The order of serving Chinese food
A standard Chinese meal usually starts with cold dishes, followed by stir-frying, followed by the main course, followed by snacks and soup. If you feel a little tired, you can order some dessert and finally serve a fruit plate. When ordering food, we should take into account the dishes of each procedure.
Preferred dishes
1, dishes with Chinese characteristics. This article is especially important when entertaining foreign guests. Such as fried spring rolls, boiled dumplings, steamed dumplings, lion's head, diced chicken with peanuts, etc., are not delicious, but they are highly praised by many foreigners because of their distinctive China characteristics. ?
2. Dishes with local characteristics. For example, mutton in soup in Xi 'an, braised pork in Maojia, Hunan, stewed lion's head in Shanghai, and instant-boiled mutton in Beijing, when entertaining foreign guests there, I'm afraid these special dishes will be more praised than the same raw seafood.
3. The specialty of this restaurant. Many restaurants have their own specialties. The last special dish of this restaurant can show the host's care and respect for the invited guests.
Taboos for ordering Chinese food
When arranging the menu, we must also consider the dietary taboos of the guests, especially the dietary taboos of the guests. There are four main dietary taboos:
1, religious dietary taboos, can't be neglected at all. For example, Muslims usually don't eat pork and don't drink alcohol. Buddhists in China eat less meat, which not only refers to meat, but also includes pungent food such as onion, garlic, leek and mustard. Some Buddhists who believe in Guanyin are especially forbidden to eat beef in their diet, which should be paid special attention to when entertaining Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and overseas Chinese compatriots.
2. For health reasons, some foods are also taboo. For example, people with heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, arteriosclerosis, hypertension and sequelae of stroke are not suitable for eating dog meat. People with hepatitis should avoid eating mutton and soft-shelled turtle. People with digestive diseases such as gastroenteritis and stomach ulcer soup are also not suitable for eating soft-shelled turtle. Patients with high blood pressure and high cholesterol should drink less chicken soup.
3. People's dietary preferences are often different in different regions. For this, we should take into account when arranging the menu. For example, people in Hunan Province generally like to eat spicy food and eat less sweets. People in Britain and America usually don't eat pets, rare animals, animal viscera, animal heads and claws. In addition, when entertaining foreign guests, try to eat less hard dishes, and foreigners are less likely to spit out food that has been bitten into their mouths during meals, which also needs to be taken into account.
4. Some professions, for some reason, often have different special taboos in catering. For example, national civil servants are not allowed to eat and be invited when performing official duties, to eat and drink at official banquets, to eat beyond the standards set by the state, and to drink alcoholic beverages. For another example, drivers are not allowed to drink alcohol during work. If you ignore this point, you may make the other party make mistakes.
Precautions for Chinese Dining 2: Precautions for Chinese Dining Tableware
chopsticks
Chopsticks are the most important tableware in Chinese food. Chopsticks must be used in pairs. The picture above shows the standard method of holding chopsticks.
In Chinese dining etiquette, when taking food with chopsticks, we should pay attention to the following questions:
1. Note that chopsticks are used to hold food. It is impolite to scratch, pick your teeth, or pick something other than food.
2. When talking with people, you should put down chopsticks temporarily, and you can't dance chopsticks like a baton while talking.
No matter whether there is food left on chopsticks, don't lick it. Isn't it a bit appetizing to pick up food with licked chopsticks?
4. Don't put chopsticks vertically on top of food. Because in China custom, this method is only used when paying homage to the dead.
spoon
The main function of spoon in Chinese food is to scoop dishes and food. Sometimes, when eating with chopsticks, you can also use a spoon to help you eat, but try not to use a spoon alone to get food. At the same time, when taking food with a spoon, don't scoop it too full, so as not to spill it and dirty the table or clothes. After scooping up the food, you can pause in the same place for a while, and then move over to enjoy the soup until it doesn't flow down again.
In the dining room, when you don't use the spoon for the time being, you should put the spoon on the plate in front of you. Don't put the spoon directly on the dining table, or let the spoon stand at attention in the food. After taking food with a spoon, eat it immediately or put it on your own plate, and don't put it back. If the food you take is too hot, you should not scoop it with a spoon, and you should not blow it at the spoon with your mouth. You should put the food in your bowl and wait for it to cool before eating. Also be careful not to put a spoon in your mouth or lick and suck repeatedly.
bowl
Chinese food bowls can be used to hold rice and soup, and when eating, you can eat with your rice bowl in your hand. When holding a bowl, support the bottom of the bowl with four fingers of your left hand and put your thumb on the end of the bowl. When eating, the height of the rice bowl is roughly the same as the chin.
If the soup is served by a soup cup with a lid alone, the way to show that the soup has been finished is to take out the spoon and put it on the saucer, and turn the lid upside down and put it flat on the soup cup.
plate
There are many kinds of plates for Chinese food. The smaller plates are called plates, which are mainly used to hold food, and the use is roughly the same as that of bowls. When eating, plates are generally required to stay in place on the dining table and not to be piled together.
What needs to be introduced emphatically is a kind of dish with special purpose-food dish. The main function of dish eaters in Chinese food is to temporarily put dishes taken from public dishes for enjoyment. When using a food dish, generally don't take too many dishes in the food dish, which looks messy and looks like a hungry ghost reborn, which is very indecent. Don't spit food scraps, bones and fishbones that you don't eat on the dining table, but gently put them at the front end of the dish. When taking them, don't spit them directly from your mouth, but put them at the front end of the dish with chopsticks. If the plate is full, you can signal the waiter to change the plate.
