Eating Chinese Food With Chopsticks

Since 14 years of age, our Family frequented one chinese restaurant every birthday, every Mother's Day until a couple of years ago, when they changed ownership.. I was bought up therefore pretty much to always use chopsticks.

It was fun. But, I appreciate now savouring each small amount I eat at a time with them.

The irony is last night we went out for dinner locally, a friend and me and I completely forgot about chopsticks no wonder I didn't enjoy it as much:)

How could I do that after like 30 years? Must have been the wine I was enjoying.

Some places don't offer them - here in Albuquerque, for example, where you have to ask, in my small experience with the few chinese restaurants here where I've moved to fairly recently.

It's goofy I know - but I carry a pair a friend bought for me. They are always in my purse - in their carrying case. I have had many a person ask me why. I don't know why. I just want them in case I need them.

Lol's... Not Goofy, smart...

Ossobucco, that's true, now that I think about it, they aren't on the table, and they weren't offered to me.

In my case there is a certain irony (or at least perplexity) for a person who is something of a chinese food maven from the metropolitan LA area (great restaurants/dim sum parlors, grocery stores, etc., sob) to move to a place where the restaurants present flatware because people are chary of chopsticks. That might have happened in LA in the touristy spots but we never went to those so I dunno. I think even then they would have had the inexpensive chopstick packages in a jar on the table.

Not that New Mexico is sans food interest - it's a food culture of its own with relatively small chinese, vietnamese, japanese populations.

I’ve used chopsticks since I was a kid. I own several sets of chopsticks. Every now and then I will bring them out, Marco makes an awesome homemade stir-fry. Antonio is five and he’s already a pro with his.

The chopsticks I still have are japanese, purchased from a selection at my last home town local co-op within the last ten years.

Difference between chinese and japanese chopsticks:

http://www.coquinaria.nl/english/recipes/chopsticks.htm


A favorite store of mine back in the day was Yamaguchi's in Sawtelle (west LA). They have just about everything anyone needs - work pants for gardeners et al, paper goods for decor, all manner of dishes, lots of kitchen devices, woks, a selection of superior knives. Also a nursery with a famous bonsai display.
Key place then to get nifty chopsticks.

I still can't eat with sticks but i will one day. I don't think it make any difference its just every food has its own way of eating so has chinese too.

I still can't manage to eat Chinese with chopsticks its quite tough.

practice, practice, practice...

Kantan da yo!

An observation from seeing people in SE Asia who use chopstix. Some folks hold enm high up the stick and spme hold em really low down. Any value in each one.
I know if you hold em high you can clandestinely grab a shrimp of your partners serving.

I wonder if anyone who lives in an Asian country ever says "Hey, eat with this fork. It's Fun!"

Hahahahahahahahhaha made me laugh

According to an acquaintance of mine, who grew up with a Thai kid, and went to Thailand with him on several occasions, the Thais don't use chopsticks. When I go to The Thai Wok, a local restaurant, where the counter staff are teenagers, I see people ask for chopsticks. The kid at the counter invariably rolls his or her eyes, puts about a half-dozen pairs of those cheap wooden chopsticks on the counter and takes the order back to the kitchen. Most places, of course, are more discrete.

Yeah, chopstick rules. It makes me appreciate the food more.