Many of us who love Asian food have probably had the experience of using chopsticks around Asian natives and slowly realising that we use them like big ham handed fools. The Guardian has an interesting post about it in the Word of Mouth blog, pointing out that the people who cringe when others ask for forks in Chinese restaurants are the very same ones who probably eat their sushi and Thai food all wrong. Sushi is supposed to be a finger food, and in Thailand food is usually eaten with a spoon and fork. But does any of this really matter, as long as you are appreciating your food (and not making a hog of yourself, obviously)?
We may think we’re nifty with your chopsticks, but when you go to an Asian country and see how delicately and deftly people handle them, you can feel a bit clunky. I remember reading somewhere that the reason all the best table tennis players come from Asia is because of chopsticks, and the dexterity that they build up in the human hand. Is this true, or did I dream it?