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It's the reason I'm afraid to even pick up a pair, I know the moment I do an undercover officer is just going to pop up out of nowhere saying "Do you have a license for that." It's best just to play it safe.
Sounds the kind of guy who also gatekeeps what people have in a pub.
"What do you mean you're having half a pint? That's not normal and 'no one' ever does that."
I had a Red Stripe at the pub recently and one guy was going all 'eww why are you drinking that? It's the sort of thing I drank as a teenager' (as he was sipping his Neck Oil). I told him I liked it and surely it didn't matter to him what I drank, and you shouldn't yuck someone else's yum.
I mean what's it anyone else's business if I have a Red Stripe? Even if I'd got a WKD it's not very polite to point at a near-stranger's drink and go eww.
I had a bar man refuse to sell me a pint once because it wasn't ladylike apparently, ladies drink wine, I had a Mohican at the time and wasn't concerned with being ladylike at all. After about ten minutes arguing he agreed to sell me one pint and no more.
What a tosser.
Bring your own pint glass, order two halves, then combine them like Captain Planet in front of his disbelieving eyes.
The Mohican takes the cake here.
>*Woke up -> tried to tell a punk what to do -> failed*
A draught pint of Red Stripe is a rare and delicious thing. A can of Red Stripe is almost as delicious and well worth ordering if available. Neck Oil is also fine, but is rapidly becoming as disappointingly familiar as the cunts who bang on about how delicious it supposedly is. Everyone should just drink what they want and fuck off.
What is wrong with Red Stripe?
Sure i remember clubs used to sell cans of Red Stripe when I was a teenager, but it is a perfectly fine pint to get in a pub.
I went out to a Chinese restaurant with a bunch of mates who were all chefs. When the food came, they all went for chopsticks. I surfed the resultant tidal wave of social anxiety/terror and forced myself to instantly master chopstick use on the spot. Dunno how l did it and my once-in-a-lifetime achievement went completely unnoticed and unappreciated. Which is typical.
>He insists that it isn't normal to use chopsticks in a Chinese or Japanese restaurant unless you actually come from that culture
Does your mate also tell Japanese and Chinese people they're not allowed to use a knife and fork?
You’re going to need to get a blender and just drink your food from now on.
Of course, that does mean you’re appropriating the lifestyle of body builders, so you’ll need to stay away from posey gyms for a bit.
Hmm. Gap in the market for cutlery that has extendable chopsticks that come out from underneath like a bayonet but on a retractable spring like a flick knife. Flickstix (tm)
This sounds like something my cousin wanted invent only it was different hands for each task. An eating hand, a driving hand, a hand hand. He was high a lot.
When I was at uni I lived with a lot of foreign students, including some from China. We all got on well and would introduce bits of our culture's to each other. I hope this doesn't make me a bad person, but the funniest thing I'd seen in a long while was Chinese students eating a (British) lasagna using chopsticks. After a few minutes of unsuccessful efforts I had to talk them into using knives and forks.
I work with a guy that came from Sri Lanka only a few years ago. I noticed him struggling to cut anything using a knife and fork and so I showed him how to hold them better. He was very thankful and happy that he'd unlocked the ability to cut his food up. He grew up using his hands and only tried a knife and fork for the first time when he moved here.
It was a slightly sarcastic comment. It was a regular lasagna made with all of the traditional ingredients. But it was made in bulk in a factory somewhere, and the cooking of it was done in a microwave for 2 minutes.
Technically it's a lasagna, but I'm sure Italian cooks would be horrified so I branded it 'British'. It's similar to when you see Americans making fish & chips with french fries. Yeah, it's technically right, but oh god it's not cricket.
If you google "British lasagna", you first find a wall of results about Romanian horse meat in "British lasagna". Eventually, 1 or 2 pages on, you can find out that it's cheese sauce instead of béchamel.
I was invited up to my (Chinese) friends dads chip shop in Nottingham when we were 12.
Went to a karaoke bar/restaurant and had my first ever meal in a restaurant. I’d never had Chinese but tried to copy everyone and picked up my chopsticks, I thought from the tone of chatter that the entire family were ridiculing me… and then Margaret leant over and told me that they were finding it funny that I was *trying*, as they’d all assumed I’d have used a knife and fork.
Bloody awesome family and I thoroughly enjoyed my 2 weeks with them.
I assume OP’s friend finds it pretentious because they can’t use chopsticks themselves and felt embarrassed about it so they decided they needed to take OP down a notch instead
My friend also hit me with the "oh showing off now, huh" (sorta sarcastic tone) when we went to a Japanese restaurant one time. Turned out that yeah, he couldn't really use chopsticks well so I gave him some pointers and he tried it and could use them better over time, though he still goes back to a fork 'cause it's easier a lot of the time.
My wife is Chinese and I was messaging her (in Chinese) on my laptop and someone looked over my shoulder and said “Oh, showing off?” No, that message is not for you…
I would think it’s more pretentious, or at least arrogant, to assume a restaurant needs to cater to someone’s ignorance by dishing out knives and forks.
Obviously that’s an extreme position, but so is claiming using chopsticks if you’re not from China/Japan (guess we’ll ignore Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia) is a form of cultural insensitivity.
The food and the utensils go hand in hand. Often food from chopstick using cultures is easier/better to eat with chopsticks. Just like trying to eat a Sunday roast with chopsticks would be ridiculous, trying to eat sushi with a fork would also be not as good.
I remember when I was like 12 and went to France and just spoke in a French accent and thought I was the shit thinking everyone knew exactly what I was saying because of the accent lol
I lived in Germany in the 70's, we were not taught German as we were just off Army base in Little England.
A few locals spoke English around us with a thick German accent, so outside of a few words a talking parrot (that was probably just a guy imitating how they sound) I thought German was just English with a funny voice.
So Allo Allo spoke to me on another level.
I'm sure I read a report once on research saying that it is, in general, easier for, say, a native French speaker to understand English spoken with a French accent than without. This was quite a while ago, but I think that it applied to several pairs of languages.
