A troll is someone that answers in ways to incite anger from other posters or create conflict where is doesn't exist.

Tenchu creates conflict, but not because he's a troll, but because he is loopy.

i've never had a problem with you and i don't think you're too mean... in fact you might argue agresively but that doesn't make you mean... just like me, if you say something against what i truely believe in, i'll kick your ass verbally, but that doesn't make me mean!!!

;) ignore the people that think you're mean, those people always want someone to agree with them instead of argue, i can actually name a few people like that on this site that bug the hell out of me cos they say the stupidest shit just so they fit in with everyone else

Though i'm dutch personally chopsticks are just more fun to eat with.
And for the western eating method? well all you really need is an spoon.
Ahh the things you learn in the asylum (Army) really amazing :)

I have plenty of problems with some of Tenchu's opinions...but not in his ability to post.

You know I'll fight tooth-and-nail about my opinions, too.

I bet we both have the same short list of ...undesireables...

Yep, i know... thats probably one of the reasons i like to debate with you!! To be honest, the only 3 people i like to even debate with or consider their posts "seriously" enough for me to react are You, Tenchu and ivi0nk3y.
The simple reason for this is none of you seem to follow the crowd without thinking, though sometimes i will disagree with your reasonings, at least you didn't just accept what a newsreporter or teacher said to you!!!

only thing im having trouble with is trying to pick up the tofu they put in miso soup. i love me some miso soup but that tofu is just so slippery since its waterlogged. But miso soaked tofu is the best tasting tofu ever...except for jerked tofu and fried tofu...MMMmmmmm^^

i miss having miso and tofu with breakfast and dinner everyday...(T-T)

dont get me started on tuna and mayo onigiri...HEAVEN

I like you already. xD

Anyone on a forum who states their mind without letting other's bias get in the way has a good head on their shoulders. Too many people nowadays go with the flow, jump on the bandwagon, etc.

As for me, I state my mind, and if someone doesn't like what I say, I don't get mad at them, I respect them. That's not to say that I don't take up for myself as well though. ;)

Anyway, chopsticks are really fun and intriguing to eat with, in my opinion. Ever since I first started eating with them (for any type of food in America that is suited for chopsticks xD) I have been using them ever since. Especially with ramen. xD

Now, I do see how chopsticks could improve your concentration. To a certain extent, at least while you are learning how to use them, I'd say that it is possible. One reason being that you have to concentrate so that your fingers support the chopsticks, while also gripping onto the food. xD

In history, at least from what I have read, when the Europeans first explored Japan, they brought with them their knives. In early European times, they didn't use forks and spoons yet. So, to a Japanese person, the way a European person ate, looked rather untidy and disgusting to them. xD The Europeans only ate with a knife and their hands.

Chopsticks look much more graceful to me. I personally like eating with chopsticks over a knife, spoon, and fork, but that could also have to with my love of Japan. xD

Anyway, back on history...the Japanese didn't want to use a knife, because they thought that a sharp object should not be present at the dinner table. Or rather, an object that was like a sword, probably to them.

I admire how the Japanese have kept their heritage of eating with chopsticks.

Now, that is just a rough history about the chopstick. If anyone knows more about it, feel free to post more about it.

Also, sorry if I posted anything that someone else has stated already. I didn't look back at the other pages. xD

so much easier to find two sticks than a fork in the woods :p
it's probably a matter of history. Asian people were civilized compared to westarn people that mostly ate with their hands :D

Hey now, eating with hands is not uncivilized! In plenty of countries it's the traditional way of eating, and is supposed to make the food taste better :) Different methods of eating for different foods, makes sense.

Personally, picking up food with chopsticks is much easier than with a spoon, a fork or in some cases, its offspring........the spork.

because i just love the chopsticks like i love rice.

what about being healthier? with chopsticks you don't put so much on your mouth at once like if using fork and knife.. so you take longer to eat, you feel full quicker and you eat less than you'd probably eat in western style. but even if you eat just as much, you don't eat so much at a time, so it's better for you.

Because chopsicks are awsome DUH! ^^

I find chopsticks is a lot easier to use then a fork, its much easier~~

ciao

Forks, (eating) knives and spoons have not been around forever in europe!
The French have alot to answer for in using specialised eating tools for various dishes.

