Slurping noodles is rude?, I do it a lot Options

[paperchase]

When you go to a restaurant and you see someone slurping their noodles, do you think that's rude?

I'm curious because I realized I do it too and a lot of Vietnamese do when eating pho. But when a foreigner comes in, they don't look like they are slurping and they look like they are resisting the temptation to slurp.

American society thinks it's unpolite to slurp. Do other Asians think that way? Do you want to but you can't because you fear someone will stare/give you looks?

How do you enjoy noodles without slurping them? It doesn't taste the same if you bite every noodle or try to wrap it around your spoon.

[Oyabun]

When you go to a restaurant and you see someone slurping their noodles, do you think that's rude?

I'm curious because I realized I do it too and a lot of Vietnamese do when eating pho. But when a foreigner comes in, they don't look like they are slurping and they look like they are resisting the temptation to slurp.

American society thinks it's unpolite to slurp. Do other Asians think that way? Do you want to but you can't because you fear someone will stare/give you looks?

How do you enjoy noodles without slurping them? It doesn't taste the same if you bite every noodle or try to wrap it around your spoon.

I'm Japanese, it's not rude or disgusting, it's polite and if the whites don't like it, then fu-k it who cares what they think, it also cools them down.

[bannanay]

I don't really go out to eat but at home I slurp all I want. XD
really doesn't matter to me.

[ttocs]

American society thinks it's unpolite to slurp.

f.u.c.k'em.

[Esfandiari]

I was in Tokyo. My professor slurped, frantically pushing hot steaming noodles in his slurping mouth. I told him that would be considered rude in Malaysia by Malays and Indians. He seemed upset by my honest observation though I didn't mean to upset him. Point is: not just Americans think slurping impolite, some Asians too, particularly SE Asians. But then again, to each is his/her culture.

[KraterosHellas]

east asians don't consider it rude. they slurp all the time. especially ramen: the noodles are curly so it makes it very slurpy. impossible to eat ramn without slurping myself!!!

[yiming2000]

I was in Tokyo. My professor slurped, frantically pushing hot steaming noodles in his slurping mouth. I told him that would be considered rude in Malaysia by Malays and Indians. He seemed upset by my honest observation though I didn't mean to upset him. Point is: not just Americans think slurping impolite, some Asians too, particularly SE Asians. But then again, to each is his/her culture.

You've got to be kidding me. Malaysians slurp all the time and they spit out chicken bones, fish bones on the table.
And I don't think they are being rude. It's the way they are. Once I saw this Malay guy in a Kuala Kubu Bharu coffee shop pouring his coffee from cup to saucer and slurped his coffee from the saucer. It was real odd. But I guess it was to cool the coffee down to slurpable temperature. Makes sense.

[chiuchimu]

It depends on the country. I don't even think its a noddle thing but a table etiquette thing. Japanese, Chinese and Koreans love to eat together and talk. Most gatherings center around dining so a noisier more casual atmosphere is created. Slurping noddles and all kinds of other noises and stuff are allowed. Italians are very similar in this regards. Hence, they make a lot of noise like slurping noddles etc.. In contrast, proper English table manners means no unnecessary talking while eating as well as no noise. Not only do they rap spaghetti onto a fork as to avoid slurping or having spaghetti dangling from ones mouth, They avoid slurping from a spoon too.

This post has been edited by chiuchimu: Jul 12 2010, 12:19 PM

[yiming2000]

In contrast, proper English table manners means no unnecessary talking while eating as well as no noise. Not only do they rap spaghetti onto a fork as to avoid slurping or having spaghetti dangling from ones mouth, They avoid slurping from a spoon too.

How do you eat your noodles? English style or Asian style?

Asians slurp mainly because their noodles come in steamy hot soupy broth.
Italian pasta are mainly dressed in a sauce or vinagrette that don't even drip.
Each culture has its own eating style.
I slurp Asian noodles and eat Italian style pasta the uptight English way.

[chiuchimu]

How do you eat your noodles? English style or Asian style?

Asians slurp mainly because their noodles come in steamy hot soupy broth.
Italian pasta are mainly dressed in a sauce or vinagrette that don't even drip.
Each culture has its own eating style.
I slurp Asian noodles and eat Italian style pasta the uptight English way.

I eat spaghetti like the Italians, fork a big amount into my mouth and then slurp up what's dangling.

[KraterosHellas]

yea, italians are pretty similar to asians in lot of ways: they're loud and family oriented...and mothers loves to dote on their kids.

