It’s a trim and likable piece of work created by Ang Lee: the againg Mr. Chu is a windowed chef – a King Lear of the kitchen, living in Taipei with his three daughters, each of whom is getting itchy for the world beyond. There are a lot of wonderful shots of humming traffic and shouting cooks. The scene of slapping fish around and blowing air into a boiled chicken looks amazingly deliciuos.

Photography by Kitsfish Studio

Table manners play an important part in making a favorable impression. They are visible signals of the state of our manners and therefore are essential to professional success. So I’m going to share some information about dinning etiquette. Let’s talk about some basics first:

Clothing

If you are going to a fancy restaurant, ask about the style of dress. Remember don’t wear a hat at the table or a casual sleeveless shirt…

Napkin

Always place the napkin in your lap when you first sit down. Fold it so that a quarter is folded over at the top. This provides you with double protection from spills.

Posture

Relax and enjoy time with others. Do not rock back in the dining chair and do not prop yourself up with your elbows on the table. Placing the forearm on the table edge is okay. When cutting the food, keep your elbows close to your body. They should rest comfortably near your side.

Grace

Wait for the host/hostess or the lady friends to pick up their fork before you start to eat. If it is their custom to say a prayer before eating, you are not embarrassed.

Noises

Turn off your beeper and cell phone until the dinner is over. Do not slurp soup or blow on hot foods and beverages. Do not speak with food in your mouth. If you must blow your nose, excuse yourself from the table.

Tips

15% of the bill total is the usual tip, however, for excellent service 20% or more is the norm.

January 28, 2011 – Interviewed by Martin van den Hemel on cross-cultural weddings. Visit the article: Crossing Cultures

Happy Chinese New Year (Source: Wedding Guide Asia)

The meal begins when the host unfolds his or her napkin. This is your signal to do the same.

Place your napkin on your lap, completely unfolded if it is a small luncheon napkin or in half, lengthwise, if it is a large dinner napkin. Typically, you want to put your napkin on your lap soon after sitting down at the table (but follow your host’s lead). The napkin remains on your lap throughout the entire meal and should be used to gently blot your mouth when needed.If you need to leave the table during the meal, place your napkin on your chair as a signal to your server that you will be returning.

The host will signal the end of the meal by placing his or her napkin on the table. Once the meal is over, you too should place your napkin neatly on the table to the right of your dinner plate. (Do not refold your napkin, but don’t wad it up, either.)

Ordering

If, after looking over the menu, there are items you are uncertain about, ask your server any questions you may have. Answering your questions is part of the server’s job. It is better to find out before you order that a dish is prepared with something you do not like or are allergic to than to spend the entire meal picking tentatively at your food.

An employer will generally suggest that your order be taken first; his or her order will be taken last. Sometimes, however, the server will decide how the ordering will proceed. Often, women’s orders are taken before men’s.

As a guest, you should not order one of the most expensive items on the menu or more than two courses unless your host indicates that it is all right. If the host says, “I’m going to try this delicious sounding cheesecake; why don’t you try dessert too,” or “The prime rib is the specialty here; I think you’d enjoy it,” then it is all right to order that item if you would like.

“Reading” the Table Setting

Should you be attending a formal dinner or banquet with pre-set place settings, it is possible to gain clues about what may be served by “reading” the place setting.

Start by drawing an imaginary line through the center of the serving plate (the plate will be placed in the center of your dining space).

To the right of this imaginary line all of the following will be placed; glassware, cup and saucer, knives, and spoons, as well as a seafood fork if the meal includes seafood. It is important to place the glassware or cup back in the same position after its use in order to maintain the visual presence of the table.

To the left of this imaginary line all of the following will be placed; bread and butter plate (including small butter knife placed horizontally across the top of the plate), salad plate, napkin, and forks.

Remembering the rule of “liquids on your right” and “solids on your left” will help in allowing you to quickly become familiar with the place setting.

Use of Silverware

Choosing the correct silverware from the variety in front of you is not as difficult as it may first appear.

There are two ways to use a knife and fork to cut and eat your food. They are the American style and the European or Continental style. Either style is considered appropriate.