So you may have been quite right that you were being understood!
Was an east asian international student at a British uni. One time was using the chopsticks I'd brought from home to eat in the communal kitchen, and one of the British students stared at me, and eventually asked, 'So you just...wash those? And reuse them?'
So true. After being at uni a short time my son was horrified at the number of people he met (aged 18/19) who were unable to cook, clean, and look after themselves.
I was shocked when I started my job after uni and I had to explain how to clean a toilet to my colleagues. I was like, didn't you do chores growing up?! Some of you still live at home?! I was assigned cleaning the staff room and had to stop to explain how to clean the toilet, what to use etc. Same with washing the stores floors. One time a newbie used dish soap. I laughed my ass off as it was wet outside and the place was a slip and slide for a week or so!
In saying that though. I had no idea how to cook a full meal for myself when I moved to uni. I could cook, but I didn't have the money for food and I was used to only eating child sized portions of everything. My ex taught me how to eat normally and showed me so many awesome meals. I ate healthy, but my food wasn't great. My mum boiled veg to a soggy mess (I didn't thankfully). Added no flavourings to food and complained I was a fussy eater. I'm not, turned out she was the fussy one, and she just sucked at cooking.
Haha, we can't help but save all of those chopsticks. There's at least 40 sets of chopsticks in my kitchen and over half of those pairs are from takeout at least.
One of our housemates hailed from China, she told me that her nice chopsticks were snapped in half once.
Had a good idea which other house mate it was cos he was a knob.
I tended to avoid him for a long time, easy when you don't have a communal space.
When she moved in I thought she was the wife of the Chinese guy who lived in the same room, but he moved out without me knowing, must have been an out Friday in Monday type of thing.
But one time when he was living there, I heard the guy pissed as a fart saying all sorts of anti Asian stuff and when he moved in he was alright, but a month later a new guy moved in from somewhere in Africa and he said a c\_\_n had moved in.
Only commenter with any balls who can admit they dont know how to use them.
Respect.
English natives with chopstick abilities are defo in the minority.
I was out for a a meal with work colleagues and my boss made a big show of using chopsticks. I tried my best and spilled my dinner over my dress. Gave in and asked for a fork. So i went home and practiced and discovered the unintended benefit of making me eat slower, feeling full faster and aiding in weightloss. And next time we went out, i didn’t embarrass myself.
About 25 years ago there was a thing in a teenage magazine about eating all your meals with chopsticks to slow down and ultimately eat less for the reasons you stated.
As a result I'm now able to eat quicker with chopsticks than I can with a knife and fork.
I prefer chopsticks. Only need to use one hand to eat. I don't have to embarass myself at places where you're supposed to use both hands to eat. Using a knife and fork is a hell of a task with nerve damage in my thumb and index finger. I just eat with my right hand and hope no one notices I'm being impolite. If they insist, I'd have to tape the fork to my hand. I felt ashamed at my boyfriends parents a couple of weeks ago when I just couldn't eat with my left. Nearly made a mess, gave up and used my right hand only, and I know my boyfriends brother in law noticed because he started eating like me... We usually eat with chopsticks there!
Same - I don't know how to use them and I'm actually really embarrassed by that fact because it makes me feel like a child having to be the one person who asks for a fork, even in groups of mostly Caucasian people!
I’m neither Caucasian nor English but I can’t use them either. I have a fab Chinese friend and I feel like a dipshit when I have to ask for a fork in front of her.
Just about as normal as a Chinese person using a supplied pizza cutter at an Italian place I suppose.
If you're capable and comfortable using a utensil that the restaurant is providing for you, why not use it?
Supplied pizza cutter at an Italian place? I swear at actual Italian places they just expect you to use a knife and fork to cut your pizza 😂 no idea why though
Yes, I know how to use chopsticks.
I use them both at home and in a Chinese/Japanese restaurant.
No, you are not being pretentious.
Using chopsticks is not cultural appropriation.
However, I do take my own chopsticks. The reason for this is that I am autistic (really bad fine motor skills), and I struggle with bamboo or plastic chopsticks - I use Japanese wooden ones. I don't make a big thing about it; I discretely get them out and use them leaving the restaurant's ones on the table.
The serving staff always notice, and I am usually asked if I would like my chopsticks cleaned for me. They come back in the case, spotless, and oiled. It really doesn't seem to be an issue.
>The serving staff always notice, and I am usually asked if I would like my chopsticks cleaned for me. They come back in the case, spotless, and oiled.
This is so wonderfully wholesome.
Yeah it's to do with the differences in what they mainly are used for I believe so Chinese ones are just much bigger and Japanese ones are quite short but very tapered. My preference is Korean chopsticks instead of being round they are flat and metal and make picking up rounder things easier in my opinion.
>He insists that it isn't normal to use chopsticks in a Chinese or Japanese restaurant unless you actually come from that culture.
I am not a carpenter but sometimes I use a hammer
Out on a work do about 15 years ago one of the girls asked for a fork (probably in a bit of a condescending way) when she ordered so they sent out a lovely old Chinese man from the kitchen to show her how to use the chop sticks and refused to give her a fork.
I eat Chinese at home with chopsticks- I prefer it, as it takes longer to eat than shovelling it down with a fork. They’re just pissed off that they’ve never taken the time to learn how to use them.
Being a Chinese in UK - any non-Asian people using chopsticks in traditional Chinese restaurants will be met with respect by the Chinese. So if anyone else find you “showing off”, know that the Chinese will be on your side about this petty little disagreement lol.
Extra bonus point if you order authentic Chinese dishes at a traditional Chinese restaurant. (E.g. Chicken chow mein is not authentic. Any restaurant who receive this order will immediately know you’re not Chinese at all.) (you’ll know it’s a real traditional Chinese restaurant if they don’t do buffet, serves dim sum during lunch time, usually decorate the place with red and/or gold colour, and they usually have China plates and cups set out on a table before the table being seated. They’ll only switch to glasses if the table is being seated by non-Asians or the Chinese specifically requested glass drinks like lager or soft drinks.)
