And then my ovaries exploded. Sorry. Whenever my stepdaughter calls me Mom, something deep in my soul explodes like a volcano. I’ve been making peace with myself that at 37-years-old I might never be able to have my own biological child. I’ve had one confirmed miscarriage. And a few times that I suspect I might have had one. Some women just don’t have the luck when it comes to having a baby… Blended families are always hard. I’ve been in my stepdaughter’s life since she was 3 years old. Her mom recently got married. (My SO and her Mom were never married.) So that’s been an adjustment. Amusingly enough, the other day when I was picking her up from her after-school activity, I heard her scream “That’s my STEPmother.” I found out later that the other kids were saying, “Look, you’re mom is here on time.”
I’ve digressed off onto a tangent, sorry. Haha. I meant to explain that my stepdaughter and I have been spending more “girl” time together. Watching movies together. Or television. She can read subtitles now so we’ve watched Mushi-shi some on Hulu. The day after her birthday, I took her out for a bit. The birthday cheesecake we ate on her birthday was fantastic, by the way. Walmart is pretty decent at making a cheesecake.
Since my stepdaughter is really into “Asian” stuff. We went to the local “Asian” grocery store and looked around. I love her to death and watching her learn about new things is always amusing. I.E. We had to pause Shang-Chi because she had no idea where Japan was in relation to China. She thought Japan was on the coast of China… Then I realize that world maps aren’t something Elementary-aged children are shown in school. *SIGH*
We had some time to kill before the restaurant I had picked out opened so we walked the aisles of the grocery store and eyeballed all the yummy treats they have there. She picked the sugar candy from Spirited Away. (She remembered it from Pokemon first.) Some panda bear cookies filled with strawberry cream. Lychee Ramune. Brown Sugar Bubble Tea in a can (I got honeydew). And some kind of coconut drink with those jelly chunks in it. I only snapped pictures of a few things. We put the candy in a jar because I had a feeling the plastic bag they came in would end up being spilled. I got some tapioca pearls for us to make bubble tea at home. The brown sugar ones are going to be used on my Christmas trip.
We went to the used bookstore to look at Pokemon cards, but they had moved those to only be in sealed baggies, so that was a bust. We ended up picking up some books and came home to read them. I can’t remember what book my stepdaughter picked out. It’s the first in a large Disney series, but I found two Diane Wynne Jones books!
I have to rant and rave at how amazing our lunch turned out. We went to a Japanese Buffet. I wanted to try a new one because the typical one we go to had always given me indigestion. This place is a few dollars more expensive for adult entry, but it was well worth it in my opinion. Instead of all the food being up on the buffet like most places, they hand you a menu and you’re able to order like a typical restaurant. All-You-Can-Eat. It honestly made it much easier. I considered better and was able to keep portions down. I feel at the buffet that you pick up what looks nice to the eyes and then later your stomach hates you. We only had 2 single pieces left on our sushi plate, but that was mostly because my stepdaughter ordered a super spicy roll that neither of us could tolerate in the end.
We were so hungry after running around at the grocery store that I forgot to take pictures of the Edamame and the Crab Ragoon. We ordered that along with the Masago, Eel & Avacado, California Roll, Volcano Roll, Shrimp Tempura Roll, and Green Dragon, which turned out to be a Shrimp Tempura Roll with avocado on top. The Volcano roll was so spicy, there was hot sauce on top. So I couldn’t stomach it.
And the endless Hibachi was so tempting, but my stomach just couldn’t handle that much food. This was a great find. My SO loves hibachi. It was so much cleaner and nicer not having to run over to the buffet line. We ordered the sushi all at once, but everything else was little by little so that we didn’t waste any food. And our waitress was great about checking in to see if we needed anything. I wish I had eaten some Vegetable Tempura and some Fried Squid. Next time.
I honestly hope that the buffet remains like this. I don’t know if that makes it harder or easier for them. I’ve seen at the other buffet restaurant across town, people getting large platefuls of food and then not finishing them. Or not liking something and it gets tossed. The quality of the sushi is a lot better here though. My stepdaughter usually piles stuff all over her rolls there to make them taste better. I personally ate almost every piece with just a touch of soy sauce or nothing else because it tasted so good. I may have gotten my stepdaughter into eating eel too. Hee~!
We finished off the meal with sesame balls! They were so hot. The sweet red bean paste burnt our tongues, but we couldn’t help scarfing them down. With my meal, my stepdaughter’s meal & her drink, and tip for the great service, it was about $30 for the two of us. Not an everyday sort of pricing, but I want to go back again so badly.
Did you eat at Buffet restaurants before COVID? How do you feel about it now? Thanks for reading, everybody!
Atelier Whootique 