Since I'm from
Sweden in Europe, I've seen some cultural differences here in Singapore,
especially when it comes to food.
How to act and
behave when you eat is very different. For example in Sweden we always eat with
knife and fork but here in Singapore the restaurants only offer spoon and fork,
and of course chop sticks. In some countries here in Southeast Asia they eat
with their hands, which we only do with pizza and burgers in Sweden. For
example I was in Philippines and they gave me a plastic glove to eat with. At
first I thought they gave it to me since I'm not local, but then I saw that
everyone used it. It was actually quite convenient for some types of food.
Another situation
that seems to occur quite often here in Singapore is that people want to share
the food. I have eaten several times with Asian people, and they often offer me
to taste their food. In Sweden we buy our own food and most of the times we eat
our own food without offering it to the friends. I think we do like that
because we are a bit selfish and we want to keep the best things by our self.
I suppose that
this is cultural a difference. Many dishes here are meant to be shared - for
example you and some friends buy 5-10 small dishes and eats from all of them. I
think this kind of "sharing" is then transmitted to all types of
meal.
Maybe we should
share more of our food to each other in Sweden?
