Dining in China: Culture Shock

Before coming to China, I thought of Chinese food as General Tso’s chicken, egg rolls, and fortune cookies. 【小题1】 In my first few weeks here, the group I was working with went out to dozens of group dinners. We were introduced to the Chinese way of dining out, and there was quite a bit of culture shock involved.

For one, the community style of dining was new to me. In America, I was used to sharing an appetizer with someone sometimes and then everyone ordering their own main course. In China, many dishes are ordered and placed on a lazy Susan. The table is spun around and you grab what you like. And we’re not just talking a starter, a main, and dessert here; a Chinese dinner is a marathon of food.   【小题2】 of course, there are always some staple foods around-rice, dumplings, or noodles. Soup comes last in a Chinese dinner instead of first, and dessert usually consists of a massive fruit plate.

Using chopsticks was also new to me and took quite some time to get used to. It was always embarrassing at first when I couldn’t grab something tasty from the moving table and had to wait until the next time around. After years of practice, I can now confidently snatch a peanut as it’s flying by me on a lazy Susan-practice really does make perfect! In the first few months, I was laughed at so many times by Chinese people while they watched me struggle with chopsticks. That probably explains why one of my favorite things to do while dining out in many Western restaurants in town is watching young, trendy Chinese people struggle with their forks and knives.

I had eaten chow mein before, as well as egg fried rice and Kung Pao chicken, but there were plenty of Chinese dishes that gave me culture shock in my first few months here. 【小题3】 While Americans basically only eat chicken breasts, wings, and thighs, Chinese will also dig into the liver, heart and especially the feet. There’s an old Chinese belief that eating an animal organ will benefit your corresponding organ-eating a heart is good for your heart, and eating a brain will make you smart. You can figure out the rest yourself.

Despite all of this food-related culture shock, I can honestly say that one of the best things about living here is the food and dining out. Chinese cuisine is so complex and varied that you could spend an entire lifetime here and not taste it all. 【小题4】 To be honest, now when I go home to visit I actually end up missing Chinese food more. Sometimes, culture shock is a good thing!

It’s interesting when you think about how Japan is a nation that appreciates the virtues of silence and good manners, and yet when it comes to eating noodles, Japanese people can be the loudest in the world.

According to lifestyle website grapee.jp, slurping when eating noodles is encouraged in Japanese culture. It’s believed that taking air into your mouth can enhance the flavor of the noodles, and that it helps cool down the noodles. It’s also considered to be a way to show appreciation for the dish. Sometimes, just making the noise alone seems to make the noodles more enjoyable.

It wasn’t until a new expression - “noodle harassment” ,or “hu-hara” in Japanese - came out last year on social media that Japanese people started to realize that the slurping noise is making some foreign visitors uncomfortable.

As a response, Japanese instant noodle maker Nissin introduced a so-called noise-canceling fork earlier this year. The fork, which looks like an electric toothbrush, is connected wirelessly to a smartphone. When the person using the fork starts to slurp, the fork sends a signal to the person’s phone, making it play a sound to mask the slurping noise.

“The fork is a solution to the ‘noodle harassment’ issue, particularly as the number of tourists visiting Japan increases,” said the company, according to Euro News.

But is it really necessary?

Dining traditions do vary. What’s considered to be proper table manners in one country is likely to be seen as rude in another. In India, for example, people eat with their hands because they think in this way they build a connection with the food. However, people who are used to eating with utensils（餐具）might find it uncomfortable to get their hands covered with oil and bits of food. But this eating method is part of India’s culture, just like Japan’s slurping is part of its own.

“So, if you are eating noodles, whether that's ramen（拉面）, udon（乌冬面）, or soba（荞麦面）, please slurp,” wrote the reporter Brian Ashcraft on blog Kotaku. “If anyone gets annoyed while you are doing that, pay them no mind because they’re missing the point entirely.”

Growing up in a Southern family, big meals were the norm. Every meal for my nuclear family of four provided enough food for eight. Each Sunday, when we drove to my grandmother’s home for lunch, there was more than enough food. 【小题1】 Having more than enough was a generous and affectionate act; having too little conveyed almost a moral failing.

【小题2】 When having only another couple over for dinner, I’d make more food than the four of us could finish. My wife always asked me to make less both to save money and because our tiny fridge could hold only so many leftovers. 【小题3】

When I lost my job, though, my handling of extra food suddenly hit a barrier. 【小题4】 However, I then quickly went back to my former state of needing to cook much when I landed another job.

But instead of cooking a lot and then simply eating the leftovers, I had a new solution that worked well with my belief in showing love through food: 【小题5】 Several of my friends lived alone, didn’t like cooking or had lost jobs too, so bringing them food helped not only me but also them in a practical way.

Such a small act can bring large amounts of joy to anyone in these hard times. And in unfavorable situations, it’s an act that allows us to develop friendship and show love while we must, still, remain apart.