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Vietnam Casual/ Business Dining Etiquette
Eating 24/7...In Asian countries, one of the unavoidable things you will face is eating. By this, I mean eating will become an essential part of your daily life while you are Viet Nam, 24/7. Every social event you do while you are in Viet Nam will involve dining out so if you are thinking of being or already on a diet, this might not be the best time (the chance of you breaking it is 100%). One thing you will notice after awhile of being in Viet Nam is that right after greeting the person; he is going to ask you if you have eaten yet. Most of the times this question is being ask is the moment you arrived at the house (if you got an invitation), business meetings, or just hanging out with the natives. As my brother pointed out the other day, every time we meet a family's friend before anyone can asks a simple "How are you?," there would be "Have you eaten? There is a new restaurant that opens up (something similar will be said)." In another word, food plays a major part for Vietnamese people since it is a way for people to get to know each other, especially when it comes to business. On the bright side of eating Vietnamese food is that you won't gain that much weight or anything at all really. The reason is that most of the foods are not greasy and the meals balance each other out. Therefore, this article would help you to understand and become familiar with the Vietnamese dining etiquette. Whether you are with your business clients or new friends, majority of the time it will be a casual and informal outing. As I said it before, when eating out with Vietnamese people it is a time to become familiar with one another so it is better if everything is casual so they can get to know you more personally. While you are in Vietnam, expect to dine out even if you receive an invitation to a person's house. Most of the houses in Viet Nam are small and crowded so there might not be enough room. Meanwhile, when you go out to eat at the restaurant, there will be a greater variety of choices to choose and easier to please everyone's taste. During the meal, it is best to avoid talking about politics and business; this also applies to toasting as well. A toast is usually made sometimes after the whiskey or cognac served. When making a toast, you should keep it simple and light. Here are a couple of common toasts, "Tram phan tram" (means "Empty your glass, 100%) and "Chuc suc khoe" (Good health).
After a toast is made then everyone can start drinking so do not start taking the beer before that. Drinking is very common in Viet Nam so here are a few drinks you should be aware: the "333" in the south (be cautious since the hangover can be dreadful), "Halide" in the north, "Bia Hoi" or fresh beer in the cities, wines (from Australia and France), and "Ruou De" (it is similar to the Japanese's sake). While eating in restaurants you will notice there are no non smoking free zones, it will be cloudy. Smoking seems to be something that come hand in hand with drinking in Viet Nam, so here to lung cancer. (Too mean? I feel it may be.) By now the food should be arriving but before you dive in you should noticed a few things first. Before picking up those chopsticks you should wait for everyone to be seated, especially the eldest person there. Next, wait until the eldest person to pick up his chopsticks and begin the meal. Once everyone begins to pick up his chopsticks, you simply say "Moi... (fill in person's name)." You should start with the eldest person first though. For example, in my family before each meal I usually said, "Moi bo, me dung com" or "Moi Bo, Me." This translates to "Father and mother please eat." The translation is not word for word exact since Vietnamese words can have a lot of meaning depending on how it is use than compare to English. Overall, the purpose of saying this is asking the people around you to eat and to recognize each person at your table. This show that you respect each person at the meal and hope he will enjoy the meal. This custom of asking before each meal is not a require practice anymore so do not be surprise if you do not see a lot of people do this prior to eating. However, do not let that stop you from doing it because by showing that you know the etiquette allow the Vietnamese people to see that you respect them and know their culture. The benefit of doing a simple asking for everyone to start eating will earn you a lot of respect, because this will come across as you being considerate. If you are here for business then even though these casual meals do not involve work but you are still being judge so impressions count. Throughout the meal, it is also considerate to notice when other people's glasses are empty. If the glass is empty then fill it for the person because this will show that you are aware and able to take care of people around you. If you are eating at a restaurant, if you want to call for service then hit the side of the bowl with your spoon. However, if you are eating at a person's house, do not do this and while you eat with a spoon do not keep hitting it against the inside of the bowl. Do not play with your food or fight for it because this will be view as childlike. If there is a serving of a whole chicken, then the head, neck, and wings of it are reserve to the eldest person at the table. The history behind this is that the eldest is usually the head of the family so the highest parts of the chicken should be reserve for him.
Tradition banquet...During your stay, at one point you might receive an invitation to a banquet. You might wonder what to do in that situation, especially if you are the guest of honor. There is nothing to worry about if you are the guest of honor. When you arrived at the banquet, you can sit anywhere you like or if it is seat arranged someone will show you to your seat. If you happen to be the guest of honor then sit back and relax because from here on, you will be cater to. There might be someone who will serve you the food or the host will make sure you will be first to sample each dish. During the course of the meal, do not linger on any dish for a long time since more will be coming out. To prevent you from getting full to fast because you should try to sample at least a bit from every dish. Since you are the guest, the host probably will not touch the dish unless you touch it first. It is fine if you do not have to get a lot from each dish since you might know what it is make out of. Eat sparingly though the meal or try to even if you are on a diet. By denying the food, you might send a wrong message that you do not like the cook's skill in making the food or the host lack of ability to pick the dishes. On the other hand if you like a dish and want second, by all mean go ahead and do so. This will not consider as impolite to ask for seconds, it actually might be the best way to show the natives of your satisfactions with the food. To the Vietnamese, by asking more means you are enjoying the food. Complement as each dish is coming out is not a bad thing to do. Be lively. Ask questions about the dish, how it is prepared and if it is a specialty in the region. Another way to put it is show interest in the food since it is part of the culture. Usually there will seven courses such as soup (unlike Chinese banquet), pickled vegetables and shrimp chips, deli meat, hot pot, fried vegetables, roasted pork or duck, fish (steamed or fried), and fruit to end the meal. Thank you everybody come by. This is the work of my sister. Hopefully, we not disapoint you. If you still have question, feel free to contact us. PS, you can follow us on Twitter as well. From where we are and wherever you are, have a wonderful dining with your family.
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