The villagers prepared a well balanced spread and were excited to see our response after tasting their dishes. There was this dish that stood out amongst the rest. It was some stir fried vegetables which was so bitter that it numbed our tongues. We thought we should be polite and should not show that we are picky and choosy especially when the villagers were standing around us, watching us as we eat. We divided the vegetables into six portions for each of us at the table and at the count of three, we finished our portions.
Then, a nice lady replenished the vegetables immediately. We wanted to stop her but did not know how we should go about doing it for fear that the villagers might think that we did not like the vegetables.
From the interesting episode, we gathered that in Cambodia, the hosts will try not to leave plates empty. It was different from what we had expected. It did not occur to us that they would replenish the food. My guess was that the nice host misinterpreted our smiles when we finished the vegetables. Nevertheless, it was an interesting experience which not only introduced us to their food, but also the way the Cambodians eat their food.
Hi Tan Ching,
ReplyDeleteYes! Cultural differences in terms of food exist and can be huge! I remember a time when i made bak kut teh for a canadian/singapore couple we were having dinner with in canada. All the singaporeans thoroughly enjoyed the pork rib soup, but the canadian male (who's house we were at) only gnawed a piece of meat a little, then drank the soup and exclaimed:"I'll keep the meat for some dishes, but the juice(!!) is very good!" :S
It does seem that people get more consenting when sharing meals with people of other cultures, in that they seem more polite. This could be due to the importance of food in our lives, as well as in cultures. For example Muslim cannot eat pork, so Chinese (who love it) have to be careful when offering food to Muslim friends. Apparently for strict Muslem, even utensils used to cook food cannot be contaminated by using to cook pork beforehand (i encountered this at a BBQ and had to get a different grill for my Muslim friend!)
Jonathan Lee
Hi Tan Ching,
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right that "Food is culture" and "through food, we can explore [others'] culture". I recall an internship experience where I had the opportunity to meet up with interns of other nationalities: American-Iranian, Pakistani and Indian. We had a great deal of exchange while dining together. This is because every dining experience involved either me and other Singaporean interns introducing them to the local dishes of Singapore or them introducing us to their cultural crusines such as kebahs, thosais and savoury masala dishes. I must admit that it was through these dining experience where we got to know each other better and had a glimpse into the others' culture.
Caroline
Food culture is indeed the most distinct difference that exist between different cultures. It starts all the way from food preparation to dining habits. One great example is between the Asians/Easterners and Westerners. The Chinese use chopsticks, Indians simply grasp rice straightly with hands. We do not cut our food and send them straight to our mouths, using our teeth as knives. We hold our food, meat or vegetable, with the chopsticks, send them to the mouths, bite off a part of it and remain the other part on the chopsticks. That’s the usual way we eat. We also hold our bowls up to sip our soup (Chinese, Japanese). But all these actions are considered rude to the Westernerss etiquette is that when eating, bowls and plates cannot leave the tables. Food should be cut by knives to fit into the mouths.
ReplyDeleteWe just have to observe more while we interact with different cultures and blend in.
Melissa
Hi Tan Ching,
ReplyDeleteI do agree that food can represent our cultures. Therefore, I feel that learning about the dining culture of another's race and nationality would probably be one of the most important thing to do while trying to maintain intercultural harmony. Poor knowledge of another's dining etiquette and the restrictions on the food that they can consume can easily lead to antagonism.
Hi Tan Ching,
ReplyDeleteI do agree that one’s culture can be very much reflected from the type of food he eats and his dining etiquette. For example, for the Japanese, they usually slurp when they are eating soup noodles or even dry noodles to show their appreciation for the food. The louder they slurp, the more they enjoy the meal. However, for the Chinese and Westerners, they think it is rather rude to do that.
So let say, a Westerner is being invited for a dinner by a Japanese host in his house. If they do not understand each others’ eating culture, the Japanese host might misinterpret the Westerner’s silence and thought the guest do not like the food. But in the actual fact, the guess might love it.
Hence, I think that it is rather crucial for us to understand the different dining cultures.
P.S. What an interesting experience you had in Cambodia! And the part on counting to three sounds quite funny though. =)
Chau Ting
How nice! But how did you stop the flow of food?
ReplyDeleteWhat did they think of your dishes? It sounds as if Cambodian food is quite hot.
Mrs Richardson
We piled up the dishes as soon as we were done!
ReplyDeleteAs for our dishes, the villagers seemed to enjoy the food but they did not ask for a second helping. Maybe like us they were trying to be polite and like what hongquan mentioned, they did not know about our dining culture.