James Silverton wrote:

"Dan Logcher" wrote in message
...

You shouldn't just do anything "as long as you enjoy yourself".
Etiquette is dying because of this attitude, and it's a shame.
Rude and boorish behavior is becoming the norm.

In this particular example, I do not see anything wrong. But again,
I am not an expert in etiquette, Vietnamese or otherwise.


. We ate them

all using our fingers regardless. Was this correct? The restaurant was
full of Vietnamese who didn't appear to be surprised, but maybe they
were just polite or used to farangs' uncouth behaviour...

Victor



I'm no expert on Vietnamese food since the commonest thing I eat is Pho.
Everyone seems to use chopsticks for that but, of course, the soup is
finished off with a spoon. The best Vietnamese restaurant that I know is
French influenced and does provide chopsticks but I wonder if that is a
response to what people expect? Certainly, on a slightly different topic, I
have been told by Thais that the normal utensils in Thailand are a spoon and
a fork but many people ask for chopsticks in restaurants around here.


This is correct. From my experience, Thais do not use chopsticks, but
instead a fork and spoon.

If dining at a restaurant that serves more than just Thai, chance are
you will be given both fork and shopsticks with that spoon. For me,
when I Pho, I use chopsticks and spoon.

--
Dan