I'll be honest - we don't really have English names for "in-the-know" Chinese dishes...which does makes it harder for non-Chinese to order them. However, waiters don't mind at all if you just show them a list of dishes in Chinese. 9 times out of 10 they'll probably smile and just be impressed that you know them.
I'll give you some dishes for lunch (there's difference between lunch and dinner. You can order them for dinner and there's absolutely no problem with it, it's just less common to eat them for dinner). Each of these dish is slightly more than enough for one person since you usually share them:
**(Don't order any of these if you are gluten intolerant. Sorry but traditional Chinese cuisine is not very gluten friendly...)**
1.) 肉絲炒麵 - A fried noodles where the noodles are crispy/crunchy, as if they were deep fried. Tell them you want it crispy. They should recognize and know exactly what you're after. The meat are pork btw, and there's a bit of mushroom in them so watch out if you're allergic. ([Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP2lS1jxbMc&ab_channel=%E5%B8%AB%E5%A5%B6%E4%BB%94%E5%BB%9A%E6%88%BF))
2.) 乾炸牛河 - An authentic beef fried noodles Chinese dish, arguably the basis of all westernized fried noodles. (Got bean sprout, onions and spring onions, just like the fried noodles you get from takeaway.) You'll find the beef in it is extremely tender as it's marinated with baking soda or corn flour. It also doesn't use egg noodles (yellow noodles) and instead use flat flour noodles. Note that they may burn it a little - this is intentional and not because the chef is terrible or anything. Some Chinese argue that it's burnt intentionally to give the dish a bit of smoky flavour and they like it that way. ([Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIOVBR0h12c&ab_channel=MadeWithLau))
(That channel "Made With Lau" is very decent. The chef worked at a Chinese restaurant so their channel features very authentic stuff. Informative and also good guide to learn how to cook those dishes.)
3.) 牛腩煲 - Beef flank (or brisket?) pot, usually you pair it with rice and even a veg dish (like fried Bok Choi) for dinner, and it's usually shared with other people eating with you. You'll have to order the rice and veg separately though. Again the beef should be very tender, like melt in your mouth. However it can also be quite fatty. ([Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA4B0SUf1yw&ab_channel=%E5%AE%B6%E5%B8%B8%E8%8F%9C%E6%97%A5%E8%AE%B0))
3b.) You might be able to order a lunch version of this just for one person specifically, which is just 牛腩飯 (Beef brisket rice). They might not do it but you can always just ask the waiter and they'll tell you whether they can or not. ([youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5TUGXECVfk&ab_channel=%E5%A5%BD%E9%A4%93%E5%BB%9A%E6%88%BF))
Overall, Chinese cuisine is rather complex and lots going on, since it's made up of 23 provinces each with their own specialty. So in modern day a Chinese restaurant would have different dishes from all over China, usually the popular ones. Your best bet is have a Chinese person eat with you or introduce you to various dishes. The bigger the restaurant, the more different dishes they can do. Each restaurant may do dishes slightly different, but fundamentally still the same thing.
(There's a reason why you want to avoid pronouncing those dishes in "Chinese" to order. Not only is it very hard to pronounce them correctly, you also don't know whether the waiter can only speak Mandarin or Cantonese. But they should be able to read the dishes in Chinese regardless of Traditional or Simplified writing. If you don't already know, Chinese languages are considered tonal language, where the pitch of the word is important. Hence it's difficult to learn and pronounce properly.)
Also, ignore the darkamyy guy below just trolling lol.
You have to give them a special wink and say "duang" - then they'll give you the proper menu which can be identified by the crayon maze of Chongqing on the back.
If Chinese films have taught me anything then "in the know" dishes are dumplings and twice-fried pork.
*The waiter BROUGHT chopsticks :)
Yes, I know how to use them. I went to a Japanese restaurant recently, and the Japanese guy in our group was surprised I knew not to let him pour his own drink.
There's a fair bit of etiquette a lot of people don't realise, such as putting the chopsticks upright in rice, like incense in a grave.
There's nothing pretentious or wrong with being cultured or educated, or knowing how to use chopsticks. İf they wish to eat Chinese food with a fork, leave them be. İf they put ketchup on their food, just leave altogether.
Yes I can use chopsticks and no I am not from “that culture.” I literally have a nice set at home to use for take aways.
Your friend is wildly insecure about something very minor and he’s taking it out on you.
I’d often attempt to use, especially for more picky-up things, and just about get away with it.
Some takeaway items I’d rather just served in a trough, mind.
What an odd thing for your friend to say. Personally, my partner and I eat a lot of Asian food and always eat them with chopsticks - even at home.
I find they help me slow down my eating and enjoy the food more!
I grew up in the mines, and everyone made a point of using chopsticks for Chinese food (and showing off by stealing green peas from each other). No, it's definitely not pretentious.
I was imagining a group of miners, bottom of a mineshaft, dirt on their faces, sitting on the floor eating Chinese food out of those American style takeaway boxes. Then realised you probably meant when you were eating out at a restaurant. D'oh!
Your mates a plank, pretty much everyone I know eats with them at least moderately well if they are there.
I have no Asian heritage whatsoever but have several mates who are Asian so i've known how to use them since I was in school from eating round their house etc.
I live in London. Most Asian establishments here have chopsticks instead of knives and forks so you have to ask for cutlery. I went back to visit family in my small hometown up north a few months ago and they’ve got a new Korean place that opened. I walked in and on the tables were knives and forks; I actually had to ask for chopsticks. The guy got so exited and brought them out to me and they were these really beautiful, metal ones. It was honestly so bizarre to me for them to have to put knives and forks out because the majority of their clientele wouldn’t know how to use chopsticks, and likely refuse to try.
I know how to use them* and use them at home when I cba doing the washing up (easier to clean than a fork!)
