Dining in China is not at all like dining in America. Nor, in any other western country, for that matter. One thing that all of us foreigners have a hard time adjusting to is the eating habits, and eating etiquette of the Chinese people. Even for those who have been here 2 or more years, it’s still tough to take the slurping, smacking, and talking while their mouths are full. I don’t know that it is intended as a compliment to the chef, as it is with the Japanese. I thinks it’s the chop sticks, and not using plates for individual servings.
I have been living with a Chinese family for 4 weeks, now. I am very happy, and grateful to have such a nice family who is down to earth, and enjoys eating together. I am very fortunate to be living with a very wealthy family who have a live-in housekeeper. She does all of the cooking in a house that has 2 gas burners, and an oven. Alas, she never uses the oven because that is not the Chinese way. In other words, she doesn’t know how to bake, let alone what to bake. And, she uses pretty much only one burner. Oh, sure, one burner may be used to steam something, or cook soup. Yet, she tends to stir-fry only 1 dish at a time. And, the food is served as it’s ready. That means, by the time we sit down to eat, much of the food is luke-warm. Only the last dish she cooked, typically fish, and the rice are hot.
We each grab our own small bowls and scoop in the sticky rice, grab a pair of chop sticks, and take out seats. Let the battle of reaching for food commence! Seriously. There is no Lazy Susan, so each of us is reaching across one another to take a bite of food from our desired dish. That’s right. The Chinese do not serve the food onto their own plates, and eat from their own plates (can you say thank you for sharing your germs?). You only have the little bowl of rice. Food drips, and sometimes, drops from the chopsticks as you bring it your mouth. But, that’s okay. Any fish bones, chicken, or pork bones – they just spit them out onto the table. Or, let them fall out of their mouths is a more accurate description. That’s easy enough since they don’t close their mouths while chewing. Thus, smack, smack, smack.
And, the slllluuuuurrrrrppp! Ugh. There is always soup. They will ladle the soup into the rice bowl, and, you got it, use the chop sticks to shovel the solids and broth into their mouths. Sometimes they use a spoon. But, if you’ve been to a Chinese restaurant and used a Chinese spoon to eat soup, you know how the shape makes you slurp. It’s not how hot the soup may be that makes them slurp. It’s just what they do.
Did I mention the talking with their mouths full? It’s nice to have lively conversation while eating. But, I just cannot look up from my bowl. It’s just too disgusting for me to see all of the various foods being gnashed. My western upbringing just can’t handle it. Oh, and they don’t use napkins. They have little tissues, but use them only when they have really made a mess. Only in some of the larger, more westernized restaurants will you see a napkin. But, that doesn’t mean the Chinese will use it.
They, also, tend not to drink anything while eating. Apparently it’s not healthy to drink anything while you eat. It supposedly slows the digestion. I need to research this. Since the people of Asia are so slight of build, there may be something to this. I mean, these people can pack the food away! The family worries that I don’t eat enough. And, I am wondering why they don’t all look like the Happy Buddha.
Speaking of drinking, it is now 5pm, and since I don’t have to work tomorrow, I am going to go pour myself a glass of red wine. From a bottle I purchased and made a point to store in a cabinet. Otherwise, they would chill it. *sigh* The Chinese have much to learn. But, as my dad said, “They have been eating this way for thousands of years. Of course it’s the right way.” Cheers! 干杯
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