Chinese/Japanese way of eating soup?

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

Hi, I have a friend who says that in China/Japan the appropriate way to
eat/drink soup (eg, miso soup) is to take the bowl in one hand, tip it and
drink from it while simultaneously using the chopsticks in your right hand
to sort of.. shovel.. the chunkier bits into your mouth.

He says the big spoons that are used in Western Asian restaurants are not
used in the East.

Can anybody corroborate this?

I know that what you say is true in Japan. I have heard that it is also
true in China, but I've never been there so can't be sure.

--
Peter Aitken

Peter A said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

Hi, I have a friend who says that in China/Japan the appropriate way to
eat/drink soup (eg, miso soup) is to take the bowl in one hand, tip it and
drink from it while simultaneously using the chopsticks in your right hand
to sort of.. shovel.. the chunkier bits into your mouth.

Quoted message said:

He says the big spoons that are used in Western Asian restaurants are not
used in the East.

Quoted message said:

Can anybody corroborate this?

I know that what you say is true in Japan. I have heard that it is also
true in China, but I've never been there so can't be sure.

One things for sure, chopsticks wouldn't work very well for the broth
portion 🙂

For soup, a spoon more "useful." See:

http://www.rathergood.com/moon_song/

Quoted message said:

--
Peter Aitken

--Bryan

On Wed, 26 Sep 2007 07:52:57 -0400, Peter A <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

Hi, I have a friend who says that in China/Japan the appropriate way to
eat/drink soup (eg, miso soup) is to take the bowl in one hand, tip it and
drink from it while simultaneously using the chopsticks in your right hand
to sort of.. shovel.. the chunkier bits into your mouth.

He says the big spoons that are used in Western Asian restaurants are not
used in the East.

Can anybody corroborate this?

I know that what you say is true in Japan. I have heard that it is also
true in China, but I've never been there so can't be sure.

I know this to be true in Hong Kong and Singapore, the only places
I've been. There are ceramic spoons, but they are used to ladle the
soup from the cookpot to the serving bowl.

Slint Flig said:

Hi, I have a friend who says that in China/Japan the appropriate way to
eat/drink soup (eg, miso soup) is to take the bowl in one hand, tip it and
drink from it while simultaneously using the chopsticks in your right hand
to sort of.. shovel.. the chunkier bits into your mouth.

Yes, pretty much. Watch the film _Tampopo_.

Quoted message said:

He says the big spoons that are used in Western Asian restaurants are not
used in the East.

For the most part this is also true.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Slint Flig said:

Hi, I have a friend who says that in China/Japan the appropriate way to
eat/drink soup (eg, miso soup) is to take the bowl in one hand, tip it and
drink from it while simultaneously using the chopsticks in your right hand
to sort of.. shovel.. the chunkier bits into your mouth.

He says the big spoons that are used in Western Asian restaurants are not
used in the East.

Can anybody corroborate this?

In Japan, I think yes. Spoons are seldom part of the place setting.
If you're eating noodles in broth, the noodles are the thing and
chopsticks are the utensil to use. If you're eating miso soup, stir
with chopsticks, drink from bowl.

In China, it depends on the kind of soup. Some focus on solid
ingredients and chopsticks would be used for the most part. But there
are other soups which focus on the broth and for those, porcelain
spoons are used.

In my experience, at least. -aem

On 09/26/2007 04:24:33 'Slint Flig said:

Hi, I have a friend who says that in China/Japan the appropriate way to
eat/drink soup (eg, miso soup) is to take the bowl in one hand, tip it and
drink from it while simultaneously using the chopsticks in your right hand
to sort of.. shovel.. the chunkier bits into your mouth.

Quoted message said:

He says the big spoons that are used in Western Asian restaurants are not
used in the East.

Quoted message said:

Can anybody corroborate this?

I've never been to China or Japan, but I've had Japanese friends over the years here in New York City. Those fresh from Japan do it pretty much as you describe. The others caught on to our sensitivities, and, in true Japanese tradition, fit in by blending in. So, it looks like your friend is right.
Michael

Michael wrote on Wed, 26 Sep 2007 16:49:01 -0400:

??>> Hi, I have a friend who says that in China/Japan the
??>> appropriate way to eat/drink soup (eg, miso soup) is to
??>> take the bowl in one hand, tip it and drink from it while
??>> simultaneously using the chopsticks in your right hand to
??>> sort of.. shovel.. the chunkier bits into your mouth.

??>> He says the big spoons that are used in Western Asian
??>> restaurants are not used in the East.

??>> Can anybody corroborate this?

I think that it is true that people drink soup from the bowl in
Japan judging by movies as others have mentioned. I have tried
it that way and it's not difficult tho' I find it less messy to
use chopsticks for noodles etc.

