Different cultures and their quirks/food/customs/drink 5

[ziggi]

This is a continuation of a post on a hijacked thread, which was primarily about booze (the post not the thread), but then evolved, but then I forgot where it went, so I'm making a new one.

For those of you who wonder why this is in the self-improvement section. The next time you end up in Poland overpaying a restaurant meal by $80 b/c you gave the waitress $100 for a $20 meal and said thank you, you'll be glad you read this post.

To start us off, when in Poland and at a restaurant, first off pay in cash (credit scams are rife) and secondly don't say anything to the waitress/waiter when paying, saying "Thank you" denotes that you want the waitress/waiter to keep the change.
Also Croatians tend to stare right into your eyes when talking to you, that may creep out the introverts out there....pretty much most engineers ;-) .

 

[BelspringKen]

I don't mind someone who looks me in the eye when they speak. That sends a message that they are engaged in the conversation, not just rattling off chatter.

 

[epoisses]

Ziggi, I'm not sure if this is typically polish (or rather: I'm sure it's not). Out of curiosity: did you finally get the 80$ back?

 

[ewh]

One quirk in the southeast U.S. is iced tea. Most places in the states, if you don't specify sweet or unsweetened, you will be served unsweetened tea. In the south, if you don't specify, you risk getting something VERY sweet.

 

[ziggi]

epoisses,
I did, but I left a decent tip for my ignorance.

 

[waskillywabbit]

Yes, in the south it is sweet tea and it is served cold over ice. The other is brown water.

Another "quirk" of the southeast is that a soft drink is called a "coke". Not pop, not soda, not whatever, "coke". It too is served cold or over ice.

Never been to Europe, but my wife has and she said it was near impossible to get any ice while she was there. She finally found a "coke" but could never get any ice. What is up with that?

Brian

 

[kchayfie]

Whenever I've been away on holiday having a drink in a bar, it seems more common to run up a bill for drinks and then pay for everything at the end of the night. Here in Britain we tend to pay for each drink as its served. Are we the unusual ones there?

 

[SomptingGuy]

I'd say we are the unusual ones. Just go to one of those family pub chains on a busy Sunday and watch the line of people queueing up to place food orders at the bar!

OTOH, it's always fun to watch American tourists marching into a pub, sitting down and waiting to be served.

 

[epoisses]

In many bars in Holland it's like in Britain (pay at the bar for each drink), at least in the bars where there are usually more people than chairs/stools.

Waskillywabbit, re ice, I'd expect that should be easy to get in a bar in most if not all European countries. I think in most bars they put ice in your coke without even asking. Where did your wife go?

One quirk in French bars is that the music is never OK. Either too loud or too soft, and never the right CD. The other quirk is that the beer is overly expensive, or maybe I should just drink less.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

In America, pretty much all hotels have ice machines. Of all the hotels I've stayed at in England, I can't remember a single one. And in most American restaurants you get a glass of water whether you ask for it or not whereas most places I've been to in europe you have to ask.

 

[SomptingGuy]

Eating out and being waited on for us Brits is generally seen as a treat. In America (USA at least) it seems to be the norm (I'm not Yank bashing here). When I worked "over there", the lunch club went to a different restaurant each day of the week. In the UK we might do a pub lunch once a week (and still get our own cutlery from the basket!).

Here's my Yank bashing. Americans seem to see McDonalds as a restaurant. We see it as fast food. There is a clear division between fast food and restaurant food in the UK. Fast food is edible, restaurant food is desireable. Fast food fills you up. Restaurant food makes you feel pampered.

 

[ziggi]

Here in Canada, we generally have to pay at the bar for drinks, unless we are going to the pub for a meal, in which case we sit down and are waited on, the bill is paid at the end, from what I understand Australia and Southern Africa are similar.

 

[ivymike]

the lunch club went to a different restaurant each day of the week. In the UK we might do a pub lunch once a week (and still get our own cutlery from the basket!).

That is common in areas like the Chicago Suburbs, where there are plenty of good selections nearby. In other parts of Illinois going out for lunch is less convenient and is rarely done.

Here's my Yank bashing. Americans seem to see McDonalds as a restaurant. We see it as fast food. There is a clear division between fast food and restaurant food in the UK.