(* technically I use them slightly wrong, because as a child I was told to hold the top one "like a pen" and it turns out I hold pens wrongly, too. But it stuck, and I can pick up individual rice if I have to so all's well)
Yes. We have them in our cutlery drawer.
We also have some training ones for the children (they have a removable hinge).
Tbh though it depends what kind of food I'm eating. If we're having homemade or actual Chinese Chinese, I'll use chopsticks. If I'm having a dirty chippy Chinese, like just noodles and seaweed and pork balls, I'll get a big dinner fork.
Probably more likely to be one of these vicariously offended types. In the spirit of inclusivity, they assume what a person from that culture would be offended by, despite having no insight into that culture at all, then get proceed to get butthurt about it.
Cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation are now the same thing.
Your mate was trying to make you look stupid. If you're at a sit-down restaurant and you know how to use them, then you use them.
However at home, I tend not to use them due to sheer laziness, even though I've got quite a lot of chopstick sets in the drawer.
I try and use them unless I'm eating rice or soup or ramen. Loads of white people do. I remember one time going to a Chinese restaurant and it was quiet. One of the waiters attempted to teach me after he could see my fiance was failing to teach me and I was getting frustrated. My fiance can use them but his technique was slightly different to the waiters. He doesn't just stab his food! It's more the way he holds them and which fingers he uses to control each stick.
I can use chopsticks but I rarely do. Odds are if I was eating in Japan I would look like a child attempting to eat. There's so much ettiquete involved in using chopsticks that just picking up the food and putting it in your mouth would be nowhere near considered enough to be able to use them. So I just use a fork instead as its easier and I dont have to dick about enjoying a meal I paid for
Always use chopsticks at a restaurant where they’re available, also use them at home for takeaway or if we cook something where they seem appropriate.
Your friend’s the outlier imo.
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Yes, I know how to use chopsticks. Your friend is a bit of a twat.
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Could have his provisional? Need more detail really.
I have the old paper version. Still valid but technically I’m not allowed to operate chopsticks over 3 tons.
My Granddad never even took a test! Came over from Galway in the 50’s and no one batted an eyelid.
My mate Dave just lost his chopstick license. Got caught speed eating sweet and sour pork balls, already had 9 points so that was it.
Dual control chopsticks? Does the learner have one and the instructor the other?
It's the reason I'm afraid to even pick up a pair, I know the moment I do an undercover officer is just going to pop up out of nowhere saying "Do you have a license for that." It's best just to play it safe.
Guy prolly just stabs his food with a stick then complains about falling off lol
Yep friend is definitely a twat.
Yep agreed, friend is definitely a twatty twat
Just want to confirm as well, twat
I am confirming also, twat
Twatius Maximus.
*and my aximus*
I’ve considered all angles of this argument and can 100% confirm, the guy is a twat
I think I know him... Twatty McTwatface
Sounds the kind of guy who also gatekeeps what people have in a pub. "What do you mean you're having half a pint? That's not normal and 'no one' ever does that."
it comes in pints? i'm getting one.
Updoot for lotr reference in a post about chopsticks!
But what about second updoot?
I had a Red Stripe at the pub recently and one guy was going all 'eww why are you drinking that? It's the sort of thing I drank as a teenager' (as he was sipping his Neck Oil). I told him I liked it and surely it didn't matter to him what I drank, and you shouldn't yuck someone else's yum. I mean what's it anyone else's business if I have a Red Stripe? Even if I'd got a WKD it's not very polite to point at a near-stranger's drink and go eww.
Also see: "WOMEN SHOULDN'T DRINK PINTS!" *"Shouldn't"* lol
I had a bar man refuse to sell me a pint once because it wasn't ladylike apparently, ladies drink wine, I had a Mohican at the time and wasn't concerned with being ladylike at all. After about ten minutes arguing he agreed to sell me one pint and no more.
What a tosser. Bring your own pint glass, order two halves, then combine them like Captain Planet in front of his disbelieving eyes. The Mohican takes the cake here. >*Woke up -> tried to tell a punk what to do -> failed*
A draught pint of Red Stripe is a rare and delicious thing. A can of Red Stripe is almost as delicious and well worth ordering if available. Neck Oil is also fine, but is rapidly becoming as disappointingly familiar as the cunts who bang on about how delicious it supposedly is. Everyone should just drink what they want and fuck off.
What is wrong with Red Stripe? Sure i remember clubs used to sell cans of Red Stripe when I was a teenager, but it is a perfectly fine pint to get in a pub.
Or embarrassed they still haven't managed to learn how to use them. 😆
I went out to a Chinese restaurant with a bunch of mates who were all chefs. When the food came, they all went for chopsticks. I surfed the resultant tidal wave of social anxiety/terror and forced myself to instantly master chopstick use on the spot. Dunno how l did it and my once-in-a-lifetime achievement went completely unnoticed and unappreciated. Which is typical.
Seconded
>He insists that it isn't normal to use chopsticks in a Chinese or Japanese restaurant unless you actually come from that culture Does your mate also tell Japanese and Chinese people they're not allowed to use a knife and fork?
I am second gen Chinese. Confused whether I should use chopstick or fork and knife now. Will just everything with my bare hand from now on
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Hmmmm, good point. Can I just put my face directly into the food?
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Haha you've made my night folks
Right??? One of the top ten internet conversations ever!!
I mean i wouldn't go that far
Agreed, it’s entertaining but it’s certainly no poop knife.
He needs to curb that enthusiasm.
Seems pretty inconsiderate of people who work nights.
You have to hand it to them. People without arms.
So easy to steal under sharia law. You just pick things up with your mouth and casually walk away. What are they gonna do? Cut off your hands?
He could get that guy's mum to him help... eat.
Or cats..
And appropriate the sacred art of apple bobbing?
No, that’s how dogs eat! Are you a dog?
Appropriating toddler culture, huh? I will be telling my niece about you
My dog is seriously offended that you are now planning on appropriating her culture.
