Do you notice how food courts in shopping malls have different types of cuisine–most of which are very westernized interpretations of food from various cultures?
Panda Express, for instance, is supposedly Chinese food, while Sbarro claims to serve Italian food.
While mall food is not fancy–and it's okay if you thought they were–it's not necessarily everyone's cup of tea.
Yet, some of these walk-up establishments have huge lines because shoppers either don't know any better and think the offerings are authentic, or it's just a matter of convenience for them to look for a quick bite.
Curious to know about the types of food that are given more hype than they deserve, Redditor Faihus asked:
"What cuisine do you find highly overrated?"
Unfortunately, many Redditors misunderstood the assignment and named examples that were not a style or method of cooking that represents different countries or establishments.
Nevertheless, here we go.
It's crazy how marketing adds crazy value to edibles that are nothing out of the ordinary.
Fancy Bake
"High-end cupcakes."
– redjack847
Cheap Bake
"Yeah. I would have to agree with that. It may be an unpopular opinion but I still love the Duncan Heinz or Betty Crocker Blueberry Muffin mix. Grew up on that stuff."
– redjack847
Store-Bought Reigns Supreme
"I fail to see what's wrong with a normal cupcake. Hell, even boxed cupcakes are super good. I would rather have 10 delicious boxes cupcakes than one mediocre, overpriced one."
– cbk00
Some people use condiments to enhance a flavor. Others prefer methods that induce an eye-roll.
Mineral Sprinkles
"Gold-flaked cuisine."
– bushbeanbuddy
Aesthetics First
"Gold leaf on food is bullsh*t. It does not add flavour, only makes it look gold and increases the price. If you want to sh*t good like a Lannister, it’s good for that. The instagram food trend is all about looks not taste."
– timesuck897
Snapworthy
"Social media-oriented cuisine, like those milkshakes where they spread chocolate outside the glass. The only point of doing that is looking better on Instagram since it objectively worsens the product"
– anon
Some establishments would do well serving just alcohol.
That, or patrons shouldn't expect much fro the menu at their local watering hole.
Barf-ood
"As an American, any 'American' restaurant eatery without a speciality. It’s all bar food that’s SLIGHTLY better than actual stereotypical bar food (Chili’s, Cheddars, Logan’s etc) Hell, actual bar food is probably better honestly."
– ShadowsCheckmate
Tall Order
"You don’t want an 18 dollar cheeseburger with onion rings and 'our house made barbecue sauce' that you have to unhinge your jaw to eat?"
– guanwho
Sticking To The Basics Is A +
"There’s so many 'brew houses' and 'bistros' where you cant get just a regular cheeseburger. They’ll have a first time chef trying to be fancy but if you can’t make a plain cheeseburger made with upscale ingredients taste really f'king good I guarantee you your bacon jam’d, house made ketchup’d, unripe off season tomato, 3/4 lb patty on a brioche that doesn’t hold together just doesn’t taste that good. And what do you mean you don’t have pickles? The acid is there for a reason. As a veteran of the business it drives me insane."
– pullonmynards
Finally, we were going somewhere with the assignment in reference to naming a cuisine.
Real Italian
"I want to say Italian, but sometimes my italian friend will make something for me and I will eat myself stupid so I think it's probably just americanized italian that I'm not into."
– KittyLord0824
We Need A Re-Introduction
"I told my Italian friend I didn't like Italian food and she almost fell off her chair. I think I've eaten too much domesticated Italian and need some re-centering...for her sake."
– Limelight1981
I can't say with absolute certainty which particular cuisine is overrated, but I can say which type of food is overrated.
Under that scenario, I can say smoothies sold in chain restaurants like Jamba Juice are overrated.
People seem to think that just because they're having a fruit smoothie, it does their bodies good.
Most smoothies are pretty much fruit juices, not actual fruit with fiber, and are loaded with tons of sugar.
They may taste delicious, but that's because all of the added sugars tantalize repeat customers.
Seeing so many locations selling smoothies, in general, makes me question the nutritional value of many of their menu options. But, that's just me.
"Hotel staff of Reddit, what’s the most NSFW moment you witnessed at your hotel?"
