What Some People Do at Buffets.....

When I first wrote about what some people do at "chap fan" stalls and followed that up with what some people do in supermarkets, I was surprised that these two posts got pretty good hits...even better than some of my cooking posts...aiks! ;P 

Maybe some of us have this "kepochi" streak in us and want to know what 'no good' our fellow citizens are up to...kekeke! :P  And a comment left on my previous post of what some people would do at "chap fan" stalls gave me an idea for this post.  So, here comes a third in the series...what I've witnessed some people do at buffets.

#1 - Those who pile a mountain top of food on their plate


Just because you've paid (in your opinion) an obscene amount of money for the buffet doesn't mean you have to pile it obscenely on your plate! O_o  Worst still, some can't even finish the food.  Even if you've paid for the food, it doesn't give you the right to waste food so, behave decently and take only what you can eat.  Luckily, nowadays, many have learned the etiquette of buffet eating (at least in classy environments like hotel buffets) though the same can't be said when it comes to "free makan" at festive buffets.

#2 - Those who pour soups into their bowls to the brim


Just as they pile a mountain top of food, they also pour soups into their bowls right to the brim and it's always fun to see them walk gingerly back to their seats and trying to keep the soup from overflowing.  Though it doesn't happen at buffets anymore since you can now make numerous trips to the buffet line, I do remember witnessing it before at a pizza place (the now defunct Shakey's, I think) where one is allowed only one serving of soup and salad at a set price with pizza (something like that).  It was pretty fun to see them walking slowly back to their seats while trying to balance their bowls...kekeke! :D 

#3 - Those who wipe out a particular tray of food without a care for those behind them


Just because the chef/server brings out a fresh plate of food, it doesn't justify you taking (almost) everything without a care for those in the queue behind you.  This usually happens to more premium food (like seafood) or those items that take a long time to cook and replenish (like satay and grilled items).  I've seen this happen quite often with satay...once the chef gets a handful of sticks ready, there'll be some inconsiderate people who would take them in all without even thinking about the few people who are waiting behind.

#4 - Those who don't bother to close the dome-shaped food covers


The food covers are there for a reason...to keep the food warm (and hygienic).   If there's someone standing next to you waiting to get the food, then yes, I can understand if you don't close the cloche.  Otherwise, please close the cloches, people! >:(

#5 - Those who don't use the tools that they're meant for


I once saw a diner using a traditional charcoal stove meant to toast bread to grill sausages...leaving remnants of the sausage stuck on the wire mesh! >_<  The buffet provides us with tools to pick up food from trays and sauces from bowls, so use the right tools please....and at no time should hands ever be involved.

#6 - Those who reuse their tableware


And then there are those who would reuse their glasses for refill of juices (sometimes even plates just for a few extra pieces of food).  Maybe you felt your glass wasn't that dirty, maybe the drink counter ran out of glasses (as they sometimes do), maybe you thought it wouldn't hurt to reuse...whatever your motivation is...please don't do it! >.<  We don't want to risk any contamination (in whatever form or shape) if your used tableware happen to come into contact with any food or drinks.

#7 - Those who would "chup chup" (reserve) the desserts first


And then there are those who would 'attack' the dessert counters first...and "chup chup" all the pretty desserts.  They'd probably claim they eat in reverse order (aka eat desserts first).  I may have been guilty of this one (once or twice) because circumstances made me do it.  Before the 'horde of bees' make a beeline and descend upon the 'sweets' and they're all gone, I too would take one...(maybe two) before all the pretty ones are gone...wakakakaka! ;P

#8 - If you have young kids, please get the food for them


I don't blame the kids for not using the right utensils and/or not following decorum.  I blame the parents for unleashing them and letting them run wild unsupervised at the buffet line.

