The Chat Thread (Read OP)

[Akar]

He had trouble cause he was blind

[PikeStance]

Perhaps they mainly misbehave in foreign countries. My uncle recently told me a story about sitting next to a Chinese woman on an airplane. The Chinese woman was eating an apple, but she didn't like the peel. So she bit off, piece by piece, the outside layer of the apple, spitting the pieces into a plastic bag.

This is mild! They eat shell fish with the shell, the swoosh it around their mouth and then spit out the shell. They do the same thing with meat with bones. The eat noodles like a conveyor belt and eat with their mouth open. They think Westerners are uncouth for touching food with their hand. They wear plastic gloves to eat pizza and burgers. Apparently, french fries are ok to touch. I do my best not to watch them eat.

Didnt the Chinese government once have to tell it's tourists that it wasn't acceptable to just in the street in Western countries?

In LEDCs it is not at all uncommon for people to urinate in public. I have only seen someone do "#2" in public once. He did it on the side of a busy road too. No Shame. Anyway, Chinese are notorious bad travelers. They earn points for bad behavior and if you accumulate too many points they won't you travel (at least using public transportation) and you may be denied entry to tourist sites (this includes beaches). Chinese also only like to eat Chinese. I vacationed with my mother in law and while in Thailand she wanted to each at the same Chinese restaurant every single day. While vacationing in Sri Lanka, my wife had booked a driver through a Chinese app. This guy every single meal," For.... I know this great Chinese restaurant. I said we are in Sri Lanka, what about Sri lankan food. He looked at me like I was the crazy one.

[Morticia Iunia Bruti]

To be honest 35-40 years ago Germans travelled to Jugoslavia, Italy and Spain in holiday, only to eat there their Wiener Schnitzel with french fries.

I remember, that my parents avoided to meet other Germans in holiday as far as possible...

Such behavior can change with time.

[Diamat]

Why is German restaurant culture so terrible and monotonous? Most restaurants serve the same thing, especially the damn Schnitzel with french fries. And often it tastes worse than home-made Schnitzel. I get it, if I want variety, then I can go to an Italian restaurant or whatever. But I'm in Germany, yet the restaurants serving German food lack any sense of creativity in preparing their own national foods.

I've only been back in Germany for a year, but my disillusionment grows by the day. This country sucks.

[Flinn]

If I have to be honest in the past 15 years I've noticed an improvement in the general quality and creativity of the German restaurants, if anything the problem there is with the culture of food and with the service. If you don't see eating as the sacred moment of the day and the waiter will keep standing at your side to take out your dish the moment you put down your fork, you can serve me even the best food in the world, I won't never be happy with the overall experience.

[Lifthrasir]

Bork! Bork! Bork!

[Diamat]

Yes, don't even get me started on the service! To think that some of the service staff actually study gastronomy in school. You can learn more about gastronomy working in an American restaurant for a week than you can studying at a German gastronomical institute for a year.

[PikeStance]

I noticed this when I lived in Berlin. I asked. I was told that when Germans go out they normally do not eat German food because what they make at home is better. Consequently, most German restaurants are high end type places. Where I lived there was one close German (Bavarian) restaurant. A little further away was a more expensive one. We would normally go to this giant German restaurant.

[Iskar]

I have an Indian, a Japanese, a Tibetan, a Galician, a Spanish, a Portuguese, several Turkish and Italian restaurants within 10 minutes walking distance. Is there a reason to look for a specifically German restaurant?

[Morticia Iunia Bruti]

Honestly i would prefer a non german restaurant too. You would compare the german restaurant always with the food of Mama. The restaurant can only loose. ^^

[Sir Adrian]

To be fair germans are not exactly known for the cooking talent.

[Diamat]

It's funny though. Because when I was young, all I can remember is my parents taking me to German restaurants. I think in the countryside there are less options; people usually go to the local tavern or restaurant, especially because they know the owners (went to school with them, etc).

[Derc]

Is there a reason to look for a specifically German restaurant?

BRATWURST

And people with a humor so bad it is funny again.

[Iskar]

"Und für den Herrn würde ich vorschlagen... aus dem Fenster geworfen werden? Mit sautierten Kartoffeln?"*


*And for the gentlement I'd suggest... being thrown out of the window? With sauteed potatoes?

[Cookiegod]

Well generally it really depends. There are those German restaurants that just serve a lot of mediocre food but at least in my midsize German hometown a lot of classy ones serving very good food. Once I get far enough into the mountains, the choice of nonnative cuisine even ceases to exist. Plus there's a charm to "all food was made locally". Except that I'm not much of a fan of "Gutedel" wine.
But since I eat plenty of ethnic food in Denmark, when I'm south I might as well eat Allemannisch.

[Akar]

my favorite german food is cabbage soup

[Turkafinwë]

Ew

[Sir Adrian]

I love cabbage soup. And potato soup. And lettuce soup. And bread soup. And french turnip soup. And string bean soup.

[Morticia Iunia Bruti]

@Akar: You should try pea soup with a little shot vinegar.

[Akar]

i wouldn't want to adulterate the flavor of the peas with anything