Instructions on how to eat Asian
John Patrick over at you don't have to read has a very interesting rant/post (re-posted) about how to eat at Asian restaurants. Demystification about Asian dining habits and tradition. Eating Asian 101. Good stuff for the novice who'd like to appear as the sophisticate. I find this post instructive, but I'm guessing it was born out of frustration. So, help spread the good word, the gospel of JP...
In addition to being amusing (as read from my Asian Pacific American perspective), JP's post makes some fine distinctions about different Asian cuisines (e.g., chopsticks aren't Thai). One truism that ya'll should know is that rice is the core of the Asian meal -- absolutely, 100% correct. Most Asians (and many Asian Americans) will tell you that it's not a meal if there isn't any rice. In fact, in Japanese, the word for "rice" also means "meal".
However, I beg to differ on part of his post. In his section on Japanese dinners, he says that the rice bowls are not meant to be picked up. This is patently wrong. The rule is that any bowl or plate with a foot with some elevation (as opposed to sitting pretty flat on the table) is meant to be picked up and eaten from directly. Anything flat on the table should stay on the table. Almost anything that is hand-sized is meant to be lifted from the table. Other than that, I think he's dead-on about eating Asian.
Also, it is also true that Japanese wait for everything to be served before eating, and then everyone waits for the guest or most senior person to start before the rest of the table eats. This was a huge problem for me in Japan because it was often the case that I would be a guest -- and everyone would be waiting for me to start before they would -- but I didn't know how to eat the food because much of it was new to me. I wanted to wait to see how others ate the food and then follow suit (so I'd know, for example that you unwrap the rice in the leaf and not eat the leaf itself). But everyone was waiting for me to start, so what to do? I solved that one by taking a sip of a drink. Once I sipped, everyone else would start eating, and I could watch them to see how to eat the various dishes (like what went with what, etc.) Phew!
And one thing he didn't mention that often confounds non-Japanese who visit Japan: it's perfectly acceptable to slurp noodles noisily. The men do it with zest. The more slurp, the better. Women tend to eat more quietly.
But in my book, these are words to live by: the more slurp, the better.
In addition to being amusing (as read from my Asian Pacific American perspective), JP's post makes some fine distinctions about different Asian cuisines (e.g., chopsticks aren't Thai). One truism that ya'll should know is that rice is the core of the Asian meal -- absolutely, 100% correct. Most Asians (and many Asian Americans) will tell you that it's not a meal if there isn't any rice. In fact, in Japanese, the word for "rice" also means "meal".
However, I beg to differ on part of his post. In his section on Japanese dinners, he says that the rice bowls are not meant to be picked up. This is patently wrong. The rule is that any bowl or plate with a foot with some elevation (as opposed to sitting pretty flat on the table) is meant to be picked up and eaten from directly. Anything flat on the table should stay on the table. Almost anything that is hand-sized is meant to be lifted from the table. Other than that, I think he's dead-on about eating Asian.
Also, it is also true that Japanese wait for everything to be served before eating, and then everyone waits for the guest or most senior person to start before the rest of the table eats. This was a huge problem for me in Japan because it was often the case that I would be a guest -- and everyone would be waiting for me to start before they would -- but I didn't know how to eat the food because much of it was new to me. I wanted to wait to see how others ate the food and then follow suit (so I'd know, for example that you unwrap the rice in the leaf and not eat the leaf itself). But everyone was waiting for me to start, so what to do? I solved that one by taking a sip of a drink. Once I sipped, everyone else would start eating, and I could watch them to see how to eat the various dishes (like what went with what, etc.) Phew!
And one thing he didn't mention that often confounds non-Japanese who visit Japan: it's perfectly acceptable to slurp noodles noisily. The men do it with zest. The more slurp, the better. Women tend to eat more quietly.
But in my book, these are words to live by: the more slurp, the better.
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