Thrills On Ice
"I worked at a hotel in a resort town in Europe."
"One of the maids called me to a room for help because it has been the location of an extremely messy sex party from the touring ice show."
"There were used condoms thrown everywhere, and half the furniture was busted."
"The poor maid was in tears, thinking she'd have to clean it."
"The hotel management called in a professional cleaning company who wore disposable suits, respirators, and eye protection."
"They got rid of most of the stuff in the room and charged a fortune to the ice show."- Abba_Fiskbullar
Get A Room! Oh, Yeah...
"I work overnights in a relatively small hotel, and at least 6/7 days a week, I hear people banging loud as hell in their rooms."
"Half the rooms have a balcony that overlooks the lobby, and those doors aren't soundproof at all."
"We had a man sleepwalk out of his room to the lobby, bucka** nude."
"We had a woman show up in the lobby in her underwear."-
Now That Takes Effort
"Night Auditor here, I've seen a LOT."
"Multiple times I've had guests come to my desk completely naked because somehow they locked themselves out.... naked... this one always confuses me."
"But probably the most NSFW was a guest who had gotten violently ill."
"We're talking projectile vomit on EVERY surface of the room, blood all over, feces, pee... everything was just destroyed..."
"Obvious call to paramedics, but I can never unsee it."- thefuzzmuffin
Vomit Reaction GIF by MOODMANGiphyAmazing He Wasn't Hurt...
"I was a night shift security guard for a motel right next to the biggest casino in my state."
"It was common for addicts to hang out around the property."
"One time, this guy staying in a room did a lil too much and had a freak out."
"He was running around the walkways naked."
"I had to ward him away from peoples rooms so they wouldn’t be disturbed."
"He ended up jumping off the second story balcony and splatting on the pavement."
"He scampered up and hauled a** across the street into a car dealership."
"Not my problem anymore."- Carniverousphinctr
Will Someone Think Of The Children?!?!
"Sex party in the hot tub while children were playing in the indoor pool steps away."
"I had to break that up and throw them out."
"And deal with the numerous lengthy yet justified complaints about it."- mbgal1977
When Wigs And Disguises Won't Cut It...
"Many years ago worked at a very nice casino resort as a valet."
"Regular pulled up in his nice BMW and went to help."
"Wrote up his ticket got his keys and offered to help load up his luggage on a bell cart while we waited for a bellman."
"Opened the trunk and went to lift the suitcase and I about threw my back out."
"I wasn’t prepared for it to be so heavy."
"Gave it another go and heaved it onto the bell cart and heard a sound."
“'Mr, did your suitcase just make an oof sound…?'”
"Long story short a sex worker who was banned from the property was stowed away in there to get up to his room."- thatryanguy1
Why Stop When The Getting Is Good?
"When I was young and worked at a hotel, I was delivering a room service meal and when I got there, the door was closed but had been left just shy of being latched."
'I knocked and the guest yelled 'come in'."
"I pushed it open with the cart, walked in and he was standing there with a big grin on his face watching my reaction as I wheeled in the cart, butt naked with a woman, also naked."
"He smiled and reached out and handed me a $20 he had in his hand and said to just leave it there and close the door on the way out."
"I guess part of their kink was to show off and see my reaction."
"I was shocked, but never said anything to anyone at work."- TXjoedog
NSFW? More Like Safety Hazard!
"The most NSFW thing that I recall was the manager getting on a cleaning kick and accidentally mixing the wrong chemicals in the pool area."
"A toxic gas started to form and the whole hotel had to be evacuated at like 5 AM."- DtotheJtotheH
What Haven't They Seen?
"I did security for a hotel for a number of years."
"I've seen naked guests locked out of their rooms, wedding parties break into the pool area and jump in fully clothed."
"Had a drunk woman climb out her 3rd-floor window and chill on the roof just below."- silverwarbler
Storefront?
"Best friend was GM I was manager."
"He found over the years 4 guns, 5 lbs of weed (at once)."
"The amount of guns is what surprises me."
"Only one out of the four guns found over the years was reported stolen."- Drewpacabra
So Many Questions...
"I wasn't working at this hotel and was just a guest, but I wish I had asked the staff for the backstory."
