Eating Habits Around the World

[little_tippler]

I have just been to Spain and was thinking about how differently the Spanish eat their food compared to the Portuguese. Also, Cynthetiq mentioned to me how different eating in Spain was from eating in the US.

It got me thinking how differently people eat all over the world, even in countries that are side by side. Still confused? I know we all eat the same, and can eat the same foods, but there are differences.

Here are some thinks that struck me while in Spain:

• In Spain, a typical lunch or dinner could be tapas (small plates with bits of this and that to pick and choose) or you can have a primero and segundo. This is like a 1st and 2nd courses. But not typical ones. In some places it means a first dish of fish then a second dish of meat. But usually it means, a first of carbs and veggies, and a second of just meat or fish. Which is weird and frustrating to me. Why would I want to have a plate of tomato rice, all on its own, then have a plate of fried fish, all on its own? Or a plate of potatoes in mayonnaise, then a plate of shrimp? Always separately. In fact, some of my Spanish friends who come to Portugal will make a point of eating the rice/pasta/potatoes first, then eat the “protein” totally separately. Personally, I like the Portuguese habit of being served one plate with a bit of “protein”, a bit of “carbs” and a bit of vegetables. Makes it more interesting, not to mention more nutritionally balanced. To me anyway.
  
• Often times, the tapas dishes don’t really go together. I saw a group of three people eating tapas and here is what they ordered: first, a plate of scrambled eggs, to split between them. Then, a plate of cheese and ham croquetes (small breaded sausage shaped rolls that are fried, made from a smooth paste of cheese, flour, eggs and bits of ham – in portugal we make them with meat and chorizo) between them. Then a place of some cubed stewed meat in a sauce. I found this sequence quite weird. Maybe it’s just me.
  
• In Spain, eating hours are different to Portugal. They are flexible in most places (in Madrid you can eat at any time though lunch is typically at 2pm and dinner at 9-10pm; in Portugal lunch is from 1pm and dinner from 8pm), but in others it can be strange. Once I was in a café and sat down for a meal with a friend. We saw some small plates of presunto (similar to prosciutto but the Spanish/Portuguese version) and we pointed out to the waiter we'd like to eat that before our meal. To which he swiftly replied: "no, that no". We inquired why not, and he said "this is not the right time to eat that". We were stumped but took his word for it. You see, it was sitting there, we could pay for it, wanted to eat it, but weren't allowed to. I never did figure out what this meant.

What are the eating habits in your country? When you have travelled, have you ever noticed strange eating habits in foreign lands?

[ShaniFaye]

I have never understood eating dinner that late, heck Im in bed by then as I get up at 430 every morning. For me breakfast at 6, lunch at 11 dinner at 5

Most places I eat, for both lunch and dinner, its appetizer first, salad 2nd entree 3rd, I've never eaten anywhere, where if you got meat and fish they served it separate.

[snowy]

American eating habits are largely defined by a person's workday, as Shani outlined above. In my family, we always ate dinner between 5 and 6 as my dad got home between 4-5, and my SO and I do the same thing now as he gets home at 5. His family eats later as his dad gets off work later, and so sometimes his mother will call to ask us if we want to go out for dinner, but more often than not we've already eaten or are in the process of cooking/eating. When I worked every day until 5:30-6, we ate between 6-7. I'm sure the time we eat dinner will change when classes start next week. It really is schedule-dependent.

[jewels]

Many moons ago, I spent a good amount of time in various areas of Colombia with my ex-husband. I was already familiar with most of the food, but the eating style was incredible to me, as an American girl.

Breakfast was usually light. Arepa, which is like a bland white corn dough with cafe con leche, a sweet but strong coffee.

Lunch was like a national event. Everything (businesses, stores, attorneys etc) closed from Noon until 3 PM (It may have been later, as little tippler experienced in Spain, but I can't recall. I only remember it was at least 3 hours.) Even the lower class have maids and a huge lunch was prepared. We'd have a sobrebarriga or heavy but extremely tasty meat dish with potatoes and rice with beans (yes, multiple starches at one meal!). After this leisurely hour or two of eating, you were expected to siesta. Most homes also have extra rooms for this purpose. That was crazy to me at the time, but I understand some European countries do this as well.

[Cynthetiq]

I eat too fast and too large portions and too much in general. That's my american style of eating. I'll eat standing up, walking to an appointment, in a meeting, in a hallway, on the subway, in the car, where ever it's convenient.

But dining, is a different story. I like to dine. Dining is an activity by itself.

Going to Europe it takes about 2-3 meals to settle into the dining experience.

