SuzySushi

Like others here, I remember the disposable chopsticks debate also came up in the 1980s, when some Japanese diners took to carrying their own pair of chopsticks to restaurants. Nonetheless, I'm struck by comparisons to the disposable diaper debate. I remember reading, long ago, an analysis of the environmental impact of disposable diapers vs. cloth diapers (via diaper services or washed at home). The analysis found that while there was more environmental impact from disposable diapers on the use of trees and also on landfills, equally important environmental impact came from washing diapers (copious use of water, fuel to heat the water, detergents and chlorine bleach in the water -- particularly when diaper services are used). The same type of "different" enviornmental impact is likely to come if people switch en masse from disposable wooden chopsticks to disposable bamboo chopsticks, or to plastic chopsticks that are manufactured from petrochemicals then washed again and again in hot water and detergents. What's the solution? Eating with one's fingers, perhaps, and licking them clean?

Haven't read through this whole thread, but in case it hasn't been mentioned yet, I love Costco's rotisserie chicken! Bought one yesteray for $5.20 including tax. I can't buy a fresh chicken for less than that price, and this chicken was BIG, besides being tasty (it's the celery seed in the flavoring). We've gotten 2 meals (for 3 people) out of it, and there's still a bit of breast meat left over. :-)

Have they made a seasonal correlation with obesity? Presumably in Britain, as in parts of the USA where the weather isn't warm all year round, the ice cream trucks are not on the streets in the wintertime. Does the rate of obesity go down then? If not, then it ain't the ice cream that's the problem!

Yeah, right. Even in Hawaii, where we grow fruits and vegetables locally, have a local dairy farm, and can get fish from the sea, there isn't nearly enough locally produced food available to feed the population even for a short while. This came up in discussion this week when the Health Department put out the call for a working group to develop a pandemic flu preparedness plan that will take into account not only medical problems, but impact on other industries and facets of life such as tourism, banking, education, and -- yes -- the supply of food and other staples. "Think about SARS, or post-9/11, when transportation was basically shut down," said Sarah Y. Park, deputy chief of the state Health Department's disease outbreak control division. "We're five hours out from the closest land mass, and that's by plane. Only about 5 percent of our industry is agricultural." (as quoted in the Honolulu Advertiser, May 11, 2006).

Ohhhhh..... does this look good! Never used starfruit in a beef salad; gotta try it!

This thread begs the story of the BEST Chinese shared meal I ever had. Going back 15+ years, to a (shall be nameless because I forgot the name) hole-in-the-wall Sichuan-style Chinese restaurant in NYC, on 2nd Avenue near the U.N. The diners: a group of about 15 women related by our interest in Japan. One of the women had also spent several years working in mainland China and spoke fluent Chinese. She took it upon herself (or maybe the people seated closest to her appointed her) to do the ordering for the entire group. And the food and the conversation flowed. I don't know exactly what came out of the kitchen, an endless procession of dishes that got passed around the table. The chefs were entranced to have an appreciative audience. I've never been able to replicate the meal since.

I had to wait to reply until I could talk to a higher-up in the school. She (the Head of Discipline) pretty much said what you said. A lot of people, especially younger people, will eat and walk but older people still find it rude. Should anyone deem a particular action rude, then our students (or teachers) shouldn't do it, at least not while they are still under the care of the school. Note: In Japan, students are considered to be under the care of the school from the time they leave their houses until the moment they step in their homes. Even if they go shopping after school (which they aren't supposed to do), or go to juku immediately after school, they are still under the school's care.

As a Filipina, I can vouch for the fact that I've never, ever seen this done among Filipinos either here in North America or in the Philippines. Bizarre, all right. ← I know, I know. Last weekend, in fact, we "crashed" a Filipino party at our condo's pool complex. I'd brought my daughter and a friend of hers there to swim, and a huge potluck party was going on. The hostess, whom I'd never met before, insisted that we join them, pressing food on us and fixing plates! (First time in my 15 years in Hawaii that I've seen a whole roast pig - lechon.) We even took food home across the lawn! That sounds more typical to me of Filipino hospitality and attitudes toward sharing food. When these friends come to our house, it's always potluck, so I don't get it.

