Sushi is meant to be eaten with one’s fingers.
I love eating the tails.
Crunchy breaded fried ones are best, but depending on my mood I’ll eat 'em no matter what.
I’ve always wondered if I will die young because of this.
I dunno how young you are, but I’m pushing 50 and still eating the tails. 
Those who eat the tails - we might be talking about different varieties of shrimp. The ones I’m thinking of, eating the shell or tail is literally the consistency of eating a toenail. Also a similar flavor, i.e. none.
I´ve been living in Thailand for 5 months, and I think I average 600 kilos of shrimp a month, all tailed.
The first time I said, “what the heck!”, and plopped it in tail and all, it was a very crunchy experience which I haven´t repeated. Besides I´ve never seen anyone eating the tails here anyway, so much for asian custom there.
The norm being to eat with fork and spoon around here, pluking the tails can get complicated; but now I have the technique nailed down, you just pinch the water vermin at the meat/tail junction with the fork, press down on the tail with the edge of the spoon and pull away.
Now, the prawns go in whole, slightly crunchy and very satisfying while surronded by pad thai.
I experienced this very problem last night, though the messy aspect seemed minor in contrast to the barbecued chicken wings at lunch.
There’s no real difficulty with eating shrimp tails. Heck, clam shells are an interesting acquired taste and provide needed calcium.
No I am pretty sure we are talking about the same thing :eek: I eat the tails and whole shells if they are left on and always have. It is very convienent and provides a nice texture and crunch (to me at least).
I eat them as well. My daughter was complaining about the tails as we dined ion a restaurant. I used my chopsticks to steal one of hers and popped it in my mouth, tail and all. As I was munching, I said in my grumpy-old-man voice, “Roughage. Great for the bowels”.
Ever since then, my kids will use that line at appropriate (?) times. 
You munchers are talking about those little guys right? And surely not prawns.
Peace,
mangeorge
Big ol shrimps. The kind you would get in a shrimp cocktail. Seriously.
But still “little ones” in some parts of the world. I had prawns in Bali (labeled “shrimp” on the menu) that were the size of small lobsters - 10 inches from stem to stern, not including the tentacley bits up top (they came as they swam, fully intact).
Ah, shrimp cocktail. Acapulco’s (so I’ve heard) gift to the world. Yo queiro.
I don’t believe I’ve ever had prawns in my life. This is the kind I’m talking about. Considering this little guy, I probably haven’t eaten any which were more than about 2 inches across, curled up like that.
The tails I’ve eaten have been thin, flaky, and crunchy. YMMV.
- A lot of people, including me, eat the tails.
- Much of the flavour of the shrimp is in the shell and tails. Unless you want to just toss this flavour out, you leave them on or you leave them wandering about the dish by themselves.
I think you’re meant to eat that shrimp tail in the sushi. I always do.
Now that we have the tail question settled, how about the poop chute?
Peace,
mangeorge
Perhaps they give diners the feeling that the shrimp is somehow ‘fresher’ than if they were sans tail? Ahh, I dunno.
God – (looks up to check that we’re in the Pit)—#@!!! verschlugginer &*^&& tails on shrimp in restaurants. In other words I totally agree with the OP.
The point of going out to eat and spending all that money is to have a hasslefree dining experience. Having to saw off tails, or thrusting your thumb and forefinger to pick up shrimp from hot saucy dishes counts as hassle.
Sea creatures that dine on shrimp generally spit out, or don’t eat, the shell and tail. I seen it on PBS.
What’s good enough for a grouper is good enough for me.
I am perhaps a slob, but what I would do is to put the whole shrimp (or the last part, if I cut it) in mouth, suck off all the sauce and then stick the tail out of my mouth and gently pull it off. Very little muss or fuss.
If there is no sauce (or I have just dipped the front in cocktail sauce, then I treat it as finger food and it is even easier. Quit all your bellyaching!