I would think that Japan with its limited earth resources like metals and minerals would focus the resources it had on farming impliments and weapons and not on eating tools that could be achieved using wood.

Chopsticks are just an exstension of forefinger and thumb and are a perfect way of getting food to your mouth without using your fingers which as many ancient civilisations have found spreads illness and disease.

It would also indicate that the user has adiquate co-ordination and is not a clumsy fool. this is of great importance when weighing up your fellow diners prospects.

I love using hashi~! I only recently figured out how to do it, too XP . Only problem is that they make my hand hurt sometimes, which probably means I'm doing something a little wrong :P .

I wouldn't say that using chopsticks is easier than using a fork or vice versa. They're both pretty easy, really. I'd say that forks (and knives) are more suited to European food, Hashi to Asian food, and both are pretty adaptable to other cuisine types--Mexican, for example, usually has its meat cut into bite size pieces like Japanese. Of course, Mexican and a lot of American are "finger" food, so :P .

Let me tell ya, though: Chopsticks and fettuccine alfredo don't work well together unless the sticks have barbs on the end O_O . On the other hand, eating Chow Mein or Soba with a fork is exceedingly dull.

Agreed, I can use chopsticks for anything except the huge chunks of meat people like to eat here, and I find them much easier to use than wester silver.

I think it's just a tradition, someone started it and then in some way people thinked it was practical. That's what I think.

They do use spoons for some foods.
Some places in eastern asia it's concidered uncivilised to eat with a fork because they think of it as if it was weapon.

Although i am used to eat with knife fork and spoon, I don't consider it difficult to use chopsticks. And i think the "chopstick food" taste better when eating with chopsticks. wood taste better than metal?

As long as you know how to place them in your hand it should be easy. I think using chopsticks is easy with a little practice.

It would be difficult to a person who never have eaten with fork or spoon to suddenly eat with that too.

And if it is more difficult to eat with chopsticks, eating with chopsticks would improve you consentration because doing something difficult force you to consentrate!
:ywave:

OMG! It feels weird to go from chopsticks to fork.......I've been eating with chopsticks for the past two months and I tried a fork......OMG I felt awkward eating with a fork.

Personally, I find eating several foods easier with chopsticks. For ramen and rice chopsticks a must, I would struggle to eat those things with a fork or spoon.

you have to use chop sticks because you look stupid eating sushi with a fork

A lot of food is easier to eat that way. Sushi with a fork? Naaaaahhh. Once you get used to it you may actually start to prefer them over other utensils. I do at least.

Um... for the same reason we use forks and spoons. That's the way they were raised, it's the way their parents ate and taught them to eat. I'm sure sometimes they wonder why we eat with forks and spoons :P

I like your point. It just goes to show that we all have a different view. Once I started learning the correct way to use chopsticks, I realized that they weren't that hard and actually really suited for rice and asian food.

For a lot of people and where they grow up, it's also by preference. Most Asians grow up on chop sticks. It's not like we don't use other utensils, it really also depends on the food. And since most Asian cultures use chop sticks as a main utensil, much food is also centered around its usability.

I get lazy sometimes but most of the time, I'll use chop sticks for almost everything I eat.

lol i grew up using spoons and forks and chopsticks. while my parent just use chopsticks. i only use chop sticks soo i can reach across the table to get whatever foods over there. I use the spoon to eat my rice... i know i'm too americanized -_- i always have a spoon,fork and chopstick. but when i eat out an certain places i use chopsticks

noodle.... my hero.. and scary person...* sneaks off be4 noodle glares at me with the look off "are u stupid"*

yeah, i grew up using chopsticks too! but i also don't hold them correctly. BUT HEY, THAT WORKS FINE WITH ME.

I do use other utensils but its mainly spoons and chopsticks.

I go back to Hong Kong or Malaysia and it's really embarassing because my younger cousins can hold chopsticks better than i do.

*hangs head in shame*

It may have been said already, and if I'm repeating, I do apologize. I recall hearing or either reading someplace that the reason things like chopsticks are used, is to help with one's coordination and concentration. I guess it's like hand-eye coordination. I don't know if there's any truth to this, though.

