“Dining out in restaurants or food centres is better than eating in at home.” Do you agree?

Written by: Jun Xian (4E 2022)

Food is an essential part of life and we can never live without eating. Billions of tons of food are consumed daily by humans alone, and we Singaporeans are blessed to have a wide variety of food, ranging from home-cooked foods to restaurants and food centres. For me, I disagree that dining out in restaurants or food centres is better than eating in at home. In this essay, I will explain why eating in at home is better.

Firstly, eating in at home is much preferred as the environment in restaurants and food centres are terrible. Restaurants and food centres are usually packed with people during lunch time and dinner time. Students that have been dismissed from school and adults’ lunch break make these restaurants and food centres crowded and noisy.People are talking loudly as they cannot hear what their friends. Compared to eating in at home, one can enjoy the noise-free environment in the comfort of their own homes and enjoy their meal peacefully. Moreover, one can enjoy the comfortable sofa and watch a movie on a sixty-inch television. One can turn on the air-conditioner if they are feeling hot and the heavenly cold air will cool one down. In a restaurant or food centre, one can only watch a movie with their phone which is tiny compared to a television. The chair in restaurants is also not very comfortable for one’s seating for a long time. In food centres, it is worse. The plastic chair, which can injure one’s leg after knocking onto it, will hurt one’s bottom after sitting on it for just twenty minutes. Most food centres do not have air-conditioners and are open-air. This leads to the unbearable heat and bird droppings on the tables and chairs. Therefore, eating in at home is better than dining out in restaurants or food centres.

Secondly, eating in at home reduces food wastage. Eating at home normally requires one to cook their own meal. This will allow one to use their favourite ingredients to cook a heart-warming meal and a perfect portion for themselves. This will lead to less food being thrown away and wasted. In recent years, food wastage is a major concern in many countries. Studies have shown that on average, each person throws away two bowls of food daily. Since cooking at home and eating in allows one to control the food portion, food wastage is being avoided. Compared to restaurants and food centres, which cook in large portions and throw away lots of food every day. Therefore, eating in at home is better than dining out in restaurants and food centres.

Although some might argue that restaurants and food centres provide one with tasty food, I disagree with it. The secret to tasty food in restaurants and food centres is the MSG they use in the food. This MSG makes food taste better but is unhealthy and makes one thirsty. As compared to the traditional curry cooked by my grandmother, who does not use any MSG or artificial flavouring, restaurants’ dishes are more unhealthy. Her curry is so tasty that MSG would probably ruin it. This proves that restaurants and food centres provide one with tasty but unhealthy food and shows that home-cooked food is better and healthier.

In conclusion, eating in at home is better than dining out in restaurants or food centres. Eating in at home allows one to enjoy the good environment of their own home and is better for one’s health and the environment. Hence, I disagree that dining out in restaurants or food centres is better than eating in at home.