How many times have you been to a restaurant and got stumped by what to order from a menu?
Take a look at an example below.
The Menu Challenge
This menu is not a whole lot different from any other one you would have seen.
The most common problem I find is the words describing a menu item are almost never anything like I imagine it to be. You can be a master wordsmith, but if the item does not come out like I expect it I will feel a level of disappointment.
For example, if I order a chicken salad. I know it will come out looking like a salad does, but what happens when it's finally presented. I thought I was getting enough chicken, but in the end, I found out I was under served. I would have needed double the protein serve to feel satisfied.
Since ordering food doesn't break our bank balance we are more willing and forgiving to take a gamble. If we like our experience, we seek to make a return. If not, we tend not visit the place any time soon.
The most challenging experience you'll ever get is when you travel to Asia. It's the land that eats everything with its back to the sun. When ordering food there you will almost always have to see it before you take the punt. This is where trusted source of friends or pictures are always of great help.
Seeing is believing.
The point I am trying to convey is that I wish more places would have images of their food, so we know what we're ordering. With net migration on the rise in most western countries, our choices of cuisines tend to open up correspondingly.
Let's gamble less and enjoy the food on offer by letting our eyes do the initial tasting. We will avoid disappointment a whole lot less and everyone will be happy. The restaurant owner, the service staff and their customers.
I will leave you with a depiction of a flowchart I've put together to paint the scenario of what most of us go through.
Disclaimer: I'm well aware there are different types of menus, but on average most of them are very similar. Paper based, fairly verbose and often don't paint the picture of what the food will look like.
FOOTNOTES
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