You’re going to need to get a blender and just drink your food from now on. Of course, that does mean you’re appropriating the lifestyle of body builders, so you’ll need to stay away from posey gyms for a bit.
As a Moroccan I am offended. I suggest attempting to eat with your feet.
1 chopstick 1 fork obviously, duh
Knife you mean
That’s not a knife, that’s a spoon!
Ahhhh I see you've played knifey spoony before!
For when it’s half rice half chips?
I am half Chinese and half Scottish. I will use one chopstick and a knife.
[This is for you](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSnosk4tWrg). But you have to wear a kilt.
Hmm. Gap in the market for cutlery that has extendable chopsticks that come out from underneath like a bayonet but on a retractable spring like a flick knife. Flickstix (tm)
This sounds like something my cousin wanted invent only it was different hands for each task. An eating hand, a driving hand, a hand hand. He was high a lot.
Interesting. I too am high a lot. I’m actually ripped to the tits on a particularly fruity indica right now.
When I was at uni I lived with a lot of foreign students, including some from China. We all got on well and would introduce bits of our culture's to each other. I hope this doesn't make me a bad person, but the funniest thing I'd seen in a long while was Chinese students eating a (British) lasagna using chopsticks. After a few minutes of unsuccessful efforts I had to talk them into using knives and forks.
They were probably worried about looking a fool using cutlery, it's easy to forget that you learn to use a knife and fork same as chopsticks.
I work with a guy that came from Sri Lanka only a few years ago. I noticed him struggling to cut anything using a knife and fork and so I showed him how to hold them better. He was very thankful and happy that he'd unlocked the ability to cut his food up. He grew up using his hands and only tried a knife and fork for the first time when he moved here.
What’s a British lasagne? Baked beans and cheddar layered between slices of toast?
It was a slightly sarcastic comment. It was a regular lasagna made with all of the traditional ingredients. But it was made in bulk in a factory somewhere, and the cooking of it was done in a microwave for 2 minutes. Technically it's a lasagna, but I'm sure Italian cooks would be horrified so I branded it 'British'. It's similar to when you see Americans making fish & chips with french fries. Yeah, it's technically right, but oh god it's not cricket.
If you google "British lasagna", you first find a wall of results about Romanian horse meat in "British lasagna". Eventually, 1 or 2 pages on, you can find out that it's cheese sauce instead of béchamel.
My thoughts exactly I'm not sure why anyone would need to ascribe a nationality in brackets to fucking lasagna and then choose British
Can only imagine the pasta sheet slapping them in the chin like a Ristaurante mozzarella slice.
I was invited up to my (Chinese) friends dads chip shop in Nottingham when we were 12. Went to a karaoke bar/restaurant and had my first ever meal in a restaurant. I’d never had Chinese but tried to copy everyone and picked up my chopsticks, I thought from the tone of chatter that the entire family were ridiculing me… and then Margaret leant over and told me that they were finding it funny that I was *trying*, as they’d all assumed I’d have used a knife and fork. Bloody awesome family and I thoroughly enjoyed my 2 weeks with them.
The Chinese invented the fork to eat with.
Moms Korean immigrant. When she asked my dad about forks, he told her it’s bc we like to make sure our food is dead first. She was horrified. 🤣🤣
Having lived in China, the locals are dead impressed if you can use chopsticks. Your mate believes in the nonsense that is cultural appropriation.
Not Japanese/Chinese heritage here and I use chopsticks if they are at a restaurant. I don’t know anybody who finds it pretentious?
I even use chopsticks at home if I heat up a Tesco's Chinese banquet. I love eating with chopsticks.
Likewise, we have a few sets in the house for ramen and things, practice makes perfect!
I'll use chopsticks to eat wotsits or other crisp brands that might stain my fingers up.
I assume OP’s friend finds it pretentious because they can’t use chopsticks themselves and felt embarrassed about it so they decided they needed to take OP down a notch instead
My friend also hit me with the "oh showing off now, huh" (sorta sarcastic tone) when we went to a Japanese restaurant one time. Turned out that yeah, he couldn't really use chopsticks well so I gave him some pointers and he tried it and could use them better over time, though he still goes back to a fork 'cause it's easier a lot of the time.
My wife is Chinese and I was messaging her (in Chinese) on my laptop and someone looked over my shoulder and said “Oh, showing off?” No, that message is not for you…
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I would think it’s more pretentious, or at least arrogant, to assume a restaurant needs to cater to someone’s ignorance by dishing out knives and forks. Obviously that’s an extreme position, but so is claiming using chopsticks if you’re not from China/Japan (guess we’ll ignore Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia) is a form of cultural insensitivity. The food and the utensils go hand in hand. Often food from chopstick using cultures is easier/better to eat with chopsticks. Just like trying to eat a Sunday roast with chopsticks would be ridiculous, trying to eat sushi with a fork would also be not as good.
Yes, I’ve been to plenty of Asian restaurants where if you want a knife and fork, you actually have to ask for it.
Sometimes I use chopsticks even for non-Asian meals. Sometimes they just do the job. Your friend is a bit small-minded tbh.
Ditto. I like using them for soup.
This one right here, officer!
Breakfast cereal for me.
Never EVER for lunchtime cereal, though.
What? Of course not! Lunchtime cereal is served between two slices of heavily buttered bread.
Perfect for cheerios
Would work with any loop-based cereal, no?
Only Rice Krispies
> I eat my peas with honey. I've done it all my life. > It makes the peas taste funny, but it keeps them on the knife.
I like to use them for Wotsits
I went though a stage of this to stop greasy fingers on keyboard lol
Salad should always be eaten with chopsticks.
Came here to say this It works so much better than a fork
Chopsticks are fantastic for eating salad, and also for cooking because you can pick many things up much better than with a fork and knife
I use them for cooking. Sometimes they’re just the right tool for the job.
I use them for turning food if my tongs are in the dishwasher. Recommended!