The use of forks has always been slow to spread!

• Evidence show they have been used in the mid-east since about 700 BCE.
• They gained some acceptance in the northern Mediterranean by 1st century C.E.
• However did not catch on in northern Europe till the early 1600's

There was a common belief that one should eat as God intended, with your fingers.

In contrast it took chopsticks less than 150 years to spread from the Uyghur people in western Mongolia to Japan during the Nara period (~ 750C.E.)

Good point, and thank you for the perspective.

I think that it's just a matter of what you grow up doing, if you grow up eating with chopsticks, chopsticks seem better. Where as if you grow up eating with a fork, you think that forks are better

wha he said...
 

Wow... i love what he said! and he has a good point too. :D

Well the Japanese originated from China. Back in the Shang Dynasty, Confiucious found it to be violent to eat with forks and knives, so, chopsticks were invented as a solution.

My apology for not coming forth sooner in praise of your poetry, MMM. I was not here. Some people see poetry in the world around them more than others. Personally I enjoyed the post.

My preference for eating utensils are in this order:
fingers
chopsticks
spoons
forks
knives

Knives and spoons are more for cooking than eating when I am not where my table manners are being judged.

I was rasied by a proper British nanny and then spent the rest of my life with my father chastising my european style of use of KFS instead of the American customs.

Sometime in my early teens I learned to use chopsticks (took about 10 minutes I think), and they have been my preference ever since though they were not always acceptable around my parents and work colleagues.

The only time I found them unmanageable was when I had surgery on my wrist. It did result in food flying across the table, but I couldn't sign my name at the time either because my thumb was non-functional.

I once got into a distasteful conflict with a waiter in one of Dallas's largest Japanese restaurants because he thought I should drink my soup from the bowl (usually my preference) but I requested a spoon. The altercation ensued because as a waiter he should never have denied me such a request.

More recently I found myself slightly insulted at a local Chinese restaurant however. It seems they give chopsticks to you if you look Asian, but not if they think you are white or Mexican. I felt like they were deciding that because I am white I don't know how to use them, but after reading this thread maybe I had it backward. Anyway problem solved - I carry my own in my purse!

Actually I have four sets of table ware (2 silver, 2 brass) and I have a collection of chopsticks that is always growing. Somewhere over 20 pair not counting the disposable ones that collect around the house from the local Chinese delivery.

MMM, my good chopsticks are works of art, used to appreciate artistic cuisine. ;)

actually x.x'''
a LOT of people hold chopsticks incorrectly x.x''
if i'm correct, the correct method is to place your median finger inbetween the chopsticks...but most people like to place it on the side...next to the index >.>"
but then again...holding chopsticks is like holding a pencil x3
whichever way works~~
as long as you get the food in (and neatly) who cares?! =DD

oh and traditionally, chopsticks were actually reserved for royalty >.>'''
peasants, until...like 1500 or so (random guess), used only their fingers too eat. >.>'''
soo i guess it's relatively recent that chopsticks were commonly used by people of all classes x.x

andd like some guy said easier...most eastern foods are cut into bite sized pieces, so that there really isn't any need for a knife >.>"""
also...forks...are just bloody horrid =OOO
i mean.. seriously..stabbing the mess outta the food and then slowly eating it off a 3-4 pronged utensil??
that's just beastly x3
not much compared to the elegance and grace of gently picking up a piece of food w/o ever damaging it's meat >.>'''...atleast until you take a bite outta it :3


oh and just a note~
nigiri-zushi is traditionally eaten w/ teh fingers >.>"'
buut...i guess most people likie to use hashi now...

haha~ i was jk about that :3
but apparently not everyone shares the same humour w/ this one about the "barbarians from the west" x33
but the common chopstick/hashi is comparitve to teh common house hold fork in that case x.x''
because hashi can be quite ornated and made of precious metals as well >.>"
anything from steel to gold and silver.

and the cylindrical shape of teh hashi doesn't really mean they can't be as exquisitely decorated or sometimes even more so than western culterly sets >.>'
loool~