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Here are some habits that I've known since being a big chinese cuisine fan.
It is traditional to drink soup 1st for some cuisine as a starter then for a different chinese cuisine soups are offered at the middle.
As for another habit is that fish is always served with the head and tail intact. To have fish served without the head and tail is not consider fresh.
It is traditional for the eldest people to eat first and the children eat last. Very common for a whole table to wait while the grandparents are served 1st and taste the food.
It is impolite to have personal dishes or entrees. If you order something, it has to shared amongst everybody.
Chinese people do not really enforce the etiquette in a strict sense, especially when you are an outsider.
One thing is not to stick your chopsticks in the rice. And never knock the plates/bowls with your chopsticks.
These are probably unacceptable in most places.
In rural China,eating meat is a big deal,Wendy DEng who was once married to Rupert Murdoch was invited to a socialite luncheon in NYC once,featuring all vegetarian cuisine,afterwards she slying said-when I was growing up in China,I prayed I would get to eat meat every day.
the lady who visited the rice terrace was served with a bowl of clear chicken soup with a chicken claw,they probably take the odds and ends pieces of the chicken to make the soup and the bonus is a piece of semi meat to keep you full.
They could have poached an egg instead,but thats more expensive.
what did the others get in their coup-gizzard,liver,neck,head?guts?
You may use your chopsticks to express yourself,if you are to leave early,you can hold the chopsticks and point to the rest of the table and say-enjoy your meal,eat FULL !
If someone fills your teacup,you can use your chopsticks to thank him by folding them together and point at him,shake it slightly up and down,saying Thanks Thanks!
You can also use it to hit someone over the head if he is not paying attention or not obeying your order.
You can also use it to hit a glass cup to get everyone attention as you have something to say.
You can also turn it around using the other end of the chopsticks to pick up some morsels from the dish and serve it to someone,if there is no serving spoon available.
The last thing you want to do is to poke it in your ears as earwax remover as it wont work.
I know older people from China and they often hold the plate or bowl up to their mouths and then eat. As opposed to leaving the plate or bowl on the table as they eat.
Is it mostly older people who eat like that, or just anyone in China?
children do that as it is easier for them,but why elderly?
could be they have better control by shortening the distance between their lips and the bowl?
You cant do that with plate as food will run off the plate,besides plate is too large to hold.
No one talks about farting,one excuse is that farting means your enjoy the food and it is a compliment to the host/
when you travel to China,bring a pair of plastic chopsticks with you if they do not serve with disposable chopsticks sealed in paper sleeve.
The traditional restaurants may use bamboo chopsticks,they leave them in the same tub as soiled plates,bowls,soups to be washed later.
The bamboo chopsticks are rinsed and left to dry,if they are not dried thoroughly,it could contain that Hepatitis bacteria ,so always keep a pair of spare chopsticks,spoon in your travel bag.
No one talks about farting,one excuse is that farting means your enjoy the food and it is a compliment to the host/
when you travel to China,bring a pair of plastic chopsticks with you if they do not serve with disposable chopsticks sealed in paper sleeve.
The traditional restaurants may use bamboo chopsticks,they leave them in the same tub as soiled plates,bowls,soups to be washed later.
The bamboo chopsticks are rinsed and left to dry,if they are not dried thoroughly,it could contain that Hepatitis bacteria ,so always keep a pair of spare chopsticks,spoon in your travel bag.
No comment as I've experienced so many things at the dinner table in China, esp with business men that don't even compare to what already has been mentioned. Slurping is nothing. Even the Japanese do that lol
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