Culture Eating

I should imagine that Italians would find it far easier to settle into the culture of Chinese eating than the more reserved British, Germanic and Nordic people. The whole idea of eating in a Chinese restaurant in China is a noisy happy celebration. There is no such thing as a quiet romantic meal. This spills over into the eating at any of the many different types of restaurant you can find in the big cities in China.

A word of warning, if you are eating with Chinese then turn down any offer of their clear firewater. You will recognize it easily, it is a clear bottle with a clear liquid inside and a bright red cap. Do not in any way start drinking it and if they start a drinking competition then stick to water. It is highly alcoholic. For more details consult any good travel guide.

If you are eating with Chinese then rice is disdained. They see it as simply a cheap bulk up. As the honored guest you will probably be supplied with a banquet of about 40 “courses”. Each course being one plate of Chinese food. Eat slowly and do not finish off the last of the contents of any plate or they will bring another plate of the same dish. You may find yourself tapped on the shoulder by a waiter or waitress and shown a plastic bag containing a fish, lobster or live animal. You will be asked if you think they are good and healthy. If you say yes then they will take if off to the kitchen and it will arrive to the table in about 20 minutes.

Pick up your food from the communal bowl with your chopsticks and eat it. If you drop any on the table leave it as the table will not have been disinfected.

Tea or hot water is normally served automatically. If you find tea leaves or petals floating then try to blow them away from you so you can drink. If you get any tea leaves or petals in your mouth then spit them onto the table. The same with fish or chicken bones or anything indigestible. Watch your Chinese hosts and that is what they do.
Coffee is very rare in Chinese restaurants in China. If you want coffee then buy some cans of coffee from the local supermarket and carry them with you. If you prefer hot coffee then you may purchase sachets of coffee, sugar and milk powder and you can get hot water to make it up.

Be prepared as the Chinese waitresses especially will laugh if you cannot use your chopsticks well. Try eating a fried egg with chopsticks to practice before you leave on your trip. (Hint one stick underneath, one on top nibble the white and then suck out the runny part of the yoke before eating the rest of the yoke.)

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