Eating and Etiquette

I always wanted to learn table etiquettes when I was in my college. I like eating the right way in restaurants, and parties. In college I never got the chance to learn them because we never went to a restaurant or a party. One time my mom had bank training in Hyderabad and she went for 2 days. So it was me and my father left. My father thinks he cooks well but he does not. So he took me to 3 star hotel Bliss for dinner. Since it was a 3 star hotel there was nobody in the restaurant, seriously it was only me and my father.

I really like foods like fried rice, Biryani, Nan, Curry, etc because my mom cooks typical south Indian dishes like Pappu, charu, Koora, Pulusu. So definitely I want to make use of the opportunity to feed my cravings for such foods.

So we went there and sat in a corner, the lights were kept dim just to maintain the ambience. Then there came two server boys and served free fruit juice as a starter. I ordered egg fried rice that was my first time ordering egg dish outside. Hrrmm hrrrmmm … there came my dish in a Ragi(I forgot what we call this in English) bowl. It looked so cute. Tada taddaarmmmm…… I wanted to test my skills using both spoon and a fork. Believe me I do not know how to eat with a fork and a spoon. I know how to eat with two spoons as we use bigger spoon in left hand for support and smaller in right hand one for eating. But with a fork and a spoon I do not know which one hold and which one to use for eating. So I took spoon in the left hand and fork in the right hand and started eating. But after few scoops I thought whom am I fooling here, I came here to eat not for testing my skills. So dropped the spoon and ate with fork.

After coming to USA going out with friends and family quite often, I feel very comfortable in eating with 2 spoons or, a fork and a spoon, knife and fork. But after sitting in a restaurant we will see so many utensils placed left and right to the plate. I never knew which one to pick up first and I always will be in dilemma to use which one for what. So one day I came home and looked at the etiquettes for table and noted down some simple points and tricks to remember.

I hope this will help understand, because, I feel eating it the right way in outside places builds so much confidence in you and you will really feel satisfied with your food. And who would not want to eat the correct way if one knows how to eat right.

If we are with our friends then who cares, it is the time to be fun and I myself do not care how I eat. But in professional world, so many meetings will take place during lunch or dinner. Or just a casual Formal meeting place in restaurant. The first impressions are always the best. Who know this might come in handy when you are with your special one  ;).

I will come up rules of etiquette in my next post. Tell then oxox.

Lakki