Viewing videos requires the latest version of Adobe's Flash Player.
Get the latest Flash player.
Get the latest Flash player.
Summary: In China, who grabs the first dish is very important. Learn about serving etiquette from an international business consultant in this free etiquette video.
Views: 634 | Tags: chinese, rules, dinner, etiquette, manners, dining, meals, china, eating
About the Expert
Mark Kemsley Mark Kemsley graduated in finance and business from BYU. He speaks fluent Mandarin and Cantonese. Mark has lived in China for the past 20 years and worked a b... read more
Comments
Questions & AnswersHi, my name's Mark Kemsley. We're talking about the etiquette of eating in China. If you're at a meal with Chinese people, who takes the dish first is actually quite important. We've already mentioned that you don't want to take the last piece, but you probably don't want to take the first piece either. When a new dish is brought out, and in China it's different from America, in American all of the dishes are brought out together. In China, they're brought out one dish at a time and they're eaten hot. Now, when a new dish is brought out, it would be a little bit rude for you to just go in and take the first piece. Sit for a while, continue the conversation, and wait until somebody more "important" or ranking higher than you, takes a piece first. Or you can even offer for that person to take a piece. And if that person offers for you to take a piece first as well, it's okay. You can go ahead and accept this generous offer and be the first person to have a piece of this new dish that has come out. In a family setting, this is much less formal. When, normally, the mother is making the dishes one at a time, and will bring them out to the table, and it's okay to go ahead and dig in. But often a younger person would give way or yield to an older person to take that first piece of food. Just like we were saying in a business setting that the person of a higher rank might be yielded to take that first piece of food. Generally speaking, it's just good not to look anxious. If you want to be polite in the Chinese society, it's good, as we've said, not to take the first piece of food, not to take the last piece of food, don't look like you're hungry, don't look anxious. Even though Chinese people enjoy a meal very, very much, it means more to them usually than it does to people in the Western world, but just don't look anxious. Just make it a natural part of the conversation to reach in eventually and take a piece of the food. And you should try a little bit of everything and not stock up too much on something that you like a lot.
Email this video to a friend
Ask A Question
