There’s a new Chinese restaurant opened near to me and the proprietors seem to think it is a good idea if we (paying customers) use chopsticks instead of knife and fork.
We went for a meal last night, I asked for K&F and it went like this:
Me “could I please have a knife and fork?”
Waiter " Sorry, only chopsticks"
Me. “Please bring me a knife and fork”
Waiter " we only have chopsticks"
Me. “for the last time, bring me a knife and fork please”
Waiter " Sorry we only have chopsticks"
Me. "Bullshit, you must have at least ONE knife and ONE fork in the place.
I eventually got my K&F but that is the last fucking time I go there for a meal and no I didn’t leave a tip
Despite many years of trying I can’t use chopsticks and no matter and for how long I practice the end result is the same, I end up asking for a K&F
Go figure. Every Chinese restaurant I’ve ever been to a knife and fork were the default, you had to ask for chopsticks if you wanted them. (Every Japanese place I’ve seen, though, provides chopsticks by default, but you can still get western utensils if you want).
That’s really dreadful. Some Chinese restaurants give chopsticks by default but I’ve never encountered one where they wouldn’t give you western utensils if you asked. (BTW, a spoon and fork is a better option than a knife and fork - there’s nothing to cut up in Chinese cuisine).
Chopstick snobbery drives me nuts. For the record, I can handle chopsticks more competently than most westerners, but I still find western utensils easier, so I generally use them even in Chinese restaurants. But if I’m eating out with friends they invariably assume I can’t use chopsticks and will insist on “teaching” me how to use them. I’m not interested in showing off - I just want to eat. Still, at least I get the lion’s share of the food while watching them struggling to pick it up without dropping it.
I’ve found that the food in the chopstick by default restaurants is inevitably better than the knife and fork default places. YMMV.
Just for the record, I’ve really come to love chopsticks. I find them easier for lots of food that I wouldn’t have considered them for previously. Salad, for example. Still, as long as you have a restaurant in the states, you should probably stock some knives and forks. But the not tipping thing kind of bothers me, too.
But really, when you think about it, they are just a couple of sticks that you’re trying to bring together. With a bit more practice you might not find them as difficult as you had thought…
I’m picturing Eric Cartman reading the OP’s lines. It really works, although there really needs to be a final “BRING ME A FORK AND KNIFE GODDAMNIT!!” at the end.
“I’ll tell you what I like about Chinese people. They’re hanging in there with the chopsticks, aren’t they? You know they’ve seen the fork. They’re staying with the sticks. I don’t know how they missed it. Chinese farmer gets up, works in the field with a shovel all day. Shovel. Spoon. Come on. You’re not plowing 40 acres with a couple of pool cues!”
Isn’t that kind of the whole point? By stiffing the waiter, I want him to think. “What an asshole!” , which is pretty much what I thought the whole time he was “serving” me.
Maybe there’s a bit of US/UK cultural misunderstanding going on here? The OP is in England. Tipping is nowhere near as obligatory here as it is in the US.
This is most likely an illusion. Chinese places that only have chopsticks do so only because they want you to eat less, nothing more. A fortunate byproduct of defaulting to chopsticks is that people tend to rate the restaurant as being more “authentic” and better tasting, regardless of the quality of food.
I feel your pain, chowder (bet the Chinese can’t eat chowder with chopsticks… and you watch your dirty old mind, old man!)
I also cannot use chopsticks. I cannot seem to find the proper balance between flexibility and tension in my fingers to control them well.
I’ll wait here patiently for the superior smirk to leave your faces.
All restaurants serving non-native (aka foreign) cuisine should offer the option of native cutlery or the cutlery that matches the food’s origins. So, if a steak house is opened in Beijing, chopsticks should be offered (and good luck cutting the steaks with 'em. I want to see that).
Bangers and mash would probably be a huge hit in China–and of course, provide them with chopsticks to consume it. Souffle, spotted dick, cauliflower cheese, fried plaice, toffee pudding–let’s see what they can do with their sanded down shims. Ha! <need evil smiley here>
Restaurants are a service industry. Poor service means no reward, ie tip.
I don’t care if is in the States or not–I get attitude from my wait staff for a reasonable request, I’m going to address it. If there’s no satisfaction after that, no tip is left. Tips are not obligatory for POOR service. I think they are for average service, and good tips are so for excellent service. Truly excellent service gets me looking for the manager to compliment him or her on her wait staff.