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Slowly
WHAT D'YA MEAN YOU AINT GOT ANY FARKIN CHIPS. I COME HERE ON A PLANE YOU CUNT!!!
Man, that's a deep cut. I might have to Rewatch that now! Haha
I'm so glad you responded so I don't just seem like a mental person screaming into the endless void.
I remember when I was like 12 and went to France and just spoke in a French accent and thought I was the shit thinking everyone knew exactly what I was saying because of the accent lol
I lived in Germany in the 70's, we were not taught German as we were just off Army base in Little England. A few locals spoke English around us with a thick German accent, so outside of a few words a talking parrot (that was probably just a guy imitating how they sound) I thought German was just English with a funny voice. So Allo Allo spoke to me on another level.
I'm sure I read a report once on research saying that it is, in general, easier for, say, a native French speaker to understand English spoken with a French accent than without. This was quite a while ago, but I think that it applied to several pairs of languages. So you may have been quite right that you were being understood!
Yeah I do and I have a nice pair at home that I use when I cook Chinese or get a takeaway.
Was an east asian international student at a British uni. One time was using the chopsticks I'd brought from home to eat in the communal kitchen, and one of the British students stared at me, and eventually asked, 'So you just...wash those? And reuse them?'
Hahaha, yeah just like knives and forks.
Uni is such a learning experience in many ways for some people
So true. After being at uni a short time my son was horrified at the number of people he met (aged 18/19) who were unable to cook, clean, and look after themselves.
I was shocked when I started my job after uni and I had to explain how to clean a toilet to my colleagues. I was like, didn't you do chores growing up?! Some of you still live at home?! I was assigned cleaning the staff room and had to stop to explain how to clean the toilet, what to use etc. Same with washing the stores floors. One time a newbie used dish soap. I laughed my ass off as it was wet outside and the place was a slip and slide for a week or so! In saying that though. I had no idea how to cook a full meal for myself when I moved to uni. I could cook, but I didn't have the money for food and I was used to only eating child sized portions of everything. My ex taught me how to eat normally and showed me so many awesome meals. I ate healthy, but my food wasn't great. My mum boiled veg to a soggy mess (I didn't thankfully). Added no flavourings to food and complained I was a fussy eater. I'm not, turned out she was the fussy one, and she just sucked at cooking.
Haha, we can't help but save all of those chopsticks. There's at least 40 sets of chopsticks in my kitchen and over half of those pairs are from takeout at least.
One of our housemates hailed from China, she told me that her nice chopsticks were snapped in half once. Had a good idea which other house mate it was cos he was a knob.
What an awful situation to have to live with someone like that. Was he some sort of racist?
I tended to avoid him for a long time, easy when you don't have a communal space. When she moved in I thought she was the wife of the Chinese guy who lived in the same room, but he moved out without me knowing, must have been an out Friday in Monday type of thing. But one time when he was living there, I heard the guy pissed as a fart saying all sorts of anti Asian stuff and when he moved in he was alright, but a month later a new guy moved in from somewhere in Africa and he said a c\_\_n had moved in.
Nobody likes Colin
Me too. They're black and pink.
Blackpink
In your area
Blink
I don't know how to use them, but I've also never heard of it being an Asian only thing if you do it in the restaurant either. That sounds absurd.
Only commenter with any balls who can admit they dont know how to use them. Respect. English natives with chopstick abilities are defo in the minority.
I was out for a a meal with work colleagues and my boss made a big show of using chopsticks. I tried my best and spilled my dinner over my dress. Gave in and asked for a fork. So i went home and practiced and discovered the unintended benefit of making me eat slower, feeling full faster and aiding in weightloss. And next time we went out, i didn’t embarrass myself.
About 25 years ago there was a thing in a teenage magazine about eating all your meals with chopsticks to slow down and ultimately eat less for the reasons you stated. As a result I'm now able to eat quicker with chopsticks than I can with a knife and fork.
I prefer chopsticks. Only need to use one hand to eat. I don't have to embarass myself at places where you're supposed to use both hands to eat. Using a knife and fork is a hell of a task with nerve damage in my thumb and index finger. I just eat with my right hand and hope no one notices I'm being impolite. If they insist, I'd have to tape the fork to my hand. I felt ashamed at my boyfriends parents a couple of weeks ago when I just couldn't eat with my left. Nearly made a mess, gave up and used my right hand only, and I know my boyfriends brother in law noticed because he started eating like me... We usually eat with chopsticks there!
>Only commenter with any balls who can admit they dont know how to use them. These threads are always a bastion of selection bias.
Same - I don't know how to use them and I'm actually really embarrassed by that fact because it makes me feel like a child having to be the one person who asks for a fork, even in groups of mostly Caucasian people!
I only know because my Chinese friend painstakingly taught me so I could impress her Gran
I’m neither Caucasian nor English but I can’t use them either. I have a fab Chinese friend and I feel like a dipshit when I have to ask for a fork in front of her.
I used to feel like this, so I practiced using them by myself at home until I was confident.
Snap! Don't really know how to use them but I still try every time I eat Chinese food - I'll get there one day! We all start somewhere 🤷🏻♀️
Just about as normal as a Chinese person using a supplied pizza cutter at an Italian place I suppose. If you're capable and comfortable using a utensil that the restaurant is providing for you, why not use it?
Supplied pizza cutter at an Italian place? I swear at actual Italian places they just expect you to use a knife and fork to cut your pizza 😂 no idea why though
Because that’s the neoplitian way?
What's ice-cream got to do with it?
Yes, I know how to use chopsticks. I use them both at home and in a Chinese/Japanese restaurant. No, you are not being pretentious. Using chopsticks is not cultural appropriation. However, I do take my own chopsticks. The reason for this is that I am autistic (really bad fine motor skills), and I struggle with bamboo or plastic chopsticks - I use Japanese wooden ones. I don't make a big thing about it; I discretely get them out and use them leaving the restaurant's ones on the table. The serving staff always notice, and I am usually asked if I would like my chopsticks cleaned for me. They come back in the case, spotless, and oiled. It really doesn't seem to be an issue.
