Whenever I go on a buffet I always look for the soup first then get me another plate of vegetables and sea food. If it is a Filipino buffet the first thing I grab is the rice, laing(if there is any), dinuguan, binagoongan, ampalaya con carne, buttered crab and of course the ever popular kare kare. Never mind the pancit (noodles) and spaghetti because we usually have it in almost all of the Filipino gatherings we are attending to.
And for the other restaurant, I always get food that I don't usually eat or cook at home in small portions so I can taste all the food they are serving as much as I can. And then get me another plate or more of the food that suits my taste.