Sadly, teaching of table manners is now a lost art, I'm afraid. Actually, teaching of any kind of manners has the same fate. The World is a much less genteel place than when I was young.

Regarding chopsticks, I used to eat Almond Chicken at a Friday's with them--not well, but I made do. There's not a Friday's anywhere near me now, so that has stopped. The Chinese food I eat now I do with a fork. I'm picky, too--when I visited China I nearly starved, because our guide took us places that served REAL Chinese food. I won't eat what I don't recognize, and a lot of what I do.

flashguy

Flashguy,

Try doing business in China and attending meals where the host company intends to impress the Chinese people you are with, and you are the only laowei in the bunch, representing U.S. corporate. Then someone does you the honor of "serving" you something you don't want which is a sign of respect and you have to eat it to accept the honor.

But if you can go toe to toe with them on the Baijiu toasts and hold your liquor without showing obvious signs, you get a hell of a lot of respect. Just being able to drink the stuff is an accomplishment.

If you are in a group of westerners, a good business host will order dishes that are more palatable for you. But in their effort to offer you the best of what their city or region has to offer, you still get some things we don't eat here commonly - such as sea cucumber, abalone, and sea urchin.

Scot18,

Chewing with you mouth closed and not making smacking noises is a western manners thing, and is not the case in much of east Asia. Slurping soup is also completely OK. Admittedly it grates on me and drives me crazy sometimes. So, American actors doing this with Chinese food is actually as culturally appropriate as the chopsticks.

Guess this answers the question:

I do but its not a requirement. I was on a business trip just a month or so ago and got Chinese food. I then went back to the hotel and chopsticks were in the bag so seemed reasonable. I find that some asian food works better with chopsticks. Sushi with a fork would likely not work well.

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
But if you can go toe to toe with them on the Baijiu toasts and hold your liquor without showing obvious signs, you get a hell of a lot of respect. Just being able to drink the stuff is an accomplishment.

While you'll score huge points amongst the guys, this is no different than here in the US; being able to pound Irish car bombs or, taquilla shots. Its macho party behavior, appropriate for the right settings.

quote:

Chewing with you mouth closed and not making smacking noises is a western manners thing, and is not the case in much of east Asia. Slurping soup is also completely OK. Admittedly it grates on me and drives me crazy sometimes. So, American actors doing this with Chinese food is actually as culturally appropriate as the chopsticks.

To a point. In China, the cultural revolution by the communists eschewed all forms of manners and social graces that had been cultivated over the millennia. Since manners were seen as Western influences of the bourgeoises, thus, spitting, talking out loud, aggressive pointing, slurping, leaving bones on the table, picking your nose in public, basically any obnoxious social behavior was perfectly acceptable as its the way of the proletariat. Hong Kong before the handover (even decades after), Singapore, Taiwan, all of those cultures while, Chinese-rooted, have distinct differences, biggest is social behavior.

Have found a new use for hashi (chopsticks) that's very beneficial!

They're great to use for eating Cheetos!!!

My answer would be no. I don't eat Chinese food

quote:

Originally posted by ersatzknarf:
Have found a new use for hashi (chopsticks) that's very beneficial!

They're great to use for eating Cheetos!!!

Keeps the orange crud off your fingers.

Precisely!!!

quote:

Originally posted by ersatzknarf:
Have found a new use for hashi (chopsticks) that's very beneficial!

They're great to use for eating Cheetos!!!

Eat Cheetos with knitting needles?

Chinese food doesn't really exist in SW Florida, and considering the number of Vietnamese people on my street alone, you would think there would be more than one Vietnamese restaurant in the area. That restaurant is not even remotely authentic. I'm trying to get my wife to a Korean place that looks promising. So really, no takeaway here.

That said, I use chopsticks when cooking bacon-they do not scratch the bottom of my pan, and I like the control they offer. We don't have tongs in the house.

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
Guess this answers the question:

Hmmmm.... An authentic Chinese guy, eating inauthentic Chinese food (food, as it were), with authentic Chinese utensils, from an inauthentic Chinese box.

I'm very puzzled.

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Flashguy,
Try doing business in China and attending meals where the host company intends to impress the Chinese people you are with, and you are the only laowei in the bunch, representing U.S. corporate. Then someone does you the honor of "serving" you something you don't want which is a sign of respect and you have to eat it to accept the honor.

I was a tourist as part of a group of Dallasites, but our tour guide (one of us) was of Chinese roots and took us to places that served real Chinese food--I think he wanted us to sample what China was like. Sorry, I am not an adventurous eater (as I indicated) and I ate very little at those meals. I don't drink alcohol, either, so that was out.

flashguy