PlatKat.com

This can’t be good for me, but I’ve had two Chinese buffet lunches in a row and I’m thinking about going for three. My first was at Hwa Yuan, which we lovingly refer to as How Ya Doin, and my second was at Sea Dragon. And now, the important stuff:

• Chicken lo mein: If you like more chicken, Sea Dragon is better. But I like thicker noodles and completely random vegetables, so I vote How Ya Doin.
• Egg rolls: Sea Dragon is better.
• Spring rolls: Sea Dragon doesn’t include them with the buffet. Thumbs down!
• Salad: You’re at a Chinese buffet. Use your head, man.
• Egg drop soup: Hard to say. Sea Dragon puts cut-up sticks of crab in theirs, giving it a totally different taste. How Ya Doin makes traditional egg drop soup with fewer additions. It’s a toss-up.
• Sesame chicken: About the same.
• Beef and broccoli: About the same.
• Fried crab thingies: How Ya Doin squeezes the four corners of the fried square together so the crustiness can be enjoyed with the cheesy crab. Sea Dragon folds the square in half, creating a triangle, which does not allow proper disbursement of the crustiness and the cheesiness. How Ya Doin is clearly the winner here.
• Sushi: Sea Dragon has none, How Ya Doin has a few rolls, but they’re not great.
• Onion rings: Onion rings? That’s not Chinese food. No matter, Sea Dragon’s are a little better, but How Ya Doin has ketchup, so theirs win.
• Ice cream: After spending a few minutes looking for the soft-serve ice cream machine at How Ya Doin, I didn’t expect there to be one at Sea Dragon. And there wasn’t, although just about every other Chinese buffet restaurant has at least a soft serve machine.
• Other desserts: Both places have the tradional sweet/sugared bread that I know not to try because I take my desserts seriously and dissapoint easily. How Ya Doin has pudding… Jell-O pudding, I think. They also have some cookies and stuff. Sea Dragon does not.

Speaking of Sea Dragon not having things, my fortune cookie had no fortune! My day feels incomplete. I don’t really know what to do with myself now. I mean, what kind of place gives people empty fortune cookies anyway?

At the moment, I’m stuck in a bit of a moral dilemma. I just ate tons and tons of food with my friends. Tonight, I’m supposed to go to the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH) and volunteer in their soup kitchen. I’m actually thinking about not going because over a dozen people signed up to go and there are maybe five jobs to actually do. But if I don’t go, my world will be mentally and physically unbalanced. And regardless of whether I’m even needed there, I’ll feel like kind of an asshole.

I like volunteering, but I don’t like standing around waiting for a turn to do something. And since the world isn’t perfect, there is obviously a better way for me to spend the hours that I’ve committed to volunteering. I’ve only brought this up to other YLS members once, afraid that I’ll sound like a jerk if I press it further. I need to find a different place that needs volunteers because this one obviously has its share.