a ‘fixed fee’, the hotel could automatically bring you a healthy meal at breakfast, lunch and dinner times  – ensuring people like me don’t have the chance to go mental with their in-room menu of fat-ridden goodies.

And to make it even better … this option could be arranged at the time of the booking, so that people can’t change their mind and order more overpriced burger and fries, even if they had good intentions at the beginning.

The thing is, for people who travel alot, eating tons of hotel food is probably be as bad for you as munching down daily Macca’s – so if the big hotel chains don’t want to have films like SUPER SIZE ME made about them, maybe this isn’t such a daft idea at all.


11 Comments so far
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Until the hotel chains of the World create their ‘healthy biz traveler’s menu’ (which they should), I’m sure you could ask for a banana and a low fat yoghurt to replace meals on the menu. They should have that at the Westin.

Hope you don’t get over-excited about this suggestion.

I would actually be really happy if the portions were that big everywhere, since I would probably not have to order two main courses in order to be satisfied.

Comment by Fredrik

Yes Fred … I could order banana and yoghurt and I could become a corporate toady but we both know when the alternative is shining so brightly in front of my eyes, I ain’t gonna do it.

Hope your HK dinner is up to my portions!

Comment by Rob

rob you are wrong. again.
australia is not becoming america, im in texas and what you say is a big portion is an entree out here.
sounds like fredrik should be with me in redneck land, it is impossible to feel hungry.
when jerry springer was here and asked about whether the portions were as big as everything else in texas, he said that his body was still in a perfect shape, its just now, that shape is the letter ‘o’.

Comment by andy @ cynic

I’m watching my hero Springer on the box right now – he’s a soddin’ genius because apart from knowing his ‘audience’, he doesn’t pretend to be anything he isn’t. Unlike Oprah. Oh Jesus, don’t get me started on that woman!

Comment by Rob

If the dinner in HK is anything like the ones I had over there it should be good.

Funny to see Springer appreciation coming from intelligent people..!

Comment by Rob Mortimer

I’ve never been to a place where hungry is an impossibility. I like the idea a lot.

It would be great if people in Hong Kong could learn a thing or two from Texans about portion sizes before dinner time. What I’ve seen so far has been pathetic. The portion sizes are not even large enough for your taste buds to respond.

However, when you order more than two mains, the food is actually pretty decent. Rob, you must have had all your meals in a restaurant with the only Texas trained cook in town, or you made the sensible decision of ordering several mains for every meal. Which was it?

Comment by Fredrik

Hehe.
I think I just found the right places to eat!
Went to a cheap but big buffet near Central, and several places on Nathan Road serving huge bowls.

When I went up to NT we had meals in some very very local places, and they werent bad either.

I suppose most people in HK are shortish and thin, so maybe its like the anti-Texas?

Or you could just have Dim Sum and then problem solved…

Comment by Rob Mortimer

Don’t go knocking Mr Springer – he’s a legend. I even have my love of him mentioned on my business cards. Lets face it, he doesn’t pretend to be someone he isn’t … and he knows his audience … because on his GREATEST SHOWS DVD [which yes, I DO own!] there was a competition to ‘win a trailer’. Genius.

Comment by Rob

I wasnt knocking him, just find it odd that the stupid press (The Sun and co) knock him, while intelligent people like him!

Comment by Rob Mortimer

[Not that I am saying I am intelligent or anything] but maybe it’s because they can relax and enjoy the shit rather than continually trying to look ‘clever’ to everyone they come into contact with. Maybe.

Comment by Robert

[…] The more I think about it, the more my Healthy Hunger idea, makes sense.  […]

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