I wonder what is the custom in Viet Nam for Pho. Around here,
people of all ethnicities eat the noodles and meat with
chopsticks. It might be quite practical to drink the remaining
soup from the bow but it's a big bowl and I've never seen anyone
do it.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

James Silverton said:

I wonder what is the custom in Viet Nam for Pho. Around here,
people of all ethnicities eat the noodles and meat with
chopsticks. It might be quite practical to drink the remaining
soup from the bow but it's a big bowl and I've never seen anyone
do it.

Many years ago (1968), while on a US Army sponsored, extended "visit" in
Vietnam, the people I saw eating Pho ate the solids with chopsticks and
drank the broth.

--
Change Cujo to Juno in email address.

[one non-existing and one irrelevant newsgroup elided]

James Silverton said:

I wonder what is the custom in Viet Nam for Pho. Around here,
people of all ethnicities eat the noodles and meat with
chopsticks. It might be quite practical to drink the remaining
soup from the bow but it's a big bowl and I've never seen anyone
do it.

From what I have seen at what appears to be a very authentic Vietnamese
restaurant here, the mostly Vietnamese patrons often use chopsticks in
one hand and a Chinese-type short plastic spoon in another, to eat
respectively the solids and the liquid. The same thing is described by
the wonderful "pho" article by the late R. W. Apple I posted before.
Pho seems to be the only soup thus eaten in Vietnam, as it is the only
one to be served in a big bowl individually to a person. Other soups,
such as for example canh chua, are ladled from a big bowl to diners'
small bowls, with the solids eaten with chopsticks and the liquid
sipped.

Victor

Slint Flig said:

Hi, I have a friend who says that in China/Japan the appropriate way
to eat/drink soup (eg, miso soup) is to take the bowl in one hand,
tip it and drink from it while simultaneously using the chopsticks in
your right hand to sort of.. shovel.. the chunkier bits into your
mouth.

He says the big spoons that are used in Western Asian restaurants are
not used in the East.

Can anybody corroborate this?

(snipped ridiculous cross-postings)

It's considered *rude* to drink the soup directly from the bowl. Your
friend is an idiot. Spoons in Japan are not the same as 'soup spoons' in
the U.S. They are made for sipping of soup. They are usually made of
porcelain (as are the soup bowls) but sometimes simple ceramic.

Jill

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

Slint Flig said:

Hi, I have a friend who says that in China/Japan the appropriate way
to eat/drink soup (eg, miso soup) is to take the bowl in one hand,
tip it and drink from it while simultaneously using the chopsticks in
your right hand to sort of.. shovel.. the chunkier bits into your
mouth.

He says the big spoons that are used in Western Asian restaurants are
not used in the East.

Can anybody corroborate this?

(snipped ridiculous cross-postings)

It's considered *rude* to drink the soup directly from the bowl. Your
friend is an idiot. Spoons in Japan are not the same as 'soup spoons' in
the U.S. They are made for sipping of soup. They are usually made of
porcelain (as are the soup bowls) but sometimes simple ceramic.

You are a complete ignoramus. I traveled for a month in Japan and was
never once given a spoon with soup, either in restaurants or in private
homes. Drinking from the bowl is accepted - in fact the bowls are shaped
to fit well in the hand.

--
Peter Aitken

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

It's considered *rude* to drink the soup directly from the bowl. Your
friend is an idiot. Spoons in Japan are not the same as 'soup spoons' in
the U.S. They are made for sipping of soup. They are usually made of
porcelain (as are the soup bowls) but sometimes simple ceramic.

Jill

What planet are you from? You've never been to Japan, have you?

jmcquown said:

Slint Flig said:

Hi, I have a friend who says that in China/Japan the appropriate way
to eat/drink soup (eg, miso soup) is to take the bowl in one hand,
tip it and drink from it while simultaneously using the chopsticks in
your right hand to sort of.. shovel.. the chunkier bits into your
mouth.

He says the big spoons that are used in Western Asian restaurants are
not used in the East.

Can anybody corroborate this?

(snipped ridiculous cross-postings)

It's considered *rude* to drink the soup directly from the bowl. Your
friend is an idiot. Spoons in Japan are not the same as 'soup spoons' in
the U.S. They are made for sipping of soup. They are usually made of
porcelain (as are the soup bowls) but sometimes simple ceramic.

Jill

Slint Flig is correct from my observations of the way oriental people
eat soup. They pick up their bowls, often smaller and lighter than
English soup bowls, and sip and use their chop sticks. Seen it many
times.

aloha,
Cea
roast beans to kona to email
farmers of Pure Kona

jmcquown said:

Slint Flig said:

Hi, I have a friend who says that in China/Japan the appropriate way
to eat/drink soup (eg, miso soup) is to take the bowl in one hand,
tip it and drink from it while simultaneously using the chopsticks in
your right hand to sort of.. shovel.. the chunkier bits into your
mouth.

He says the big spoons that are used in Western Asian restaurants are
not used in the East.

Can anybody corroborate this?