In the American style, one cuts the food by holding the knife in the right hand and the fork in the left hand with the fork tines piercing the food to secure it on the plate. Cut a few bite-size pieces of food, then lay your knife across the top edge of your plate with the sharp edge of the blade facing in. Change your fork from your left to your right hand to eat, fork tines facing up. (If you are left-handed, keep your fork in your left hand, tines facing up.)

The European or Continental style is the same as the American style in that you cut your meat by holding your knife in your right hand while securing your food with your fork in your left hand. The difference is your fork remains in your left hand, tines facing down, and the knife in your right hand. Simply eat the cut pieces of food by picking them up with your fork still in your left hand.

When You Have Finished

Do not push your plate away from you when you have finished eating. Leave your plate where it is in the place setting.

The common way to show that you have finished your meal is to lay your fork and knife diagonally across your plate. Place your knife and fork side by side, with the sharp side of the knife blade facing inward and the fork, tines down, to the left of the knife. The knife and fork should be placed as if they are pointing to the numbers 10 and 4 on a clock face. Make sure they are placed in such a way that they do not slide off the plate as it is being removed.

Once you have used a piece of silverware, never place it back on the table. Do not leave a used spoon in a cup, either; place it on the saucer. You can leave a soupspoon in a soup plate. Any unused silverware is simply left on the table.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking

I don’t really know this book until I saw the movie “Julie & Julia.” The story is inspiring and the book is the classic cookbook, in its entirety—all 524 recipes.

“Anyone can cook in the French manner anywhere,” wrote Mesdames Beck, Bertholle, and Child, “with the right instruction.” And here is the book that, for more than forty years, has been teaching Americans how.

“Almost 48 years after it was first published, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” by Julia Child is finally topping the best-seller list, bringing with it all the butter, salt and goose fat that home chefs had largely abandoned in the age of Lipitor.”

Hopefully some of you will try a few recipes from this book during the holiday season.

Happy Holidays

……

Happy Holidays !!

Which ever holiday you follow, be it Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza or Winter Solstice…

Spread some joy and buy some gifts.

To many people, of course, it’s not about the gifts that you buy, but the gifts of great friendship, well wishes and happiness.

May ’2010′ bring us good news in the new year.

Be healthy and be happy.

……

2009 Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival - house wine top 10 picks

The Fish says:

I always like the newsletters from house wine (www.housewine.ca). I’d like to share with you their top 10 picks from the 2009 Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival:

Sparkling

2004 Villa Rinaldi, Gran Cuvée, Bianca Brut, Italy – $65.00*

White

2007 Tantalus, Riesling, Okanagan Valley – $22.90*

2006 Bouchard Père & Fils, Meursault, France – $53.99

2007 Christian Moreau, Chablis Grand Cru Valmur, France – $66.99

Red

2008 Cono Sur, Organic Pinot Noir, Chile – $14.99

2007 Espelt, Sauló, Empordà, Spain – $15.99

2006 Domaine des Grands Chemins, Crozes-Hermitage, France – $26.99**

2006 Majella, Cabernet Sauvignon, Australia – $35.99

2006 Quinta do Crasto, Old Vines Reserva, Douro, Portugal – $39.99

2005 Olivier Leflaive, Volnay, France – $54.99**

*available at private wine stores

** arriving in this month

November 06, 2008 – Live interview at Mandarin News on same-sex marriage

Sing Tao Daily

September 13, 2008 – Interviewed by Jiaming Xu for the 7th Grand Wedding Show on Sep 13 & 14, 2008. See the article below:

Sing Tao Daily - the 7th Grand Wedding Show in Vancouver

CBC Radio One Early Edition

January 22, 2008 – 10 minutes live interview in their Vancouver Studio on 888 weddings

January 29, 2008 – My clients: Vivien Lee and Joe Chung were interviewed in the Ottawa Studio for their 888 wedding

The Georgia Staight (Canada’s largest urban weekly)

January 17, 2008 – Interviewed by Pieta Woolley on new trends and styles for local brides. See the article below:

Interview by The Georgia Straight