[Esfandiari]

You've got to be kidding me. Malaysians slurp all the time and they spit out chicken bones, fish bones on the table.
And I don't think they are being rude. It's the way they are. Once I saw this Malay guy in a Kuala Kubu Bharu coffee shop pouring his coffee from cup to saucer and slurped his coffee from the saucer. It was real odd. But I guess it was to cool the coffee down to slurpable temperature. Makes sense.

Malaysians slurp all the time? Perhaps, if they are Chinese, part of the East Asian culture. Malays slurp? I don't think so, at least not as cultural norm. Just one slurping Malay in Kuala Kubu Bharu doesn't represent all Malays. But then again, I have nothing against the culture of slurping. If it is part of Malay culture, then be it. You have to understand what slurping means. I understand slurping means to eat food or drink with a noisy sucking sound. What the guy did in Kuala Kubu Bharu is called "hirup" in Malay, normally done only with a hot drink to cool it off, during which the hot drink is poured onto a saucer, blown off occasionally with the mouth to cool it off, and then sipping the drink off the edge of the saucer. Normally kids would do this, and normally mothers would scorn the habit. I have yet to see a Malay slurping a bowl of noodles or porridge. I actually tried to that in Japan at the urging of my professor but wasn't good at it...

[yiming2000]

Malaysians slurp all the time? Perhaps, if they are Chinese, part of the East Asian culture. Malays slurp? I don't think so, at least not as cultural norm. Just one slurping Malay in Kuala Kubu Bharu doesn't represent all Malays. But then again, I have nothing against the culture of slurping. If it is part of Malay culture, then be it. You have to understand what slurping means. I understand slurping means to eat food or drink with a noisy sucking sound. What the guy did in Kuala Kubu Bharu is called "hirup" in Malay, normally done only with a hot drink to cool it off, during which the hot drink is poured onto a saucer, blown off occasionally with the mouth to cool it off, and then sipping the drink off the edge of the saucer. Normally kids would do this, and normally mothers would scorn the habit. I have yet to see a Malay slurping a bowl of noodles or porridge. I actually tried to that in Japan at the urging of my professor but wasn't good at it...

The reason why you are poor at slurping is because you mainly eat with your hand. You pick at your food with your fingers, gather it with your fingers and shove the food into your mouth. Malays love nothing better than eating with their hand. Fingers give them a better feel of their food. They must have adopted this eating style from the Indians. It is interesting watching the Malay and the Indian eat with their hands. If you watch closely, you can notice that the Malay uses his hand differently. I get a great kick watching them eating infront of me at the same table at a busy lunch place as I slurp my beer.

[Esfandiari]

The reason why you are poor at slurping is because you mainly eat with your hand. You pick at your food with your fingers, gather it with your fingers and shove the food into your mouth. Malays love nothing better than eating with their hand. Fingers give them a better feel of their food. They must have adopted this eating style from the Indians. It is interesting watching the Malay and the Indian eat with their hands. If you watch closely, you can notice that the Malay uses his hand differently. I get a great kick watching them eating infront of me at the same table at a busy lunch place as I slurp my beer.

True what you say! Malays are so used to eating with their hands that they are completely lousy with slurping! Malays are so comfortable eating with their hands that they even reject spoons and forks at formal banquets or dinners. I myself frequently dump spoons and forks in favor of my God-given hands! True, eating with hands is something Malays initially inherited from the Indians, and the Arabs who are co-Muslims with the Malays also use their hands, so that further enforces the culture of eating with hands among the Malays, especially with some hadiths (Prophet Muhammad's saying) glorifying the virtues of eating with hands..

Slurping, on the other hand, is virtually culturally forbidden in a Malay family. Forbidden in the sense that it is frowned upon as very impolite way of eating. The term Malays would use for eating habit associated with slurping is "pelahap", meaning to eat food in a very hurried way, literally gobbling and stuffing yourself! I actually was amazed to see my Japanese professors and fellow student friends from Japan so deftly and clever in using chopsticks while slurping, it's practically an art for both chopsticking and slurping. It was in Japan I picked up the chopstick culture and I still use them to this day, I have plenty of chopsticks in my house which I use whenever I have the mood for them! But I still can't slurp! Funny, my brother-in-law, a Chinese, had been using chopsticks all this time although he is married to my Malay sister, I could have learnt from him..but no, I had to be in Japan to get motivated!!



