The Tradition of Chinese Eating Together
The Chinese love to eat out, especially when they entertain guests. This habit results in the abundance of restaurants everywhere in China. Eating together, like the westerners drinking in pubs or bars with friends, is a social gathering, a thanksgiving for the food, a celebration of family ties and bonds of friendship.
Unlike in a western restaurant that every diner will be offered a menu, one menu is often offered to the entire table in a Chinese restaurant even if there are a dozen of diners. Normally the one who receives the menu and orders the food will pay for the table, or the one who sits near the door will pay for the table. The Chinese find “splitting the bill” very ungracious and embarrassing. The common practice is that the other diners will take turns to pay for the meals later.
At the meal table, the diners usually try to demonstrate their goodwill and friendship by sharing the food together. As a result, some people will take advantage of this opportunity to have their business done at the table. Some use food and drink as one of their primary tools in creating and sustaining cooperative relationship with others.
Dining Rules and Manners in China
If you are someone’s guest, you may be asked to order something, or state some sort of preference. Feel free to name your favorite dish. Freshness is all important in Chinese cuisine. Menus in English are becoming more common, and an increasing number of restaurants actively encourage visitors to get out of their chairs and choose ingredients from tanks, cages, and supermarket-type of shelves. A meal might begin with cold starters such as pickled vegetables, ten-thousand-year old eggs, seasoned jellyfish, or cold roasted meat.
The last dish is usually soup. Then comes a grain staple such as rice, noodles, or bread. Fruit served at last will be regarded as dessert.
Table Manners
Talking about eating habits, unlike the Westerners, where everyone has their own plate of food, the dishes in China are placed on the table and everybody shares. Chinese are very proud of their culture of cuisine and will do their best to show their hospitality.
Chinese people don’t stick the chopsticks upright in the rice bowl. Otherwise, it is deemed extremely impolite to the host and seniors present.
Tapping on the bowl with chopsticks will be deemed an insult to the host or the chef.
Decide on what to pick up before reaching with chopsticks. Do not hover around or poke for special ingredients. After you have picked up an item, do not put it back in the dish.
When people wish to clink drinks together in the form of a cheer, it is important to observe that younger members should clink the edge of their drink below the edge of an elder to show respect.
Chinese Banquet Etiquette
Banquets are usually held in private rooms of restaurants that have been reserved for the purpose. Seating arrangements, which are based on ranks, are stricter than in the West. Traditionally, the Chinese regard the right side as the superior and the left side as the inferior. Therefore, on formal occasions which include meetings and banquets, the host invariably arranges for the main guests to sit on his right side.
It is the host’s responsibility to serve the guests, and at very formal banquets people do not begin to eat until the principal host serves a portion to the principal guest. Or, the host may simply raise his chopsticks and announce that it is time to eat. After this point, one may serve oneself any food in any amount. To stop eating in the middle of a banquet is rude, and your host may incorrectly think that something has offended you.
Drinking plays an important role in Chinese banquets. Toasting is mandatory, and the drinking of spirits commences only after the host has made a toast at the beginning of the meal. It is likely that he will stand and hold his glass out with both hands while saying a few words. After this initial toast, drinking and toasting are open to all. Subsequent toasts can be made from person to person or to the group as a whole. No words are needed to make a toast, and it is not necessary to drain your glass, although to do so is more respectful.
Remember that hard liquor should never be drunk alone. If you are thirsty, you can sip beer or a soft drink individually, but if you prefer to drink hard liquor, be sure to catch the eye of someone at your table, smile and raise your glass, and drink in unison. Beer or soft drinks can also be used for toasting. Also, it is impolite to fill your own glass without first filling the glasses of the others. This applies to all the drinks and not just to alcohol. If your glass becomes empty and your host is observant, it is likely that he will fill it for you immediately. When filling another’s glass, it is polite to fill it as full as you can without having the liquid spilt over the rim. This symbolizes full respect and friendship.
Consuming of the last dish marks the official end of a banquet. There is little ceremony involved with its conclusion. The host may ask if you have eaten your fill, which you undoubtedly have done. Then the principal host will rise, signaling that the banquet has ended. Generally, the principal host will bid good evening to everyone at the door and stay behind to settle the bill with the restaurateur. The hosts will usually accompany the guests to their vehicles and remain outside waving until the guests have left the premises.
The Proper Use of Chopsticks
Firstly, there are two important things to remember for the effective use of chopsticks. One is that the two lower ends must be even, that is, one must not protrude over the other. The other condition is that the two chopsticks must be in the same plane.
Place the first (lower) chopstick in the base of the thumb and index finger and rest its lower end below on the ring finger as shown. This chopstick remains fixed. Hold the other (upper) chopstick between the tips of the index and middle fingers, steady its upper half against the base of the index finger, and use the tips of the thumb to keep it in place. To pick up food, move the upper chopstick with index and middle fingers. With a little practice, you will be able to use chopsticks with ease.
