We don’t blame you for feeling slightly vulnerable when you’re eating out with people you hardly know. Whether you’re a loud chewer, soup slurper or double dipper, your manners and habits are all laid bare on the table for your dining companions to see and hear. Including some that others might think of as unusual – like separating the components of even the simplest dishes.
A co-worker once shared how she would painstakingly compartmentalise each ingredient. “Even if the ingredients are cooked together, like prawn aglio olio, I will start by pushing the prawns aside,” she said. “I seldom order from places like Stuff’d because the ingredients and sauces are all over each other.”
And it’s a peculiar habit that’s not as uncommon as you might think. In a previous interview with CNA, Jasmin Lau, the newly appointed Minister of State with the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, and the Ministry of Education, revealed: “When I eat, I deconstruct my food.”
For instance, when having a burger, she would eat the bun, patty and vegetables separately. “When I buy cai png, I will tell the aunty, do not pile the dishes on top of each other because I need to eat them separately. The worst is sushi. It’s actually a crime against sushi chefs when they put the fish on top of the rice and then I deconstruct it. But that’s how I eat,” she said.