Tangzhong
A soup cup is used to hold soup food. When eating, there is one thing to pay attention to when using the soup cup: taking out the spoon and putting it on the saucer, and putting the cup cover upside down flat on the soup cup means that the soup has been finished.
cup
Chinese food cups are mainly used to hold soft drinks such as water, fruit juice and soda. Be careful not to use a water cup to hold wine, and don't invert the water cup. In addition, it is very indecent to note that what you drink in your mouth can't be spit back into the glass.
toothpick
Toothpicks are also a must-have item on the Chinese food table. It has two functions, one is to take food; The second is used to pick teeth. However, when eating, try not to pick your teeth in public. When you have to pick your teeth, cover your mouth with your other hand. Don't "watch" or re-enter the food in public, and don't throw it around or spit casually. After picking your teeth, don't hold a toothpick, let alone use it to get food.
table napkin
Before a Chinese meal, a wet towel is usually served to each diner. The function of this wet towel is to wipe your hands. After wiping your hands, you should put it back on the plate and take it away by the waiter. Before the end of the banquet, the waiter will put on another wet towel. Unlike the former, this wet towel is used to wipe your mouth, and you can't use it to wipe your face or sweat.
Precautions for Chinese Dining: Precautions for Chinese Dining.
Table arrangement
In Chinese banquets, round tables are often used to arrange dishes and drinks. There are two ways to arrange the pecking order of the round table.
The first case is a small banquet consisting of two tables. This situation can be divided into two horizontal rows and two vertical rows. When two tables are arranged horizontally, the left is the first priority and the right is the second priority. The right and left mentioned here are determined by the position facing the main entrance. When the two tables are arranged vertically, the table times should be far above and near below. The distance mentioned here is based on the distance from the main entrance.
In the second case, it is a banquet composed of three or more tables. When arranging the number of tables for a multi-table banquet, we should not only pay attention to the rules such as "facing the door", "respecting the right" and "taking the distance as the top", but also take into account the distance between other tables and the main table. Generally, the closer to the main table, the higher the number of tables; The farther away from the main table, the lower the number of tables.
When arranging tables, the size and shape of the tables used should be basically the same. Except the main table can be slightly larger, other dining tables should not be too big or too small.
In order to ensure that the attendees can find their table in time and accurately during the banquet, they can indicate the other party's table on the invitation, hang a schematic diagram of the banquet table arrangement at the entrance of the banquet hall, arrange an usher to guide the guests to sit according to the table, or put table cards on each table.
Rank arrangement
At the banquet, the specific ranking on each table also has the distinction of primary and secondary ranking. There are four basic methods of ranking, and they often work at the same time.
The first method is that most hosts should sit facing the main entrance and sit at the main table.
The second method is to hold a multi-table banquet, and each table must have a representative of the host of the main table present. The position is generally in the same direction as the main table owner, and sometimes it can face the main table owner.
The third method is the ranking of each table, which should be based on the distance from the owner of the table, with the near as the top and the far as the bottom.
The fourth method is that each table has the same rank from the owner of the table, and the right is respected, that is, the owner of the table faces the right, the right is respected, and the left is humble.
In addition, the number of people arranged at each table should be limited to 10, preferably even. For example, six people, eight people and ten people. If there are too many people, it is not easy to take care of them, but it may also be impossible to sit down.
According to the arrangement method of the above four rankings, the specific arrangement of the round table rankings can be divided into two specific situations. They are all related to theme.
The first case: the arrangement method of one theme per table. It is characterized in that there is only one host at each table, the host and guest sit at the right head, and each table has only one conversation center.
The second case: the arrangement of two themes at each table. It is characterized in that the host and wife sit at the same table, with the male host as the first host and the female host as the second host, and the guest of honor and the lady of the guest of honor sit on the right side of the male and female hosts respectively. Each table thus objectively forms two conversation centers.
If the status of the guest of honor is higher than that of the host, to show respect, you can also arrange to sit in the host's seat and ask the host to sit in the host's seat.
In order to facilitate the guests to sit in their seats accurately, in addition to the timely guidance and instructions from the host and the host, a striking personal name seat card should be placed on the table directly in front of each guest's seat. When holding a foreign banquet, the seat card should be written in both Chinese and English. It is the practice in China that Chinese is above and English below. When necessary, the name of the diner is written on both sides of the seat card.
When arranging the seats for a light meal, if you need to arrange the tables, you can refer to the arrangement of the tables during the banquet. The arrangement of ranks can follow four principles.
One is the principle of high right and low left.
Two people sit side by side, usually with the right as the upper seat and the left as the lower seat. This is because Chinese food is served in the clockwise direction, so those who sit on the right are given priority over those who sit on the left.
The second is the principle that the middle seat is respected.
Three people sit together for dinner, and the person sitting in the middle is higher in rank than the people on both sides.
The third is the principle that other people are the most important.
When dining, according to etiquette, the person facing the main entrance is the upper seat, and the person facing the main entrance is the lower seat.
The fourth is the special principle.
In high-end restaurants, there are often beautiful scenery or elegant performances indoors and outdoors for diners to enjoy. At this time, the seat with the best viewing angle is the upper seat. When dining in some middle and low-end restaurants, people usually take the position near the wall as the upper seat and the position near the aisle as the lower seat.