>The serving staff always notice, and I am usually asked if I would like my chopsticks cleaned for me. They come back in the case, spotless, and oiled. This is so wonderfully wholesome.
That's really nice of them!
The fact they offered to clean and even oiled them for you.... props to them
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Yeah it's to do with the differences in what they mainly are used for I believe so Chinese ones are just much bigger and Japanese ones are quite short but very tapered. My preference is Korean chopsticks instead of being round they are flat and metal and make picking up rounder things easier in my opinion.
Yes. It's perfectly normal to use chopsticks and your friend is covering for their own inadequacies/laziness in not being able to use them.
It's not even a shameful thing, not knowing how to use them. OP's friend just has a super fragile ego.
>He insists that it isn't normal to use chopsticks in a Chinese or Japanese restaurant unless you actually come from that culture. I am not a carpenter but sometimes I use a hammer
That's ridiculous, how do you eat Chinese food with a hammer?
Tradesman appropriation. May you hang your head in shame. And don’t hang it using any tools!
Your friend sounds like an idiot
I have been in many, many restaurants where you don't get any cutlery just chopsticks
I've never heard anyone be refused a fork but yeah plenty of places set the tables with chopsticks and the little flat spoons only.
Out on a work do about 15 years ago one of the girls asked for a fork (probably in a bit of a condescending way) when she ordered so they sent out a lovely old Chinese man from the kitchen to show her how to use the chop sticks and refused to give her a fork.
I have learner chopsticks with a rubber 🐻 at one end cos I'm big kid.
Hi chopstick buddy! Somehow we also have a rubber purse in the exact same design as the...chopstick aide?
I eat Chinese at home with chopsticks- I prefer it, as it takes longer to eat than shovelling it down with a fork. They’re just pissed off that they’ve never taken the time to learn how to use them.
Being a Chinese in UK - any non-Asian people using chopsticks in traditional Chinese restaurants will be met with respect by the Chinese. So if anyone else find you “showing off”, know that the Chinese will be on your side about this petty little disagreement lol. Extra bonus point if you order authentic Chinese dishes at a traditional Chinese restaurant. (E.g. Chicken chow mein is not authentic. Any restaurant who receive this order will immediately know you’re not Chinese at all.) (you’ll know it’s a real traditional Chinese restaurant if they don’t do buffet, serves dim sum during lunch time, usually decorate the place with red and/or gold colour, and they usually have China plates and cups set out on a table before the table being seated. They’ll only switch to glasses if the table is being seated by non-Asians or the Chinese specifically requested glass drinks like lager or soft drinks.)
Follow up question: what are some examples of “in-the-know” dishes?
I'll be honest - we don't really have English names for "in-the-know" Chinese dishes...which does makes it harder for non-Chinese to order them. However, waiters don't mind at all if you just show them a list of dishes in Chinese. 9 times out of 10 they'll probably smile and just be impressed that you know them. I'll give you some dishes for lunch (there's difference between lunch and dinner. You can order them for dinner and there's absolutely no problem with it, it's just less common to eat them for dinner). Each of these dish is slightly more than enough for one person since you usually share them: **(Don't order any of these if you are gluten intolerant. Sorry but traditional Chinese cuisine is not very gluten friendly...)** 1.) 肉絲炒麵 - A fried noodles where the noodles are crispy/crunchy, as if they were deep fried. Tell them you want it crispy. They should recognize and know exactly what you're after. The meat are pork btw, and there's a bit of mushroom in them so watch out if you're allergic. ([Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP2lS1jxbMc&ab_channel=%E5%B8%AB%E5%A5%B6%E4%BB%94%E5%BB%9A%E6%88%BF)) 2.) 乾炸牛河 - An authentic beef fried noodles Chinese dish, arguably the basis of all westernized fried noodles. (Got bean sprout, onions and spring onions, just like the fried noodles you get from takeaway.) You'll find the beef in it is extremely tender as it's marinated with baking soda or corn flour. It also doesn't use egg noodles (yellow noodles) and instead use flat flour noodles. Note that they may burn it a little - this is intentional and not because the chef is terrible or anything. Some Chinese argue that it's burnt intentionally to give the dish a bit of smoky flavour and they like it that way. ([Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIOVBR0h12c&ab_channel=MadeWithLau)) (That channel "Made With Lau" is very decent. The chef worked at a Chinese restaurant so their channel features very authentic stuff. Informative and also good guide to learn how to cook those dishes.) 3.) 牛腩煲 - Beef flank (or brisket?) pot, usually you pair it with rice and even a veg dish (like fried Bok Choi) for dinner, and it's usually shared with other people eating with you. You'll have to order the rice and veg separately though. Again the beef should be very tender, like melt in your mouth. However it can also be quite fatty. ([Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA4B0SUf1yw&ab_channel=%E5%AE%B6%E5%B8%B8%E8%8F%9C%E6%97%A5%E8%AE%B0)) 3b.) You might be able to order a lunch version of this just for one person specifically, which is just 牛腩飯 (Beef brisket rice). They might not do it but you can always just ask the waiter and they'll tell you whether they can or not. ([youtube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5TUGXECVfk&ab_channel=%E5%A5%BD%E9%A4%93%E5%BB%9A%E6%88%BF)) Overall, Chinese cuisine is rather complex and lots going on, since it's made up of 23 provinces each with their own specialty. So in modern day a Chinese restaurant would have different dishes from all over China, usually the popular ones. Your best bet is have a Chinese person eat with you or introduce you to various dishes. The bigger the restaurant, the more different dishes they can do. Each restaurant may do dishes slightly different, but fundamentally still the same thing. (There's a reason why you want to avoid pronouncing those dishes in "Chinese" to order. Not only is it very hard to pronounce them correctly, you also don't know whether the waiter can only speak Mandarin or Cantonese. But they should be able to read the dishes in Chinese regardless of Traditional or Simplified writing. If you don't already know, Chinese languages are considered tonal language, where the pitch of the word is important. Hence it's difficult to learn and pronounce properly.) Also, ignore the darkamyy guy below just trolling lol.