#9 - If you have very young kids, please feed them


And if you have very young kids, please feed them instead of letting them eat by themselves and create a mess.  I've actually seen very young children being left to eat on their own and end up spilling food all over the table and floor (a little spillage is tolerable but not when you leave a big mess).  Mind you, some of these hotels use nice table linen and have carpeted floors...yikes! >.<

But I'm happy to say that the majority of buffet-eaters these days are a more civilised lot with the right dining etiquette (at least in classy environments) which is a far cry from the early days of buffet binging eating I've witnessed.


Anyway, why pile everything on one plate (and end up eating a pile of "rojak" with everything mixed together) when you can make numerous trips to the buffet line.  I, for one, don't like my food to touch and mingle with one another unless they're "related" in some way...wuahahahaha! ;D

So, have you ever come across such behaviour in any of your buffet dining experiences? ^_~

What Some People Do in Supermarkets.....

I wrote about what some people do at "chap fan" stalls a while back but I can't believe what I've seen some people do in supermarkets that I'm compelled to share what I've personally witnessed!

#1 - Those who eat for free (unethically)

Supermarkets sell a lot of foodstuff by weight (usually those fried food like potato wedges, fries, fried squid, sausages, etc.) where you can fill a plastic bag with the amount you want, have it weighed and a price tag attached to it.  And what I've seen people do at this food counter amazes me....I've seen some of them scoop the snacks into a plastic bag and went on their merry way....and eating them straightaway....without paying for it.


Worse still, there are those (usually children) who would just use their hands and pick up a piece or two to eat without paying (some would even walk away with a stick of food in hand).  Worse still, I've even seen parents taking them for their children! O_o


What pisses me off is that it's unhygienic (for us genuine buyers) as they use their hands, not the tongs provided...ish!

#2 - Those who take advantage of free food

I know the food and drink sampling stations are there for people to sample and try new food and drinks but some people just take full advantage of the free food.  I've seen families with children and each and every member will take a sampling before walking off to the next food sampling station.  I know they have every right to try and are not at liberty to buy the product after tasting but, seriously, do you need every member of the family to taste?  For me, personally, I'd refuse an offer to taste if the product is not something I have the intention of buying.

#3 - Those who are real cheapskates

Have you been to the area that sells garlic and find lots of skins of garlic all over the garlic tray?  It's a ghastly sight...I don't know why people would do that.....peeling the skins off the garlic!  It's not that the skins weigh a tonne that peeling them off would reduce the weight of the garlic they wish to buy drastically! @_@  Nowadays, some supermarkets have wised up and sell them already pre-packed.

#4 - Those who can't estimate the price of foodstuff sold by weight

They'd buy it, have it weighed and then realise it's too expensive....and decide that they don't want it (usually it's either fish or prawns).  It's fine if they discard it by leaving the weighed items back where they belong (as these are perishables) or by telling the supermarket staff they don't want it anymore, but no, they're too embarrassed to that.  Instead, they'll ditch them away from the fresh food section by stuffing them in the dry food aisles (I once found prawns stuffed between canned food).

#5 - Those who can't decide


And then there are those who can't decide what they want (this photo I snapped is a clear example).  They will take the produce and put it into their shopping cart and, when they decide they don't want it anymore, they won't be bothered to put it back where they took it from but just leave it anywhere that's convenient for them.

#6 - Those who cheat (on purpose)

I once saw a lady replace a tray of eggs she wanted to buy with some other eggs (of another brand!).  I didn't know what she was doing at first...I thought she were just replacing the same brand eggs with what she deemed to be bigger ones from another tray.  I actually felt embarrassed (spotting her do it) and moved away from her.  After she has left, I went to where she was and I found a tray of regular eggs amongst the branded eggs.  She switched the cheaper (regular) eggs with a more expensive brand (of healthier eggs).  When I relayed this story to my spouse, he said he has seen that a couple of times himself (and here I was thinking that I witnessed something unseen before)! o_O