Huh? Are there any USA residents here who see Mickey D's as something other than fast food? Sure, we use the same word for places where you are served prepared food (restaurant), but there is a clear distinction between fast-food and other types of restaurants (fast food, drive-thru, drive-in, sit-down, fancy, etc).

 

[ewh]

I agree with ivymike regarding MickeyD's. Yes, it is a restaurant (I don't know what else to call it), but fast food is seldom (if ever) as desireable as a nice gourmet sit-down restaurant.
As to wether we pay as we go or run up a tab, much depends on the type of establishment and how busy it is. If it is a neighborhood bar and not too busy (think Cheers), tabs are the norm. If it is a swanky nightclub on a Saturday night, chances are that you will have to pay as you go.

 

[waskillywabbit]

Most "yanks" as you say, which I wouldn't say down south unless you'd like to get beat up, eat at McDs but don't look forward to it. I go because my two boys (4 and 5) like the toys in the Happy Meals and like to play on the playground. At a "restaurant" if the food takes longer than 20 minutes to get there, they will destroy the place and be hanging from the lighting fixtures.

At work, we eat out every day as we aren't allowed to eat in our offices. It is a nice break from the daily grind of the office as we go an hour before the norm so we are never rushed.

Brian

 

[btrueblood]

waskilly wabbit wrote:
"Most "yanks" as you say, which I wouldn't say down south unless you'd like to get beat up, eat at McDs but don't look forward to it. I go because my two boys (4 and 5) like the toys in the Happy Meals and like to play on the playground. At a "restaurant" if the food takes longer than 20 minutes to get there, they will destroy the place and be hanging from the lighting fixtures. "

LOL! That's my boys too. I dream of the day when my wife & I can enjoy a pleasant dinner, with conversation beyond, "so dear, how was your day ... David! stop hitting your brother!..."

 

[Beggar]

In Southern China:

1) No tipping necessary nor expected at restaurants nor hotels

2) The Chinese eat very loudly... lip smacking, mouth open, talking with food in there, etc.

3) Pretty much the only rule at the table is: Don't point your chopsticks at other people.

4) Everybody uses their own chopsticks to serve out of the common bowl

5) Water with meal is considered unhealthy

6) Tea arrives before everything else. Pour it into your bowl and then "sterilize" your chopsticks, tea cup, and soup spoon in the hot tea. It's fine to make a mess and spill the tea about.

7) The fortune cookie doesn't exist in China... it's an American 'invention'.

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How much do YOU owe?

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

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[corus]

In China I made the mistake of axctually drinking the tea instead of sterilizing the chopsticks. It must have looked disgusting to the chinese.

In the US it was strange to be served a bowl of salad at the beginning of the meal. After waiting some time for the the accompaniment of meat and vegetables to arrive did we discover that people ate the salad as an aperitif. Weird.

In the UK it's always the case that you pay for your drinks as you get them. Mainly because nobody trusts anybody else. In mainland europe it seems to be the case that they trust you to present your final 'tabs' at the end fo the night to settle up your account.

corus

 

[SomptingGuy]

It's always fun to try to spot Brits in foreign restaurants based on cultural differences in cutlery usage.

1) Fork always in left hand, generally upside-down.

2) Knife always in right hand, never put down.

3) Knife used as a combination tool: cutting, fork-loading and general food rearrangement. Knife never goes into mouth.

4) Hands only used in emergencies (i.e. no knife and fork available).

Us Brits get "table manners" beat into us at an early age. It's not until we venture overseas that we realise we are the only ones who eat like this.



And it's dead easy to spot Europeans in American restaurants. They're the ones who try to eat the whole meal, however big it is. I know of no other country where taking half your dinner home in a box is considered the norm. You might just be offered a box in a Pizza Hut in the UK, but that's about the limit.

 

[MedicineEng]

In China you can also take the rest of your meal home;
Some more tips on China:
-You can burp as you wish, for sure they will burp too (unless it is a really formal dinner, and even so...);
-Rice (with exception of plain white rice) is considered also a dish and usually served in the end;
-In more traditional settings, and if there is a steamed fish, never turn the fish to get the meat on the other side-it's considered bad luck-The best move is to wait someone serves you;
-When you order a whole chicken, be prepared to see the also the head (the same applies with pigeon);

The sterilization of the chopsticks with tea is expected in more informal restaurants, in formal ones, the tea is really to be drunk;