In Austria, we found Pasta e Vino, a small little restaurant that sold wines and served pasta. It was sublime!!!! No menus. They spoke only German or Italian, since we were fortunate to know Italian food, we were able to order simple dishes. We ate for about 3 hours, drinking wine, best homemade tiramisu ever! We did not notice that no single table turned over during our dinner.

The next night we returned for dinner a bit later than the night before, and upon requesting a table, they suggested we return tomorrow. There is no waiting for a table. The table is yours for the night.

At many restaurants small candle warmers sat propping up your pot of food so that it stays warm the entire sitting. This happened in all restaurants we ate in, from Chinese to Thai, to Austrian fare.

Dinner isn't rushed. In fact getting staff attention is near impossible because you should pretty much have everything you need at the table, and they shouldn't need to disturb you for anything as crazy as "Is everything alright?" ever 15 minutes.

So when we dine here in NYC. I love it. One year we took Jess and Quadro with us to a couple fine dining restaurants. I left Q know that it was going to be a 3 hour dinner. He was a bit anxious the idea of sitting for 3 hours having dinner. As the night wore on, the drinks, appetizers, the amuse buche, entree, desert and apertifs all were spaced out in a time that broke up the 3 hours to the point at the end, it was like "We sat her for 3 hours?" It was wonderful to just sit and chat, talking and eating, not worrying about the table and the line forming at the door with waiter trying to clear the table.

[little_tippler]

Well I didn't realize that sitting at the table for several hours for a dinner was that odd! Here it's pretty common, because you go out to dinner, but in fact it's a convivial affair, where the objective is actually to spend time talking with your friends and loved ones over some good food. So it can be drawn out. Here in Portugal that is normal. Just we don't separate things quite like the Spanish do.

When I go to my aunt's for a lunch I know it will be at least 2 hours. We will sit down to eat at 2pm and finish at about 4.30pm. My favourite meals are those with fiddly things where you can spend hours poring over your plate of food, eating slowly and savouring the meal, and chatting with friends or family. Seafood is rather good for this purpose! It doesn't mean you get stuffed, if you do it right then you eat the same as if you were in a rush. Only you savour it more and you probably drink a little more wine (heh) and you just take the time to appreciate your surroundings.

[Charlatan]

One of the odd things (to my Western eyes) here is breakfast. Breakfast is often made up from the same food as you would have for dinner (rice, curry chicken, whatever's going). That said, there is also a strong western influence here so you can see things like Kaya Toast, Soft Eggs and Kopi (I realize it isn't western in flavour but it is in content - toast, eggs and coffee).

There is also a strong sense of communal eating. People like to share their food with everyone else.


Personally, I prefer to have a light breakfast of either cereal or toast and jam, a bigger lunch and a light supper. But I am with Cyn when it comes to fine dinning. Relaxed and drawn out with multiple courses and good company.

[KellyC]

^Yeah, Vietnam doesn't have breakfast food per se either. Anything can be breakfast, lunch, dinner.

When I was back in Vietnam with my family, we stayed at my aunt's house on my mom's side. We all ate on the floor, in the kitchen, or sometimes in the living room. There's no dining room. We all sat forming a circle. There's a table and chairs, but my aunt fold it up and put it on the side.

Everything was fresh too. My aunt and cousin went to the market every morning to buy grocery for the day. Sometimes twice a day. Rarely was there any left over. And if there was, it wouldn't make it past the next day. It's not exactly new to me since my mom did do that before we immigrated to the US, but after more than 10 years of not eating that style, it takes a day or two to get used to.

Breakfast is around 7 - 8. I remember waking up at 8 in the morning once. I asked what's for breakfast and my cousin told me they already ate. They usually wake up before 7...even if they don't have anything to do. That's way too early for me.

Lunch is around 12 - 2 pm, followed by a quick afternoon nap. The streets became empty and quiet for an hour or two. Most businesses close save for a few big business or hardworking people.

Dinner is around 7 - 9. Now, the cool thing about dinner is that my cousins, who have their own families and houses, all bring their families to my aunt's house pretty much every day to eat. The same thing happens at my grandpa's house on my dad's side with my aunts and uncles. So come dinner time you'll see the house filled with 15-20 people.

[kurty[B]]

Kuwait (Arabic Restaurant for Breakfast)

- Long tables, community style, sit where you like. Do NOT sit at a table with Kuwait women unless you are family! This is disrespectful and rude in their culture and will probably get you escorted out.

- Small plates with one item on them (no piling food on like Americans would). Waiters were more than happy to come make their own personal favorites for you.

Kuwait (Dinner)

- Not until 10:00 pm does a restaurant get packed. Nice for an American keeping a low profile. I am able to eat without a crowded restaurant and enjoy people-watching after I am full instead of having to wait for my food. Dinner is a very social activity.

