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Posts: 174

Governor

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Q: Which restaurant dining method do you prefer?

Finer restaurants in Western countries typically serve food in courses—starting with appetizers, then soup or salad, the main course, and then dessert—one course at a time.  Restaurants in China typically serve the dishes as they come out of the kitchen, with little predictability to the timing and order of the dishes served.  Western dining style has each person ordering food for his or her self, and the Chinese style often is one person ordering all the dishes for everyone’s communal consumption.  Without getting into all the nuances and exceptions to these generalized dining methods, do you prefer the Chinese or Western style of dining?  Why?

 

5 years 43 weeks ago in  Food  - China

 
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Shifu

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I prefer theWestern. I have been to too many Chinese dinners where I haven't like a single fucking thing that has been ordered.

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5 years 42 weeks ago
 
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I prefer the Chinese way of dining. 

 

Why? You get to eat lots of different dishes instead of one. You can eat as much or as little as you want. It just feels more sociable. 

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5 years 42 weeks ago
 
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Shifu

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I prefer theWestern. I have been to too many Chinese dinners where I haven't like a single fucking thing that has been ordered.

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5 years 42 weeks ago
 
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same answer as mike.....

 

too much pressure @ China dinners.  ...Drink this crap and slam it. (I don't drink hard alcohol, haven't in maybe 20+ yrs)  ....... smoke a cig (I hate smoking). here, eat this crap,,, fried duck guts are really good !!  here,,, eat this crap,,,  pickled cabbage grown in human feces is really good for healthy !!  can u use chopsticks?  can u use chopsticks?  here, have a cigarette...   hey, let's stare at the white guy and laugh as he eats...

 

  yeah,,, wonderful atmosphere I must say.....

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5 years 42 weeks ago
 
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I reckon it depends on who you're eating with.

 

I'm with Mike and Divedude as far as tedious formal crap goes. I hate getting invited out by people I barely know who would probably also rather be at home drinking beer but they feel like they need to invite the white guy out to eat for whatever reason. Even when the people are nice and the intentions are good it's like being at the doctor getting a prostate exam.

 

But if you're with mates - people you're comfortable with - I love the Chinese restaurant experience. People order whatever they like and share the bill between them so there's no awkward weirdness with feeling like you owe people you never want to see again, if someone orders the duck guts there's no pressure for you to eat it if you want no part of it, you drink when and what you want and it's just a cool communal sort of experience.

 

 

 

diverdude1:

yeah, I hear u stiggs,,,,   I should have said that too....  the formal or biz ones are the ones that suk.  But I've really enjoyed going out with friends and even groups of students....  for me maybe still a little awkward because when I'm with those groups I'm a lot older than them,,, but still those can be good times.

 

just the formal ones suk and I usually do anything to get out of going.

5 years 42 weeks ago
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5 years 42 weeks ago
 
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anything but upscale Chinese, Those places where people take their friends to impress, are always horrible. Poor serivice, poor food, but expensive. And it's slow. 

Have a small list of hole in the wall places that I prefer, For Western food, home cooked is better. 

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5 years 42 weeks ago
 
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Shifu

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Always prefer western style dining. Apart from the obvious preference for the actual food I like that deserts are served after the main course, apetisers before. Also that western chefs generally prepare and cook the food properly, so many times here food is over cooked or undercooked and just thrown on the table. Service here ranges from poor to absolutely useless which detracts from what should be a good experience. Completely agree with Diverdude about the forcing of things upon someone who really does not want it, including paint stripper, sorry I meant baijou. They never seem to consider it rude to try forcing this shit on people and then making fun of them when they do not like it.

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5 years 42 weeks ago
 
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General

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I'm a slow eater. Don't like to gobble my food and like to make the wine last until dessert. All followed by a macchiato, a liquor, and a smoke. So, one dish at a time. A perceptive server will know when to bring out the next course. On the other hand, hot pot is good.

Jean.P:

CS, welcome to friendly and fun family at eCc Answers.

5 years 42 weeks ago
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5 years 42 weeks ago
 
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Shifu

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I enjoy the Chinese style because I can try many dishes instead of just one, doesn’t matter if it’s with some mates or at formal dinners, there’s always a few dishes I like. Also I can eat as little or as much as I like. 

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5 years 42 weeks ago
 
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Interesting replies from Mike and Diverdude.

 

I stick with my original reply - I prefer eating Chinese style where everything is shared.

 

I agree with those guys that I DON'T like eating meals with Chinese people who smoke while eating, spit on the floor, force people to drink shite baijiu, etc and then argur over the bill.

 

Fortunately I rarely have to endure the above. My wifes friends (predominantly female) are polite, share food nicely, etc.

 

Last night I had a leaving meal with friends (I leave China in 7 days). It was a mixed group of 8 people. 4 Westerners & 4 Chinese. It was lovely...Beijing Duck restaurant. Good quality food, great company, one Chinese guy brought two bottoles of Aussie white wine (pre-chiled). The Kiwi brought a bottle of Jim Beam. We slowly drank the wine and some beer while eating. We then polished off the bottle of bourbon after we'd eaten. 

 

None of this was rushed. It was a pleasure to have dinner...when it came to paying the guys all asked how much their share was. I refused as it was my leaving meal so I was paying. We actually played the "3 refusals" game knowingly. I then paid the 650 kuai...

 

They bought the rounds at the bar after so it was all shared anyway...

ambivalentmace:

I stop the silly game of who pays, wife, sister, or mother-in-law, I go to bathroom after the last dish is served and pay the bill and never tell anybody until they get to counter, all three of them trying to pay and the cashier says the bill is already paid and they all give me an evil eye at one time, although the mother in law thinks it's very clever.

5 years 42 weeks ago
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5 years 42 weeks ago
 
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I sort of don't care much, but when ever a fish is to be prepared, it always take 30 to 45 minutes and by that time, everyone is full from the other food and the fish shows up like a dessert at the very end when you suppose to eat noodles, actually never get a dessert in the Chinese style.

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5 years 42 weeks ago
 
Posts: 107

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I prefer on the streets on a tiny little table eating some nice lamb sticks with some dirty piss water harbin beer, perfect.

iWolf:

Yeah, dapaidang rocks. Guangdong summer nights and few icey cordials in the urban village is hard to beat.

5 years 42 weeks ago
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diverdude1:

me too,,, street bbq and a tsingdao any day over a 'real' restaurant.

5 years 42 weeks ago
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5 years 42 weeks ago
 
Posts: 1153

Shifu

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Western of course who wants other people’s chop sticks with slobber on it touching your food u don’t know where there mouths have been

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5 years 39 weeks ago
 
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