#7 - Those who don't give a hoot about inconveniencing others 

I've also seen once a customer paying part of her grocery bill with lots of coins.  Just because you have coins you want to get rid of doesn't mean you can do it at the supermarket and inconvenient the cashier and other customers waiting in queue.  I think she paid more than RM10 in coins and the poor cashier had to slowly count them while the next person in line (me!) was fuming (and the gentleman behind me too) but we dare not tick her off as she'll probably argue that coins are legal tender and that she's entitled to pay with coins if she wants! >:(

Another common incident of when people inconvenience others at the payment counter is when they don't weigh the items that need to be weighed (out of ignorance?) and have a price tag put on it before proceeding to pay at the cashier counter.  And then the poor cashier has to run to where the produce is to get it weighed and priced.  Luckily, some cashiers are smarter and would not scan the unweighted item so as not to hold up the queue.

#8 - Those who (I don't even know what to call these)


They would open sealed items (usually those in paper and plastic packaging that can be torn easily) to see what the product looks like inside?  Or to take away some of the contents? @_@  I don't know.  I bumped into this when I was buying Cookie's food.  More often than not, I've seen packets of opened packets of foodstuff, especially biscuits and instant noodles, as well.

I'm simply amazed at what I witness in supermarkets sometimes.  What brings them to behave in such an inconsiderate manner or do some of these uncalled for things is certainly beyond my understanding.  Have you ever encountered any of these untoward and embarrassing incidents yourself? ^_~

What Some People Do at "Chap Fan" Stalls.....

Coming on the heels of a piece I wrote on sushi etiquette, I'm going to do another one, this time (one closer to home) on "chap fan" or mixed rice etiquette...if there's even such a thing! :D

Chap fan is probably one of the most frequently eaten food in our country.  It consists of rice on which we pile our choice of (usually) two to three types of dishes on the rice from a wide selection of various dishes such as meat, seafood, tofu, eggs and vegetables available.  

We'd eat it at least a couple of times a week, some even have it on a daily basis.  It's what some would consider as fast food Malaysian-style...it's cheap, it's fast and it serves the purpose of filling one up.

Over the years, I've eaten my fair share of chap fan and also noticed some undesirable action that some people do at chap fan stalls that prompted me to share some of what I've seen....just for a bit of not-too-serious fun! ;)

#1 - Do not hog the chap fan line

Some people take an eternity to decide what dishes they want.  They'll stand in front of the dishes, looking left and right, but not taking anything and not realising that there's a bunch of people waiting behind.  So, do not hog the chap fan line, make up your mind fast or let those behind you go at it first if you're undecided.

#2 - Do not take forever to choose the parts you want of a particular dish

Closely related to the first one, some people like to pick and choose particular cuts of meat.  For example, the other day I was standing behind this woman who decided on having nam yue fried pork belly...but wanted the lean parts only and picked them out one by one.  And there was your truly, standing beside her, waiting on her, for what seemed like an eternity.
Yes, I can understand that some of us want specific parts of chicken or pork (I do too) but do not dig and dig and dig (like you're digging for gold)...do it quickly if you must!  Just take a few scoops and if you find the parts you want, fine (you win some, you lose some).  I'm sure our parents would have taught us that it's impolite dining etiquette to turn a dish inside out just to find the specific parts we want. 

#3 - Try not to use another ladle that doesn't belong to the dish

Each dish in a chap fan stall usually comes with a ladle or large spoon for us to pick up the food.  Due to the crowd and impatience of some customers, some tend to use another ladle to pick up the same food that another customer is picking up because they don't want to wait.  I'm not saying you can't use another ladle (if you're pressed for time) but use your common sense to use the 'right' ladle.  I've seen people using the ladle used to scoop up curry to scoop vegetables or one that's used for a dish full of sauce to scoop up something dry...thereby 'staining' some of the other dishes.

