chopsticks, fried rice, white people

[tyler_cracker]

i am a late-20s white guy who was born and raised in California (SD and bay area). one of my best friends, whom i have known since i was 12, is first-generation chinese (his parents are from Taiwan). i also have tastebuds. because of these things, i not infrequently get a craving for chinese food.

today was one of those days. days of turkey and potatoes, while delicious, left me with a craving for some fried rice. unfortunately, i live in Las Vegas and have yet to find a particularly good chinese restaraunt[**]. a series of misadventures (apparently it's ok to just close between 2pm and 5pm on a saturday when i'm hungry and out driving around) led me to Sam Woo BBQ in scenic Chinatown.

i was seated at a table. the place setting contained a plate, an upside-down tea cup, a napkin, and a pair of plastic chopsticks. a waiter appeared in the form of a brusque middle-aged chinese guy. he was kind of balding up front but his hair was kinda long -- not the best look. anyway, i told him i wanted chicken fried rice and a glass of water. he mumbled and disappeared.

he returned a few moments later with a glass of water and a fork, which he set down on my plate.

now i am quite competent with chopsticks. i don't have the fine motor control to qualify as an expert, nor can i catch flies from mid-air, but i'm still no slouch. i can cut tofu into quarters for the table, and i have twice eaten birthday cake with chopsticks when the hostess ran out of forks.

obviously, the waiter has no way to know this; he just sees a scruffy/dorky looking white dude, eating alone at Sam Woo BBQ in Las Vegas with a book. still, whenever this happens, i find it kinda funny, and appreciate that i am smart enough to know the difference between benevolent efficiency and racism.

so here are some talking points:

I. first of all, am i weird for eating fried rice with chopsticks? i feel like i've seen asian people eating fried rice with a fork, but maybe those were flilpinos (in which case all bets are off anyway).

II. are you adept with chopsticks but prefer a fork for handling fried rice? let's chat!

III. are you a white person who enjoys asian cuisine and is often offered an unrequested fork? how do you handle it? how does it make you feel? are you preparing a motion with the ACLU?

IV. have you ever heard of an asian person being offered chopsticks while eating a meal from a fork-based society? that would be weird.



[**] recommendations are heartily appreciated, btw.

here is one resource: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showfl...part=4&vc=1

here is something that is sort of a resource, but sometimes awesomely bad instead because vegas is populated by stupid, stupid people:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/bestoflv/

the people's choice for Best Chinese Food is (drum roll) P.F. Chang's.

the editor's choice, however, was Sam Woo BBQ, which turned out to be helpful.

[mbillie1]

I've never been offered/given chopsticks in any asian restaurants before, and I'm a 25 year old white guy. Do you wear a hockey helmet and/or bib?

[XXXNoahXXX]

when i order delivery chinese, i just use a fork because im shoveling it into my mouth.

when i go to a nice restaurant, i use chopsticks, because i'm not in a rush and its part of the experience for me.

[Tony_P]

I used to go to this place in NYC's chinatown that had mostly chinese people eating at it. When me and my ex-g/f would go in the waitress would come over and give us a dirty look and say "you want fork?" and when we said no, she would smile and be all nice to us.

This doesn't relate to your question, but I wanted to share since I'm bored

[stabn]

[ QUOTE ]
I used to go to this place in NYC's chinatown that had mostly chinese people eating at it. When me and my ex-g/f would go in the waitress would come over and give us a dirty look and say "you want fork?" and when we said no, she would smile and be all nice to us.

This doesn't relate to your question, but I wanted to share since I'm bored

[/ QUOTE ]

My gf is asian so they often bring us one fork and give it to me. I then hand it to her and eat with chopsticks while she uses a fork.

[NoahSD]

This has happened to me a bunch, and I don't really mind it.

I'm reasonably proficient with chopsticks, so I don't ask for a fork when I'm given chopsticks. But I def prefer a fork and I'm happy when I'm given them.

[JokersAttack]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I used to go to this place in NYC's chinatown that had mostly chinese people eating at it. When me and my ex-g/f would go in the waitress would come over and give us a dirty look and say "you want fork?" and when we said no, she would smile and be all nice to us.

This doesn't relate to your question, but I wanted to share since I'm bored

[/ QUOTE ]

My gf is asian so they often bring us one fork and give it to me. I then hand it to her and eat with chopsticks while she uses a fork.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is interesting.

Pics?

[kerowo]

How much do you tip for something like that?

[pookvis]

I'm not bad with chopsticks, was taught from an early age, and I can eat rice with them but sometimes for rice a fork is just easier I think. I wouldnt choose to eat any other chinese food with a fork but rice is 50/50 for me. I think the easy of using chopsticks also depends on the quality of the fried rice.

[ofdabeat]

Spoons are the nuts for fried rice : left hand fork right hand spoon.

Chopsticks are perfect for shichuanese delicacies though.