This post has been edited by Esfandiari: Jul 17 2010, 06:32 AM

[yiming2000]

True, eating with hands is something Malays initially inherited from the Indians, and the Arabs who are co-Muslims with the Malays also use their hands, so that further enforces the culture of eating with hands among the Malays, especially with some hadiths (Prophet Muhammad's saying) glorifying the virtues of eating with hands..

What did the prophet say with regard to eating with hands?

The way we eat is drummed in and we rarely find it a matter for comment; we take it for granted. It is outsiders usually who find the idiosyncrasies of a society's manners at meals hilarious or rude. Mealtime etiquette expresses culture. People normally eat in the company of others. In olden times, people have been killed by eating together; they were often armed with knives. This is why the Asians (Chinese, Japanese, Koreans) use harmless chopsticks because the food is already cut up in the kitchen. Western society still have knives and forks but the knives are rounded and the rule is not to point the knife and eat with the fork. Why do you think some cultures still use the hand for eating?

[Esfandiari]

What did the prophet say with regard to eating with hands?

yiming, here's an excerpt about the 'sunnats' (highly recommended deeds) of eating according to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), taken from this source, titled 'Manners of eating and Drinking'. Red highlights are mine:

http://www.inter-islam.org/Actions/manners.htm

The Sunnats Of Eating

1. To wash both hands up to the wrists
2. To spread out the dastarkhan (table cloth)
3. To recite Bismillah
4. To eat with the right hand (unless you are incapable of)
5. To eat from that which is in front of you.
If there is a variety of food in the dastarkhan then one could eat whatever one likes. One should
stretch out his hand (in order to get the food) after the other person has drawn his hand back.
6. To eat with 3 three fingers. This helps to digest the food (scientifically proven) as a result by
eating bit by bit. It is the most efficient method of eating. Eating with five fingers and the palm of
the hand is very un-hygienic and this implies the filling of the stomach by food and the digestive
organs could be blocked, which leads to the human being's death.
7. To clean the plate, bowl, etc. and to lick the fingers.
8. To pick up and eat a fallen morsel, and not to leave the same for satan. In this way a person will
find his sustenance in abundance. According to one hadith, the fallen morsel, if taken, become
maihir (dower) for hoouries of the heaven and Allah, the Almighty would keep him and his
off springs safe from leprosy, leucoderma and lunacy.
9. Not to find fault in food.
10. Not to blow in food as a result of carbon dioxide been released.
11. Not to lean while eating.
12. To read the du'aa after the meals.
13. To get up after lifting the dastarkhan and to read the du'aa whilst lifting the dastarkhan.
14. To gargle the mouth.
15. To wash the hands after eating.
16. To recite a special du'aa after having iftar (breaking fast) or after having eaten at another
person's house.

[yiming2000]

yiming, here's an excerpt about the 'sunnats' (highly recommended deeds) of eating according to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), taken from this source, titled 'Manners of eating and Drinking'. Red highlights are mine:

The Malay eats with three fingers. The Indian eats with five fingers and the palm of the hand.
Perhaps, the Indian I saw eating was a Hindu and not a Muslim?

You sound like an extremely pious person and every act of eating has religious implications.

[Esfandiari]

No, I'm not really pious. Except for the fact that I do use my right hand to eat and starting my meal with 'Bismillah', I actually don't keep up with that list of "sunnats". I definitely use 5 fingers, not 3 fingers, but using only the tips of the fingers as most Malays do. I'm pretty sure most Malays and Muslims also use 5 fingers. And when I eat, I really eat until I am full which the Prophet does not advise doing. Prophet Muhammad advises Muslims to eat in a way that stops short of feeling full. But lucky for me, I am the slim type, I can eat as much as I want and I still don't put on that much weight. And I don't have a tummy, so my stomach is flat despite uncontrolled eating!!

This post has been edited by Esfandiari: Jul 18 2010, 12:06 PM

[yiming2000]

And when I eat, I really eat until I am full which the Prophet does not advise doing. Prophet Muhammad advises Muslims to eat in a way that stops short of feeling full. But lucky for me, I am the slim type, I can eat as much as I want and I still don't put on that much weight. And I don't have a tummy, so my stomach is flat despite uncontrolled eating!!

Don't you think you should do what the Prophet say? The fact that your stomach is flat despite uncontrolled eating does not give you the right to disobey the sunnat. I am very alert and never even get tipsy let alone drunk when drinking alcohol. If I were a Muslim too, I would be inclined to think it is haram to disobey the Prophet because we would be setting bad examples to others who could grow fat from over-eating and lose their senses from imbibing. We must respect the ummah, mustn't we?

[Sephy]

White people don't care if Asian people like slurping.