Was that me?
I can’t make the characters, but I like cam te cam (?), bun cha Hanoi, bahn xaio, cuon thit nuong, bun bo Hue, those round doughnut things, and of course the coffee! Definitely good eats, and different from Chinese, Japanese or Thai. 
I always use them at sit-down chinese restaurants. I do have a problem with fried rice; it’s not sticky and I can’t get enough from the plate to the sticks to my mouth. I get frustrated and grab a fork for that. I’m not sure if it was served in bowls I’d feel comfortable shoveling it or not. In public (in the U.S.) I can imagine this would get you strange looks in most places (San Francisco and other areas with Chinatowns being notable exceptions). I’ll certainly shovel at home though!
My question: is it okay to take chopsticks you’ve used at a restaurant or is that akin to stealing silverware?
That’s akin to stealing silverware. The plastic ones are washed and re-used. (You could probably take the disposable wooden ones, but why not just get a pack from the supermarket?)
I would not re-use wooden chopsticks - they’re basically impossible to get properly clean unless you put them in the dishwasher, where they warp. When I was living in Japan they became somewhat controversial ecologically, which is why some places now use bamboo disposables instead (anyone who’s ever grown it can tell you how monstrously quickly bamboo grows!).
Johnny L.A., I’m quite impressed. You were the only one to mention Vietnamese, and you seem to know a bit about the food. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried pho, but that’s a favorite of many many non-Vietnamese around here.
BTW, I’ve never had a problem cleaning the wooden or the bamboo chopsticks at my house. I also prefer those to the plastic ones; they’re just to slippery for me. I don’t know how easy it is to find chopsticks to buy at supermarkets because I’ve never looked. I suspect the Asian food marts would have a much larger variety, but those aren’t as readily available.
Yeah, I’ve had it. It’s good – but too hard to pronounce. I end up just calling it “foe”.
I shop at Albertson’s, Ralph’s and Vons here in L.A. No trouble getting wooden chop sticks.
I’ve always had difficulty with chopsticks, and I’ve used them often. Today, I can eat sushi semi-adequately with chopsticks.
Here’s my deal – the middle, ring, and pinkie fingers on both of my hands don’t work independently. They tend to bend together. This means that the Vulcan hand signal (“Live long and prosper”) is impossible for me, and that I type with six digits (thumbs, indexes, middles).
Anyway, when I use chopsticks, one rests on my ring finger, the other is held between the thumb, index, and middle. So when I’m trying to open up the chopsticks, the middle finger and ring finger are trying to move in the same direction. I can get it with some effort by getting my thumb and index to “overpower” the middle finger. What happens then is that my middle finger begins to relax (as it’s less involved in doing any work), so my ring finger consequently relaxes – leaving me almost no grip strength with chopsticks when it’s time to close them back up to grab something.
Still, with perseverance, suchi (rolls only) became doable, if inelegant. Ordinary Chinese food seems much more difficult, and I rarely attempt chopsticks anymore with such fare.
It seems that in this thread there are a few implied negative value judgements about people who eat Asian food with fork and knife. I find that unfortunate. For some people, it really is the only way, and it can’t be helped.
I learned to use chopsticks fairly young, and most Asian restaurants around these parts don’t offer you fork/knife unless you ask for them (I think – maybe, since I don’t use them, I don’t notice them).
But I’ve also always gotten a wide lacquered spoon whenever I ordered miso soup at a Japanese restaurant. I had no idea that this wasn’t customary. Is it really the case that in Japan, you don’t get a spoon with your soup?
Daniel
I wanted to point out that nearly all popular television shows (and many movies) take place in New York. In New York City it is extremely common for people to use chopsticks and to be taught to do so at a young age. You can’t swing a cat in NYC without hitting half a dozen Chinese places.
I doubt if you’d see the family on “That 70s Show” – set in 1970s Wisconsin – using chopsticks.
The times and places that tv is set in affects your perception that “everyone” uses chopsticks.
OTOH, it’s not too hard and kind of fun. I have my own “Hello Kitty” lacquered chopsticks with matching rest, as well as a few sets of everyday sticks made of Ironwood. I can clearly recall the first whole “thing” I ate with chopsticks (a salad at a Japanese restaurant). I was so proud!