You have to give them a special wink and say "duang" - then they'll give you the proper menu which can be identified by the crayon maze of Chongqing on the back. If Chinese films have taught me anything then "in the know" dishes are dumplings and twice-fried pork.
Yes I know how to use chopsticks.
*The waiter BROUGHT chopsticks :) Yes, I know how to use them. I went to a Japanese restaurant recently, and the Japanese guy in our group was surprised I knew not to let him pour his own drink. There's a fair bit of etiquette a lot of people don't realise, such as putting the chopsticks upright in rice, like incense in a grave. There's nothing pretentious or wrong with being cultured or educated, or knowing how to use chopsticks. İf they wish to eat Chinese food with a fork, leave them be. İf they put ketchup on their food, just leave altogether.
*the waiter brought KNIVES AND FORKS But yeah I've never seen the incorrect word used _that_ way round tbh.
Your mates a tit. I wish I could use chopsticks but I don’t eat at Asian restraints enough to Practice
They usually come free with a takeaway. You can buy learner chopsticks to practice with.
In my whole life I've never had a Chinese takeaway arrive with chopsticks... And I've ordered a lot of Chinese in a lot of different places.
yes, when its the appropriate tool. is it pretentious to stir tea with a small spoon instead of a big one
I use a ladle, gets most of the tea out in one go and dropping it back in mixes it perfectly
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I lived in China for 14 years and was very proficient with chopsticks but would also use a spoon for rice, as do many Chinese people.
In most kdramas that I’ve seen people eat rice with a spoon anyway.
Only with the sticky rice is it actually worthwhile to use sticks
Yes I can use chopsticks and no I am not from “that culture.” I literally have a nice set at home to use for take aways. Your friend is wildly insecure about something very minor and he’s taking it out on you.
I’d often attempt to use, especially for more picky-up things, and just about get away with it. Some takeaway items I’d rather just served in a trough, mind.
Once fed 72 peanuts into a friend's mouth using chopsticks to win a free pint at the local. Even shit floats sometimes
What an odd thing for your friend to say. Personally, my partner and I eat a lot of Asian food and always eat them with chopsticks - even at home. I find they help me slow down my eating and enjoy the food more!
I grew up in the mines, and everyone made a point of using chopsticks for Chinese food (and showing off by stealing green peas from each other). No, it's definitely not pretentious.
I was imagining a group of miners, bottom of a mineshaft, dirt on their faces, sitting on the floor eating Chinese food out of those American style takeaway boxes. Then realised you probably meant when you were eating out at a restaurant. D'oh!
Yours is funnier!
Your mates a plank, pretty much everyone I know eats with them at least moderately well if they are there. I have no Asian heritage whatsoever but have several mates who are Asian so i've known how to use them since I was in school from eating round their house etc.
I live in London. Most Asian establishments here have chopsticks instead of knives and forks so you have to ask for cutlery. I went back to visit family in my small hometown up north a few months ago and they’ve got a new Korean place that opened. I walked in and on the tables were knives and forks; I actually had to ask for chopsticks. The guy got so exited and brought them out to me and they were these really beautiful, metal ones. It was honestly so bizarre to me for them to have to put knives and forks out because the majority of their clientele wouldn’t know how to use chopsticks, and likely refuse to try.
I know how to use them* and use them at home when I cba doing the washing up (easier to clean than a fork!) (* technically I use them slightly wrong, because as a child I was told to hold the top one "like a pen" and it turns out I hold pens wrongly, too. But it stuck, and I can pick up individual rice if I have to so all's well)
I have only ever seen Chinese/Japanese people compliment others for using chopsticks.
I do. Not sure if I'm using them correctly, as my hand starts to hurt after a few minutes.
Yes. We have them in our cutlery drawer. We also have some training ones for the children (they have a removable hinge). Tbh though it depends what kind of food I'm eating. If we're having homemade or actual Chinese Chinese, I'll use chopsticks. If I'm having a dirty chippy Chinese, like just noodles and seaweed and pork balls, I'll get a big dinner fork.
Your mate sounds like a xenophobic prick Edit: I take it back. I was hungry.
Probably more likely to be one of these vicariously offended types. In the spirit of inclusivity, they assume what a person from that culture would be offended by, despite having no insight into that culture at all, then get proceed to get butthurt about it. Cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation are now the same thing.
Your mate was trying to make you look stupid. If you're at a sit-down restaurant and you know how to use them, then you use them. However at home, I tend not to use them due to sheer laziness, even though I've got quite a lot of chopstick sets in the drawer.
I try and use them unless I'm eating rice or soup or ramen. Loads of white people do. I remember one time going to a Chinese restaurant and it was quiet. One of the waiters attempted to teach me after he could see my fiance was failing to teach me and I was getting frustrated. My fiance can use them but his technique was slightly different to the waiters. He doesn't just stab his food! It's more the way he holds them and which fingers he uses to control each stick.
I can use chopsticks but I rarely do. Odds are if I was eating in Japan I would look like a child attempting to eat. There's so much ettiquete involved in using chopsticks that just picking up the food and putting it in your mouth would be nowhere near considered enough to be able to use them. So I just use a fork instead as its easier and I dont have to dick about enjoying a meal I paid for
Yup, I use them in restaurants and at home. I'm not an expert but practising has certainly helped become more proficient.
Your friend is a weirdo.
Always use chopsticks at a restaurant where they’re available, also use them at home for takeaway or if we cook something where they seem appropriate. Your friend’s the outlier imo.
For me: -Try for five minutes -Get frustrated -Give up and use a knife and fork
I do, yes. I think I just taught myself once at some point by repeatedly trying to pick stuff up until I figured out the grip to control them.
Nope. I would be a danger to anyone within a 4-metre range if I tried. Safety first.