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American or European Style of Dining

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  1. #1

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    American or European Style of Dining



    Do you still dine as you did in the 'old country' or have you changed your formal dining style since arriving?

    American Dining Etiquette
    • Eat soft foods with fork in the right hand
    • Change fork to left hand and cut meat with the right hand
    • Position of cutlery doesn’t indicate anything specific


    European Dining Etiquette
    • Eat all food with fork in the left hand and use the knife to guide food onto the back of the fork
    • Cut meat with fork in the left hand and knife in the right hand
    • Position of the cutlery signals to the server whether you’re finished or need a break


    This isn't a question about the merits chop sticks over a knife and fork but if the norm of dining with a knife and fork at restaurants has changed for you since you came to HK.

  2. #2

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    What's a knife and fork?

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  3. #3

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    You mean physically, right?
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    With knife and fork: european style.
    With chopsticks: canto style.


  4. #4

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    Well seems the description of both dining styles is incorrect then I suppose you will need a detailed description. Despite being European, or half European if membership of the Euro is a gauge, I've always eaten as described above as American. As did everyone around me. So the description is bullshit!


  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:


    American Dining Etiquette
    • Eat soft foods with fork in the right hand
    • Change fork to left hand and cut meat with the right hand
    • Position of cutlery doesn’t indicate anything specific


    European Dining Etiquette
    • Eat all food with fork in the left hand and use the knife to guide food onto the back of the fork
    • Cut meat with fork in the left hand and knife in the right hand
    • Position of the cutlery signals to the server whether you’re finished or need a break

    Yeah I agree with jaykay that these descriptions are off, though not for the same reasons as jaykay. In my experience in the US the position of cutlery certainly does indicate to the servers whether you are continuing with your meal or are finished. In Europe (and with my European wife) I also don't think that guiding the food onto the back of the fork with your knife is a universal fine dining standard. In any case, when fine dining here we usually go Chinese, so use chopsticks. If we do go to Robuchon or something, then we maintain our European and American habits.

  6. #6

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    It's a bit of a beaner topic, I mean, you would match the cutlery to the cuisine, you're not going to use chopsticks on a Sunday roast now, are you ?

    So, I would tend to agree with Jay Kay and Frax for the exception of Korean food, I cant stand using the flat stainless steel chopsticks as they really were the idea of a retard. Japanese ( Hashi ) are my prefered chopstick which I can use equally as well as a native, since I learnt to use them when dad was posted in Japan as a child....

    What I will say however, is I don't follow as strict a table manner regime compared to my father & grand father in our family home, who were both table manners Nazis lol One thing that is great about Hong Kong is that nobody really cares how you eat, what is important is your ability to pay the bill, even in very exclusive places where a set menu can cost $2000HKD + ( Wagyu Den for example and much more if top shelf French wines are consumed ) per head, you could stand on your head and be spoon fed by a troupe of performing circus monkeys, nobody is going to care as long as you settle the bill.

    Last edited by Skyhook; 07-10-2012 at 09:12 AM.
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  7. #7

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    I see the "european style" as being Uk style, but having never noticed any variations on the continent, I guess it must encompass more than the UK. I never realised "American style" was actually a style, I just thought they had no manners


  8. #8

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    It's more complicated than that in Europe and I would say it's (sadly) becoming more common these days to use the 'American', or 'lower class' (shovelling) technique with an emphasis on the common.

    In England in particular, the way one uses one's fork is very much a class indicator.

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  9. #9

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    I now eat like a pig at a trough since i live on the mainland. Belch, fart, eat with mouth open and slap lips and spit out bones on the table. Why not. It's expected.


  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by MovingIn07:
    I see the "european style" as being Uk style, but having never noticed any variations on the continent, I guess it must encompass more than the UK. I never realised "American style" was actually a style, I just thought they had no manners
    American style isn't a style at all. Its just that we don't give a hoot which fork is where or which knife is used for what. We just want to eat and get on with our life. Its dinner, why make it complicated with rules etc. Americans are just more laid back in this regard and I guess that may come off as bad manners to some.
    Watercooler likes this.

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