(snipped ridiculous cross-postings)

It's considered *rude* to drink the soup directly from the bowl. Your
friend is an idiot. Spoons in Japan are not the same as 'soup spoons' in
the U.S. They are made for sipping of soup. They are usually made of
porcelain (as are the soup bowls) but sometimes simple ceramic.

Jill

japanese don't sip from bowls and thais don't eat dipping sauces.
jill, you're truly a font of information on the inscrutable oriental.

your pal,
blake

On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:31:02 -0400, Peter A <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

Slint Flig said:

Hi, I have a friend who says that in China/Japan the appropriate way
to eat/drink soup (eg, miso soup) is to take the bowl in one hand,
tip it and drink from it while simultaneously using the chopsticks in
your right hand to sort of.. shovel.. the chunkier bits into your
mouth.

He says the big spoons that are used in Western Asian restaurants are
not used in the East.

Can anybody corroborate this?

(snipped ridiculous cross-postings)

It's considered *rude* to drink the soup directly from the bowl. Your
friend is an idiot. Spoons in Japan are not the same as 'soup spoons' in
the U.S. They are made for sipping of soup. They are usually made of
porcelain (as are the soup bowls) but sometimes simple ceramic.

You are a complete ignoramus.

this is rather harsh. she must know something about *something*.
sooner or later we'll find out what that something is.

your pal,
blake

blake wrote on Thu, 27 Sep 2007 17:16:58 GMT:

??>> Slint Flag wrote:
??>>> Hi, I have a friend who says that in China/Japan the
??>>> appropriate way to eat/drink soup (egg, miso soup) is to
??>>> take the bowl in one hand, tip it and drink from it while
??>>> simultaneously using the chopsticks in your right hand to
??>>> sort of.. shovel.. the chunkier bits into your mouth.
??>>>
??>>> He says the big spoons that are used in Western Asian
??>>> restaurants are not used in the East.
??>>>
??>>> Can anybody corroborate this?
??>>
??>> (snipped ridiculous cross-postings)
??>>
??>> It's considered *rude* to drink the soup directly from the
??>> bowl. Your friend is an idiot. Spoons in Japan are not
??>> the same as 'soup spoons' in the U.S. They are made for
??>> sipping of soup. They are usually made of porcelain (as
??>> are the soup bowls) but sometimes simple ceramic.
??>>
??>> Jill
??>>
bm> japanese don't sip from bowls and thais don't eat dipping
bm> sauces. jill, you're truly a font of information on the
bm> inscrutable oriental.

I don't like cross posting so I did not do so but I asked the
question under "Eating soup?" on alt.food.asian and got some
useful replies. Musashi is of Japanese ancestry, I believe, and
usually knows what he is talking about.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Slint Flig said:

Hi, I have a friend who says that in China/Japan the appropriate way
to eat/drink soup (eg, miso soup) is to take the bowl in one hand,
tip it and drink from it while simultaneously using the chopsticks in
your right hand to sort of.. shovel.. the chunkier bits into your
mouth.

He says the big spoons that are used in Western Asian restaurants are
not used in the East.

Can anybody corroborate this?

(snipped ridiculous cross-postings)

It's considered *rude* to drink the soup directly from the bowl. Your
friend is an idiot. Spoons in Japan are not the same as 'soup spoons' in
the U.S. They are made for sipping of soup. They are usually made of
porcelain (as are the soup bowls) but sometimes simple ceramic.

Jill

On Thu, 27 Sep 2007 17:16:58 GMT, blake murphy <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

jmcquown said:

Slint Flig said:

Hi, I have a friend who says that in China/Japan the appropriate way
to eat/drink soup (eg, miso soup) is to take the bowl in one hand,
tip it and drink from it while simultaneously using the chopsticks in
your right hand to sort of.. shovel.. the chunkier bits into your
mouth.

He says the big spoons that are used in Western Asian restaurants are
not used in the East.

Can anybody corroborate this?

(snipped ridiculous cross-postings)

It's considered *rude* to drink the soup directly from the bowl. Your
friend is an idiot. Spoons in Japan are not the same as 'soup spoons' in
the U.S. They are made for sipping of soup. They are usually made of
porcelain (as are the soup bowls) but sometimes simple ceramic.

Jill

japanese don't sip from bowls and thais don't eat dipping sauces.
jill, you're truly a font of information on the inscrutable oriental.

your pal,
blake

At the end of the soup, people do tip it back.

aloha,
beans
roast beans to kona to email
farmers of Pure Kona

Slint Flig said:

Hi, I have a friend who says that in China/Japan the appropriate way to
eat/drink soup (eg, miso soup) is to take the bowl in one hand, tip it and
drink from it while simultaneously using the chopsticks in your right hand
to sort of.. shovel.. the chunkier bits into your mouth.

He says the big spoons that are used in Western Asian restaurants are not
used in the East.

Can anybody corroborate this?

Yes, this is how I learned to drink/eat in when I lived in Japan.

--
Jean B.