How to use Chinese tableware

1. Chopsticks

The most important tableware for Chinese food is chopsticks, which must be used in pairs.

In Chinese dining etiquette, when using chopsticks to eat and pick up food, you need to pay attention to the following issues:

1. It should be noted that chopsticks are used to pick up food. It is disrespectful to use it for scratching, picking teeth or picking up anything other than food.

2. When talking to others, you should put down your chopsticks temporarily. Do not wave your chopsticks like a baton while talking.

3. Regardless of whether there is food left on the chopsticks, never lick it.

4. Do not place chopsticks vertically on top of food. Because in Chinese custom this kind of insertion is only used when paying homage to the deceased.

2. Spoon

The main function of the spoon in Chinese food is to scoop out dishes and food. Sometimes, when using chopsticks to take food, you can also use a spoon to assist in taking food, but try not to use a spoon alone to take food. At the same time, when using a spoon to take food, do not scoop it too full to avoid spillage and staining the table or clothes. After scooping up the food, you can pause for a while and wait until the soup stops flowing down before moving it over to enjoy.

In the dining room, when you are not using the spoon temporarily, you should place the spoon on the plate in front of you. Do not place the spoon directly on the table, or let the spoon "stand at attention" in the food. After taking food with a spoon, eat it immediately or put the food on your own plate and do not pour the food back to the original place.

If the food is too hot, do not use a spoon to scoop it up, and do not blow on the spoon with your mouth. You should put the food in your own bowl and wait for it to cool before eating. Also be careful not to put the spoon into your mouth or lick and suck repeatedly.

3. Bowls

Chinese food bowls can be used to serve rice and soup. When eating, you can hold the rice bowl in your hand. When holding the bowl, support the bottom of the bowl with the four fingers of your left hand and place your thumb on the end of the bowl. When eating, the height of the rice bowl should be roughly the same as your chin.

If the soup is served separately in a soup cup with a lid, the way to indicate that the soup has been finished is to take out the soup spoon and place it on the tray, turn the lid over and place it flat on the soup cup. .

4. Plates

There are many kinds of Chinese plates. Smaller plates are called saucers, which are mainly used to hold food. They are roughly the same as bowls in use. When dining, plates are generally required to remain in place on the table and not piled together.

What needs to be highlighted is a kind of plate with a special purpose-food plate. The main function of the food plate in Chinese food is to temporarily hold the dishes taken from the public dish. When using a dish, generally do not put too many dishes on the dish, as this will look messy and unsightly, as well as the reincarnation of a hungry ghost, which is very unsightly.

Do not spit uneaten food residues, bones, and fish bones on the dining table. Instead, gently pick them up and place them on the front of the food plate. Do not spit them directly from your mouth onto the food plate, but use chopsticks. Place the clip on the front of the dish. If the food plate is full, you can ask the waiter to change the food plate.

5. Soup Cup

Soup cup is used to hold soup food. When eating, there is one thing to note when using a soup cup: taking out the soup spoon and placing it on the tray and turning the lid over and placing it flat on the soup cup means that the soup has been finished.

6. Water cups

Chinese food cups are mainly used to hold soft drinks such as water, juice, and soda. Be careful not to use water glasses to serve wine, and do not tip water glasses upside down. Also be careful not to spit what you drink into your mouth back into the water glass, as this is very indecent.

7. Toothpicks

Toothpicks are also a must-have item on the Chinese dining table. It has two functions: one is for picking up food; the other is for picking teeth.

However, try not to pick your teeth in public when eating. When you must pick, cover your mouth with the other hand. Do not "watch" the food you pick out in public or eat it again, and don't flick or flick it casually. Spitting randomly. After flossing, do not hold the toothpick in your mouth, let alone use it to pick up food.

8. Napkins

Before a Chinese meal, each diner is usually given a wet towel. The purpose of this wet towel is to wipe your hands. After wiping your hands, you should put it back on the plate and let the waiter take it away. Before the banquet ends, the waiter will bring another wet towel. Unlike the former, this wet towel is for wiping your mouth and cannot be used to wipe your face or wipe sweat.