Chop sticks are fine and all that. I don’t use them, but I know people who claim to be unable to eat Chinese food without them. What’s up with that? If you can eat a bowl of beef stew with a fork, why not Chinese food?
Hello Again writes:“I wanted to point out that nearly all popular television shows (and many movies) take place in New York…I doubt if you’d see the family on “That 70’s Show” – set in 1970’s Wisconsin-- using chopsticks.”
Granted, but on “Roseanne,” the decidedly uncosmopolitan Conner family of Lanford, Illinois eats with chopsticks in the intro to certain later episodes.
The best approximation for an English speaker is to say “fur”. There’s definitely no long “O” sound. If you want to get really fancy, then you can very briefly drop the tone at the start of the word, then kick it back up again, thusly: “f [sub]u[/sub][sup]r[/sup]”
Or you can just call it “beef noodle soup”. 
Either way, it’s bloody good stuff. My local pho restaurant’s slogan is “So pho so good”. Heh.
Beeah = Beer
Oops, nearly forgot. “Fur” is a good approximation for an Australian English speaker. As an American, you’ll need to remember not to whack a hulkin’ great ‘r’ at the end of it.
Hehehe, I was really wondering where TheLoadedDog was coming from with that “r.” The closest thing I can think of would be Charlie Brown’s “ugh” sound, minus the “g” for how to pronounce pho. There’s also an accent to it, as indicated by TheLoadedDog. That’s a pretty good description, by the way
Another Chopstix user checking in.
I really couldn’t imagine eating chinese food with flatware.
jjimm- That coffee-mug-champagne thing was quite good:) hope you dont mind if i use it as often as possible.
Fat Bald Guy- I use chopstix for almost everything that i can eat with chopstix. Curry, cup-a-soup, chips, anything. Its much more fun, easier to clean up, and doesnt tie up a second hand using a knife to stabalise the foot. The preciseness of movements is far more satisfying then just shoveling or skewering food.
OxyMoron/Washte - You mention tht chopsticks are safer than forks and knives, which i agree with; But when i was down in Glasgow(Scotland) they wouldnt give me chopsticks with my takeaway( only a plastic spork) ( actually, that probably says more about weegies than chopsticks ;))
And on the note of washing wooden chopsticks ( even disposable ones ) i’ve never had a problem with warping them, but maybe i just dont scrutinize(sp?) as much.
I think i’ll buy myself a set of chopsticks tomorrow if i can find somewhere that sells nice ones downtown, i’ve always used disposable ones, but my dad has some nice ones i bought for his birthdays when i was younger, ad i’ve never thought abotu buying anything other than disposable ones with a meal.
- shrug *
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Anyone recomend any good online places to buy cheap-ish classy chopsticks in the uk? I fancy treating mysef 
</hijack>
-Qis
Well, of course I know how to use chopsticks… I’m Chinese, after all. Learned to use them as a very young child, and I’m not sure I use them perfectly. However, I always eat Asian food with chopsticks… wouldn’t seem right otherwise.
You should see my friend Eric… he’s non-Chinese, yet can use chopsticks better than some of us can! (and the rest of us are Chinese) Should put us all to shame, but it’s cool.
F_X
I actually have seen a fair amount of chubby Asians, I live in a large Asian community. My roommate is a fairly large Chinese boy.
Anyway, you can shovel good down just as good with chopsticks as you can with a fork and knife once you become used to using chopsticks. Even better sometimes.
Anyone who thinks Chinese people don’t eat much hasn’t been to China.
The advantage of chop-stick is that you can easily grab food on a plate without food - usually Chineses like to have all the food on big plates and the diners just grab the pieces they like - with a fork you have to poke the meat and pull it off and with a spoon you need you have to scoop and prevent it from falling from. A tong is just plain werid (that’s my theroy).
Anyway, I don’t come from a strict traditional Chinese family where we gathered at a table for dinners (I usually have mine in my room, next to computer!) so I usually use fork and spoon - it easier to shove all the rice and vegetables and meat onto a plate rather than to seperate them. But when eating noodles or rice in bowl I prefer the chopsticks. They are cool - have you ever seemed a martial artist fighting with a spoon or fork instead??