Do you ask for doggy bags...portions too big

[80sWaistcoat]

Out the other night in a nice but casual restaurant. Mains are about £18. I only ate half of mine, really lovely fish dish, so I asked for a doggy bag.

My friend was mildly disapproving. I didn't care - the portion was too big and I wasn't going to waste it. It was lovely the next day for lunch.

And DH and I went out for curry and shared a starter and a main and a nan. All at the same time so the starter was like a side dish. Was that weird? It was enough. Neither of us are skinny....this isn't some weird boast.

I don't eat food reheated

So you always make exactly the right amount of food? You never gain efficiencies by cooking enough soup for 2 meals?

Strange.

It's normal in the rest of the world. Only.in the UK would people be embarrassed. I have asked for recipes before and the chef has shown me how to make my favourites too. The lovely red haired chef in the old Ramsay place on the Pearl in Qatar. Forever more I impress with my eggplant tarts..

tbh, the huge portions put me off. I end up trying to order so-called 'side' dishes as 'mains'. I don't mind asking for a container to take excess home, but I don't want excess in first place.

One of my favourite places is a local smokehouse..lots of hefty meat. We had the sharer platter once and were eating it for a couple of days.

Two couples on the next table ordered the platter between four and still couldn't get through it

Yes we always ask to take stuff home.

But I've started ordering two starters rather than a main and a starter in a lot of places; some portions are just ridiculous.

I have plastic ziplock bags in my handbag Which I use in cheaper places, half the time I cannot get through an entire meal, have had a very happy cat on several occasions, I do it when DP goes to the loo so as to avoid eye rolls. I'm sure I could just ask but sometimes I feel like a spy on a mission avoiding being "caught" - I need to get out more.

My best "doggie bag" was from a very posh steak house, we had the beautiful but very overpriced Chateaubriand, so asked to take the leftovers home for my cat steak sandwiches and it was wrapped up in foil in the shape of a swan, nobody batted an eyelid.

There's a lovely Indian restaurant near our house but they do big portions, If I can't finish the meal I'll ask for the leftovers to takeaway then have them for lunch the next day. I think curry is actually better the next day because standing around gives the flavours time to infuse, a bit like a marinade, but that might just be me! I take the leftovers because I don't like wasting food and I feel that it shows the staff I just didn't the finish the food because I couldn't eat it all at once, not because I didn't like it. In my mind I think it's polite because it shows I appreciate the food. I don't see why people would be judgey.

Did this last night - went out for a curry with friends, ate half my food and took the rest home for DS for when he came back from working a late shift. He wolfed it down before going off to the pub