Since having a child, our socializing, our priorities, and even our friends have changed. We spend more time with people who also have kids (or accept kids in social settings); less time with people who don't. The last "formal" dinner party I went to was probably before I got married (15+ years ago!). I was never that big on formal parties anyway. I feel the same about dinner parties as I do about restaurants. If our daughter isn't welcome, we'd rather not go. She's part of our family. That being said, it is rather nice that she's gotten to the age (9) where she can go off to another room with the other kids after dinner and play without parental intervention, so we have the opportunity to socialize with the adults.

This happened to us once, when we dined out with some good friends. Husband is American, wife is Filipina. She had several friends visiting from the Philippines. The kids (our friends' and ours) were also there. We ordered with the thought of sharing dishes. They each ordered a "plate" with fried rice and an eggroll. Strange. It never occurred to me not to share food in a Chinese restaurant. That was my first restaurant experience as a child. I recall the waiters placing platters in the center of the table then portioning out the first helping to diners. They never asked whether any of us wanted each item; they just assumed everybody was going to eat the same thing.

Coconut milk for cooking (canned, usually Chaokoh brand). Coconut water for drinking as a refreshing beverage (fresh, or canned "young coconut juice"). One of my Vietnamese cookbooks has several recipes that call for "young coconut juice," but I haven't tried them.

My mother always used to break spaghetti in half so it would fit into a saucepan!

Oh, yeah, and favorite with my one-cup: put the filter in the holder, put the coffee in the filter, pour water into the reservoir, flip the "on" switch, and walk away to do other things............ without putting a cup in place. ACK!!!!!! Coffee all over the counter and dripping onto the kitchen floor. Unfortunately, I've not yet learned from experience. This has happened twice.

Andie, your link brings up the homepage of a tea company!

Is this new type of cookbook organization superior to the way in which cookbooks were originally organized? ← New??? Chatelaine, the Canadian magazine, published a cookbook called Quickies: 1,000 Recipes - Ten Quick Ways with Everyday Foods in 1997. It's organized alphabetically starting with Apples - Artichokes - Asparagus - Avocados and, yes, ending with Zucchini. Sunset magazine's cookbooks are sometimes organized alphabetically by ingredient, as are those from the Australian Women's Weekly.

Here's an article on plastic food in English, which also traces it to 1917. Tokyo's Kappabashi restaurant supply district (where there's a landmark building with a gigantic toque-topped mustachioed chef's head on the roof) has a lot of stores that sell the plastic food models, some of which are incredibly expensive. I was particularly struck by the models of Western foods that depict things such as a stream of cream being poured in mid-air from a pitcher. The models make great souvenirs, but all I could afford to buy were a couple of pieces of nigiri! This blog has photos of the area.

It still is... and a lot of take-out places such as Chinese restaurants and the Ba-Le Vietnamese sandwich chain sell rainbow gelatin (usally red, green, orange, and white) layered in clear plastic drink cups.

Pizza-making parties for teenagers.

The students (and teachers, by extension) "should not eat while walking," why? Because it's gauche and presumably would reflect badly on the school? Why would this be so if, as you say, "Who the hell goes to a festival and doesn't eat while walking?"

Okay, don't all jump on me at once: I admit that I change recipes. (Don't ALL of us here on eGullet tinker with recipes???) I very rarely follow a recipe to the letter unless it's baked goods where the proportions of ingredients and the exact order of mixing them are critical. I feel free to browse through my cookbooks, magazines, and online sources and combine two or more recipes for the same item. I leave out ingredients that are not to my liking (but never ones that are critical to the integrity of the dish), substitute ones that are lower in fat or sodium. I've even been known to substitute Splenda for sugar, so that my husband and daughter, who both have diabetes, can enjoy the same foods I do. But I would never, ever, ever, have the gall to go back to the recipe's originator and complain that it didn't come out right because of MY changes!

Hahaha!!! Reminds me of my first trip to Hong Kong, in 1990. Everyone was busy using their cellular phones when riding in elevators (where there's hardly any reception) or waiting for a table at a restaurant, just to show that they had one. (Local phone calls are -- or were at the time -- free in Hong Kong, so it was a status symbol to pay big bucks for a cell phone.)

Doesn't everyone eat on trains in Japan? What about those eki-bentos? Or are you referring to subways and commuter trains?

Heck. Why buy that one when you can get this handy-dandy Progressive One-Step Shrimp Peeler at Amazon.com for 99 cents?

What Jay Francis said. Poor translation. Chaokoh is a very reliable brand.

When the pieces aren't all the same size, you just keep trimming them until they are -- and eat all the trimmings yourself, as per Abra's advice! Nothing like hiding the evidence! No one will know.