everyone but us was "cleaning" their chopsticks in hot tea before eating.
My parents actually still do this occasionally. Some places they give the dishes a quick rinse in hot tea. And Dad suggested I bring my own chopsticks when eating street food in China.
I guess it's their memories of when you could get hepatitis by eating dodgy food. In Hong Kong, it was a real concern in the '70's, not much of a worry in the '80's, and essentially completely stopped being an issue--for me, anyway--in the '90's.
It's funny how the frontier of "well, the street food is safe here" has moved in the last generation or so: the first time I went to Thailand (which was, what, early '90s?) I was surrounded by wonderful street food but I had to look carefully to see how it was prepared. And many times I decided against it. By the time this century began I pretty much ate anywhere in Thailand without a hint of stomach upset. Laos and Cambodia, not so much.
Singapore, of course, has had entirely safe food since my first visit. :) Safer than the States, anyway.
My parents actually still do this occasionally. Some places they give the dishes a quick rinse in hot tea. And Dad suggested I bring my own chopsticks when eating street food in China.
I guess it's their memories of when you could get hepatitis by eating dodgy food. In Hong Kong, it was a real concern in the '70's, not much of a worry in the '80's, and essentially completely stopped being an issue--for me, anyway--in the '90's.
It's funny how the frontier of "well, the street food is safe here" has moved in the last generation or so: the first time I went to Thailand (which was, what, early '90s?) I was surrounded by wonderful street food but I had to look carefully to see how it was prepared. And many times I decided against it. By the time this century began I pretty much ate anywhere in Thailand without a hint of stomach upset. Laos and Cambodia, not so much.
Singapore, of course, has had entirely safe food since my first visit. :) Safer than the States, anyway.
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