"I'm checking into my hotel in Los Angeles and was given my keycard."
"Head to the room, open the door, and there's a naked buff dude standing next to the bed just staring at me."
"He says nothing."
"I apologize and quickly leave, assuming somehow I'd gotten the wrong room."
"I go back to the front desk and say, 'I'm sorry, but I think you gave me the wrong room. There's a naked man already in there'."
"The worker at the front desk says, 'Sh*t, not again'."
"He pulls out his walkie talkie and says, 'Security? He's back again'."
"They assigned me to a different room and I was on my way."- telarium
How I Met Your Mother Comedy GIF by LaffGiphyWhat hotel guests do within the privacy of their own room is their business and no one else's.
Even so, it couldn't hurt for them to remember to lock their doors.
"People of Reddit, what is the dumbest reason your (ex) partner gave for cheating?"
So Much For "Till Death do Us Part".
"'You are dying! Do you really want me alone when you are dead?'"
"I was fighting cancer."
"He also told me that I was disgusting and he felt gross touching me."
"Luckily, both types of cancer are out of my life."- Mr_BigDuck
You Could Have At Least Left A Message!
"'You didn't answer your phone, was I supposed to spend Saturday night alone?'"
"I was at work, and so were you, we worked together you f*cking moron."- sixesand7s
Love At First Sight... Or Not
"She met someone that she immediately saw herself marrying."
"A month after we broke up she moved across the country, got married, called me to tell me she made a mistake, got divorced, moved back home, got pregnant and then got married again."- Zarrush
Gonna Have To Do Better Than That...
"Her response once I caught her was that she was flat-out horny."
"But after I said that’s why you have a boyfriend it was kinda funny how she went dead silent."- PuzzleheadedFarm7417
Um...
"He said that he cheated on me because I wanted to have too much sex."
"More than 5 years later I still can't find any logic in that."- Etrixie
So Much For Commitment
"'It's not like we're married'."
"Apparently I can't expect respect from someone who goes from calling me 'love of my life' to blowing her high school shag toy when he comes back to town."- FortGeek
Cartoons Button GIF by NickelodeonGiphyIt Never Is...
“'It’s not what you think it is!'”
"After I walked in on them making out."
"While she was on his lap."
"Both without shirts."- MrSirChris
Two Whole Weeks...
"I couldn't have sex for two weeks so I could recover from surgery so she thought it wasn't cheating'."- Henchforhire
What The Actual...
"My ex-girlfriend said I forgot you were alive."
"For details, I wasn't in the military, I was at university."- Ali8ly
scared star wars GIF by Hyper RPGGiphyThat Only Makes It Worse
"It was his kid's mom so it didn't count."- kittenxx96
"In Sickness And In Health"...Oops!
“'I have needs for sex you aren’t helping me with!'"
"Said to me the day I get home from spending a week in the hospital with kidney failure (lupus)."- EndlesslyUnfinished
We Can Only "Open" Our Hearts So Much...
"Well, I know this guy that was convinced he was in an open relationship, except he forgot to let his girlfriend know.."
"She found out 7 years into the 'open relationship'."
"With multiple women, in 4 continents."
"Oh he also had a book where he'd categorize them."- ProfessionalSpite866
Episode 2 Player GIF by ABC NetworkGiphySanta? SANTA?!?!
"My serial cheater ex-once told me while in a fit of tears."
"'I can't stop cheating, I just have so many issues, my mom lied about Santa when I was a kid and it really f*cked me up'."
"'I don't think I can trust people because of it so I cheat'."- pastelflorist
No One Likes To Be Treated Like A Piece Of Meat...
“It’s like if you order the same subway sandwich for a year, eventually you’re gonna get bored of it."
"But you try another flavor and when you go back to the original one it’s better than you remembered'.”
"Felt not so good being compared to a 6 inch BLT tbh."- NucularOrchid
Oh, nothing, except commitment and fidelity...
"'She was prettier than you, what did you expect?'"
"We were engaged and had been dating for 3 years."- kathjoy
No doubt all these poor people are grateful for dodging the bullet that staying with these people would have been.
Even if it can't quite make up for the pain and embarrassment these experiences brought them.