International Dinner

International Dinner

China

Chinese people love to eat and China boasts one of the world's greatest cuisines. During the long development of Chinese eating culture, many practices have evolved that foreign visitors may find quite different from what they are used to and even consider weird. Being surrounded by much loud talking and laughing is a typical ambience at a Chinese restaurant (Martins, 2009) . Chinese people like a noisy and upbeat atmosphere when having a gathering and meals are no exception. People regard it as a rule of thumb that if the dishes of a restaurant are good and tasty then the restaurant will be noisy and busy. The crowds at a restaurant indicate the deliciousness of the dishes. If you want a quiet place to enjoy your meal, some restaurants provide private rooms with one or more tables. The seating arrangement is probably the most important part of Chinese dining etiquette. Dining etiquette in ancient times was enacted according to a four-tier social strata: 1. the imperial court, 2. local authorities, 3. trade associations and 4. farmers and workers. The respect structure in modern dining etiquette has been simplified to:

1. master of the banquet and

2. Guests.

As a guest at a meal, one should be particular about one's appearance and determine whether to bring small gifts or good wine, according the degree of relationship with the master of the banquet. It is important to attend and be punctual. On arrival one should first introduce oneself, or let the master of the banquet do the introduction if unknown to others, and then take a seat in accordance with the master of the banquet's arrangement. The seating arrangement is probably the most important part of Chinese dining etiquette. If the guest of honor is not seated, other people are not ...