Eating in China!

Chinese people regard food as being most important in a man’s life, they do not greet each other with “How are you?” but instead they usually ask, “Have you eaten?”(ni chi fan le ma?)

So, only learning to use chopsticks (kuaizi) DOES NOT make a foreigner expert about Chinese food etiquette. Using kuaizi is just a tiny portion of China eating culture, if you are lucky enough to get invited to a Chinese banquet(yanhui), you must remember following etiquettes in mind.

1. Do not put your chopsticks vertically in Rice.
Reason:
The sight of two upright chopsticks in a bowl is reminiscent of the incense sticks that the Chinese traditionally burn in veneration of deceased loved ones.

                                    Always put your chopsticks horizontally on the rice bowl.

2. Never turn over the fish 
Reason:
In Chinese restaurants, the standard is for a fish to be served whole.
After working your way through the tender top side, it may seem logical to simply flip the fish and continue. Unfortunately, doing so has an unforeseen consequence.
Actually, in China, The fish symbolizes the boat and turning over the fish implies you turned over the boat of Fishermen's.

3. Never cut the noodles.
In Chinese traditions, during birthdays girls and boys slurp a bowl of noodles as a celebration of the many years ahead because noodles symbolizes longevity.A long strip of noodle is a metaphor for the long walk of life.If you cut the noodle , it symbolizes cutting your life off.

                                                   Eating long noodles on Birthday
4. Tea Tapping is a must

A tea cup should never be allowed to run dry. Your host, or members of your dinner party, will regularly refill the cups of those around them, who  tap the table in response. Go ahead and follow suit.

Tea tapping is a show of thanks. According to legend, there was once an emperor who regularly impersonated a commoner in order to get acquainted with his people.

One night, while at a teahouse, the emperor poured tea for his accompanying servant.

“Traditionally, the servant would have kneeled down to show respect, but that would have betrayed the emperor’s identity,” explains Lo. “So he tapped the table instead.”

                                          Tapping 2 fingers is a gesture of thanks.
 5. Never finish all the food
If someone invites you to dinner, you will no doubt be faced with a banquet of food that would seem impossible to consume considering the number of diners. What in other countries can seem wasteful, in China is the show of a generous host. So if all the food is eaten, you will notice that dishes just keep coming, and they won’t stop until there is a decent quantity of food left on the table. This means the host has done his job to properly feed you.

 Food left-over in a Chinese restaurant table is a common cultural thing, Although I personally feel, this is a total waste of food.


6. Always order an even number of dishes
For regular meals, you’d always order an even number of dishes, because an odd number is usually only ordered at a funeral meal.

7.  Lunch is at 12pm and dinner is at 6pm. 
The Chinese eat at very specific times, and allow very little flexibility in these timings. Furthermore, they see these as necessary time outs, so don’t suggest a working lunch meeting – I did, and learned very quickly this was taboo. Similarly, don’t suggest a dinner at 8pm…the Chinese will be too polite to tell you and will most likely have eaten before coming or arrive famished and grumpy.

8. Always offer to pay the bill
Even if someone invites you as a guest, it is polite to offer to pay the bill. The proper etiquette is to offer thrice, and accept the final no, allowing the host to pay. Why? Because if you pay allow your host to pay without arguing, then it implies to everyone that the host somehow owes you something and has the potential to compromise his / her “face” (honour). On the other hand, if you are very insistent, and refuse to allow the host to pay, then this is also considered poor etiquette, signalling to others you think the host cannot afford the meal…thus also potentially compromising “face”.

Few more things to keep in mind:
It is socially acceptable in China to spit bones on the table, belch, slurp soup and noodles and smoke while eating.

Don't feel offended if you find Chinese people in a restaurant spitting on the floor, or smoking a cigarette or talking very loudly, this is all part of China culture.

Also  while eating with chopsticks, do not point chopsticks towards other person, do not use them to beat the bowl or table, do not 'dig' or 'search' through one's food for something in particular in the dishes. This is sometimes known as "digging one's grave" or "grave-digging" and is extremely poor manners.
 
Rice can be eaten by raising the bowl to the mouth and shoveling the grains in with the chopsticks in a rapid fanning motion, even though this may resemble a Beijing duck force feeding itself.

Chinese banquets commonly have 12-20 courses in succession and can last for hours, but the dinner is over when the host stands up and offers the final toast; one is expected to leave immediately thereafter.

In my next post, I would share the table seating manners during a big dinner in China.


                                                                                                    ....continued..