India - Himilayas (Breakfast)

- Chai, best Chai ever! Even the taxi driver taking me to a town 40 kms away stopped at a random roadside home to have some chai with the family there (If I were in a hurry I would have been angry, and I know he did it just to bring some money into that family's home, but it was great Chai)!

- In the smaller towns I was often invited in for Chai and homemade bread (great bread) and when I offered to pay some families would accept others would refuse and I would still slip a few rupees under my plate (they may have found it rude, but they were living in a sheet metal shanty!).

India - Himilayas (Curry)

- Dinner and lunch were best enjoyed with groups of people (ordering a single dish for one person just feels awkward). Instead, with a group of people, order a bowl or two of rice, and a variety of curries and some dhal (flat bread), and everyone digs in.

Uruguay - (Dinner)

- Asado, meat, meat and more meat. Oh, and bread, and cheese. It is no wonder most of my relatives have nice round bellies. Best BBQ ever!

Uruguay - (Mate)

- Thermos of hot water, check, mate leaves, check, gourd, check; cheese and crackers optional. Anytime is an appropriate time to sit down and enjoy mate with whomever. When you wake up, mid morning, mid afternoon, whenever.

[Leto]

well.

Here in Toronto, breakfast is usually at 7 am, consisting of a range of items either:

- a toasted bagel with cream cheese
- toasted whole wheat bread with peanut butter & jam
- a bowl of cold cereal
- a bowl of porridge (oatmeal or cornmeal or oatbran)
- eggs & sausages or bacon
- breakfast wrap (fried egg with cheese & ham wrapped in a tortilla shell)
All accompanied with a coffee.

This morning I had an egg mcmuffin because I was running late.


Lunch was at 11:30 for me.

I packed an egg salad sandwich on whole wheat bread. A banana, a peach and two tubs of yoghurt. Sandwhiches are pretty well common as lunches, unless there is a work function. Same goes with the kids at school. Sandwiches are prepared the night before to take in their lunch bags.

As yesterday was the United Way kickoff at work, we were all treated to a hot lunch in the parking lot which consisted of chicken souvlaki on pita.

Again, coffee or bottled water is the bevarage of choice.


Dinner is timed to occur when the family reconvenes after a day of work & school. this is typically around 6:30 PM and is served based on what can be prepared from our grocery items which are bought in bulk, once a week (tuesday evenings at the No Frills store). Last night's dinner was ravioli with a home-made tomato sauce (with chopped zuccini, onions, sausages and peppers) and a field greens salad & garlic bread made with black olive loaf.

Often i will snack before going to bed. Icecream is a favourite, and at about 10 PM I know it's bad. last night I chose swiss cheese & cured salami on french stick instead as well as a glas of red wine. After I watched the news, and read a bit, it was midnight and time for sleep.

this is pretty consistant with some other people I know from around here, with some variations in the timing.

[jorgelito]

Originally Posted by ShaniFaye

I have never understood eating dinner that late, heck Im in bed by then as I get up at 430 every morning. For me breakfast at 6, lunch at 11 dinner at 5

Most places I eat, for both lunch and dinner, its appetizer first, salad 2nd entree 3rd, I've never eaten anywhere, where if you got meat and fish they served it separate.

This is a classic American dining schedule. Although order is usually soup/salad, app, then main course, dessert.

[cjvasco]

I'm an American that just got back from living in Madrid for a year and figured that I'd elaborate a little bit more on the Spanish eating style.

Typically, I'd eat something small before I went to work, a piece of fruit or a snack bar.

At 10:30 or so in the morning we'd go for coffee and pan con tomate or other "tostas" which are essentially toast with something on top.

From 1:30 - 3:30 its lunch time and most people go eat a menu del dia. The menu is a holdover from the time of Franco in which everyone was guaranteed a good meal for a cheap price (8-12 euro typically). As such, most companies offer you meal vouchers that you can use at most restaurants. The menu is a fixed price meal consisting of a primero - salad, soup, rice dishes (including Paella), egg dishes, a segundo - almost always a meat or fish dish, usually served with a side salad or potato dish. Lastly there is a dessert dish which is either a basic cake or fruit dishes. The price also includes wine or water but beer or soda costs extra.

Dinner time is later in Madrid than anywhere else in Spain. If you're eating in 8:30 or so is typical eating time but if you're eating out 9:30 is a more normal time (this moves even later in the evening). There are normal dinners but tapas are quite common. Because the main meal is definately lunch, dinners are much smaller consisting either of tapas which are ordered individually or raciones which are shared. There are also a number of tapas bars which give you free tapas every time you order a drink (this includes canas which are super small beers).

Hope that clears stuff up on Spanish eating.