#4 - Do not put back what you've already taken


I've actually seen this happened before where a customer will scoop what she has already taken from her chap fan box back into the tray after realising she has taken too much of that dish.  Yes, even though you've not eaten your box or plate of chap fan yet, we don't want your "has-beens" with (sometimes) grains of rice sticking to them! O_o

#5 - Try not to cross over someone else's hands when taking your food


There were also times when an impatient customer will reach for a dish over your hands (whilst you're still scooping that dish).  It's just unbecoming behaviour in my eyes.  Be patient and wait your turn.

#6 - Do not return to the chap fan stall to scoop more sauce


I've also seen customers, who had already dug into their plate of chap fan, returning to the stall to scoop more sauce.  Eww...we're not looking forward to the spoon touching your already eaten (aka 'contaminated') food (even if you're careful to not let it touch your food)! >.<
Even though some might ask the stall helpers to spoon more sauce for them, it's still not pleasant for other customers to see, so scoop enough sauce the first time, people!

#7 - Try not to scoop sauce from a particular dish until there's none left


I know there are some of us who can't eat rice without sauce (me included) but I've seen people scooping sauce (from a dish that he or she's not even having) until it's dry (like the Sahara desert).  I do that too sometimes (and by that I mean I do take sauce from a dish I'm not having) but I make sure I choose one where there's still a lot of sauce to go round.  Have a heart and think about those who'd want to appreciate the dish...with the sauce intact! ^_^ 

#8 - Do not push, nudge or elbow your way to the front


Probably the most annoying behaviour is of those who try to nudge and push their way to the front because of their impatience.  As much as I'd like to see people queue (in a single line) in these chap fan stalls (like I've seen in some stalls and ramadan bazaars), I know it's also physically impossible to do so because of the way some chap fan stalls are set up.  Whatever it is, wait your turn, people, and do not try to 'elbow' your way to the front! >_<

As much as I dislike what some people do at chap fan stalls, it's still one of the most common (and cheapest) meal options we have.
So, how many of you have experienced or seen one (or more) of these scenarios when having chap fan?  Or which ones are you most peeved about? ^_*

How to eat sushi.....the right way?

Who knew that eating could be so complicated!  I even once read a blog post on the right way of eating "siu long bao"! :P  

Anyway, I was intrigued on what I read on blogs, newspapers and the internet on how one should eat sushi.  So, I thought I'd share that with anyone out there who doesn't know that there's a right way of eating sushi (me included).  So, let's amuse ourselves with proper sushi etiquette and (maybe) learn a thing or two along the way.  What follows are excerpts taken from newspapers, blogs and the internet on the rules (or more like do's and don'ts) of sushi eating.

#1 - Avoid mixing wasabi with the soy sauce

The reason is because most sushi chefs would have already added a smidgen of wasabi between the fish and the rice or brushed the fish with soy sauce in your nigiri sushi.  Well, perhaps this is so at the higher end sushi restaurants but in others the wasabi is usually served separately on the plate or in containers in conveyor belt sushi.  That's when I see people mixing wasabi with their soy sauce like it was a ritual.  Since I don't like wasabi, I missed flouting never flouted this rule...kekeke! :D  

But I wasn't amused when I read an extract of Nobu Matsushisa's interview where he said, "In the beginning when I saw this, I was shocked.  But now I laugh." 

#2 - Avoid dipping your sushi rice into soy sauce

In Japanese culture, Japanese people never put soy sauce on their steamed rice.  Well, that's Japanese culture. In Malaysian culture, we get a plate of soy sauce (usually with chillies) with almost everything we eat...and we like to dip things in it (my husband even mixes the sambal belacan for his fried hokkien mee with soy sauce...that's how he likes it).  But I do agree that we run the risk of rice grains falling into the soy plate when we do this and frantically trying to pick up the fallen rice grains (not a very pretty sight, huh?).

The right way is to dip your nigiri fish-side down and not the other way round so that the soy sauce does not make contact with the rice.  But if we do it this way (in some places), the slice of fish might just fall off the rice if the sushi is not well made.  If the fish on the nigiri sushi has not been brushed with soy, then I'm certainly guilty of dunking the rice in a bit of soy so that it doesn't taste so bland.

