Can you play Chopsticks with a knife and fork?

That's what 24 hours of rain does to 24 inches of snow. Compare and contrast. Nature is goofy. She's ruined the last 2 weekends - one with snow and one with rain. That leaves locusts and famine. Wake me when it's over.

I had an nice dinner at the local Chinese buffet on Christmas. A woman at the next table asked for chopsticks. I'm fascinated by the people who ask for chopsticks. The restaurant has plenty of forks and knives (and they're courteous enough to place them on your table) but they insist on wooden sticks. I think they're showing off for their friends, since I can't think of a practical answer as to why an American would choose to eat with two sticks instead of a utensil with stabbing capabilities and another that cuts.
I'm also a little puzzled by the food. They offer pizza and French fries as part of the buffet. Who goes to a Chinese restaurant and eats pizza? Maybe Chinese people? Besides, the pizza isn't very good. It's probably as good as Chinese food would be at Pizza Hut.
I'd guess that, if I went to China I wouldn't be served the same stuff that the Chinese restaurants serve here. I think it's gooped-up with sweet sauces and spices to make it palatable for us Americans.
I wonder too, why the shape of the chicken dishes always looks different. The chicken for the sweet and sour chicken is long and narrow, while the General's chicken is kind of round and lumpy and the chicken and broccoli chicken is flat. Is it all chicken?
The place I went to was charging dinner prices all day, and made the announcement as I walked in. They also wished me a "Merry Christmas," which I found odd. Charging dinner prices all day struck me as taking advantage of the limited choices available, as though I had options. What was I going to do, walk out? I got even by over-eating. That'll teach them! What should I have said? "I refuse to pay $12 for a meal that should cost $9." They know it's not going to happen, since my other Christmas dining choices included Dunkin' Donuts and Wawa.
Neither of those places has very good Wonton soup.

Comments

junior alien said…
Here too the snow has melted. Only it went a little faster than at your place. It's the Rhineland. Snow never stays longer than two days.

Asking for chopsticks in a restaurant when there is western cutlery available might signify two things: showing off or trying to get closer to the "real Chinese feeling".

Besides, JAPANESE people even eat their soup with chopsticks. And it does make sense when you eat it like the Japanese. That soup contains kind of a bunch of noodles and you grasp them with the chopsticks, go down with your face really close to the bowl and slurp the noodles in. When the noodles are finished, you drink the rest of the soup from the bowl.

Easy, isn't it?
December 27, 2009 at 6:21 AM
Firestarter5 said…
Wow....you have an astroturf lawn!
December 30, 2009 at 1:15 PM
Anthony said…
Looks like it, but it has more to do with it being 11:30 at night when I took the photo.
December 30, 2009 at 2:55 PM
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