Eating Your Way Across China 131large plastic pack that encloses smaller packs that contain your
chopsticks, a wet cloth, a paper napkin and toothpicks.
Fancy Eating Versus Family Style
In a Chinese meal, most dishes are shared in the centre of
the table. A meal typically starts with a number of small cold
dishes. These are placed upon the table as you are first seated,
to be nibbled at while the main dishes are being prepared. If
there is a large group, a rotating glass disk (or a Lazy Susan)
is placed in the centre of the table. It is turned constantly
so that all the dishes are easily accessible to people sitting
around the table.
When the waiter or waitress first puts a dish on the table,
it is customary for them to turn the glass disk so that people
around the table can see the dish being presented. Depending
upon the restaurant, if in a finer dining establishment, the
waiting staff will then take the dish away and place individual
servings into small dishes which are then either presented
to you individually or are put upon the glass disk to be
individually taken.
When eating Chinese food, it is customary to take only
one or two bites of food at a time, and continue taking
A typical restaurant place setting which includes chopsticks, a metal serving
spoon and a porcelain spoon.