And, if you have toppings like uni (sea urchin) or ikura (salmon roe) which are impossible to turn over without the toppings falling off, one way would be to use a slice of vinegared ginger to dip into the soy and use that to brush the sauce onto the fish or topping of the sushi.  For me, I normally dip my chopsticks into soy and then transfer it onto the fish or topping...hehe!

#3 - Eat sushi with your hands

Nigiri sushi is supposed to be eaten with your hands (or fingers, more precisely)...and not chopsticks (contrary to belief).  I've actually seen this in food shows early on too.  So, is eating banana leaf rice and Malay rice (in Malaysian culture) but that doesn't mean we (the locals) follow suit (though I do eat with my hands at home with packed Malay rice).  Eating sushi with our hands (much like eating banana leaf rice) allows one to enjoy it at its maximum but some of us don't like to dirty our hands when eating out in public, so we'd eat with utensils.  Same way, I eat my sushi (any sushi) with chopsticks too.

#4 - You're not supposed to share sushi

Sushi etiquette says we're not supposed to share...well, I'm sorry but that's just baloney to me...it's their culture, not ours.  For us, sharing is caring (like we'd usually do in any typical Chinese meal).  So, I say yes to sharing! :D

#5 - Eat sushi in one bite

We're supposed to eat sushi in one bite and I can certainly understand the logic in that.  It's so that everything (the flavours and textures) is balanced in one mouthful, I guess.  But, for ladies, that's not always possible....coz the size of the sushi may be too big to fit into the mouth to allow proper chewing.  So, I eat my sushi in two bites (for this very reason)...or I sometimes cut it into half with my chopsticks so that I can share my sushi! >.<

#6 - Fish should proceed the rice

When putting nigiri sushi into your mouth, you should avoid putting the whole piece into your mouth directly. The best way is to have the fish face your tongue so that the fish is the dominating flavour your mouth rather than the rice.  Hmm...that could be tricky to do.

#7 - Do not eat ginger in the same bite as a piece of sushi

Ginger is considered a palate cleanser to be eaten between bites or different types of sushi.  It's meant to refresh your mouth between bites and not to be eaten in the same bite as a piece of sushi.  This one most (if not all) of us would have gotten right...haha!

#8 - Put your cellphone down during your meal

This last rule does not pertain to the eating of sushi but more of a sushi etiquette.  And it's respect the sushi chef in front of you by putting your cellphone down.  But it's easier said than done in this digital age of wanting to snap all the beautifully prepared omakase for our blog, instagram, tweet or facebook purposes. This one most of us are guilty of! :P

Whichever way one wants to eat sushi is fine by me!  I abide by the principle of one should enjoy eating something the way one wants to enjoy.....not the way it should be enjoyed.

For those who want to eat sushi the proper way....you can...now that you know (if you didn't know already). But for those who want to continue eating their sushi the way they have been eating all this while (even if it's not the correct way), that's fine too.

Luckily (or maybe not T_T), I can't afford omakase menus at high end sushi bars where the best seat in the house is at the sushi counter itself, of course, where one can interact and watch the sushi chef in action. Otherwise, with my sushi eating habits, I'm sure I'd raise an eyebrow or two (of the sushi chef) or (heaven forbid) offend him in any way or have him stare at me uncomfortably! :D :D

Ok, these have nothing whatsoever to do with sushi eating...lol....they're just some cute sushi pictures I came across (while searching for photos for my blog post) which I couldn't resist!!! ;)

This post is not meant to teach you how to eat sushi as many of you are very well versed (more than me for sure) and in the know (maybe even know a few more that I don't).  I just found some of these sushi eating rules to be rather funny (some I wasn't even aware of myself) and thought I'd share it.  Anyway, there's really no wrong way to eat sushi in my books.  It's how you enjoy that counts....not how you should enjoy!

So.......how do you eat your sushi?  Pray tell ;)