Chinese dining etiquette
2 min readAccompaniments
Neither beverages nor dessert are commonly served with a meal.People drink tea nearly all day，but at meals soup is usually the only liquid provided.At special events there may be wine or liquor，but the water that westerners drink with their meals is never present.Sweet foods are usually reserved for special events，where they are served between courses，or for small meals at tea houses.
A Chinese Banquet
Banquets are held to celebrate the New Year，the Moon Festival，weddings，and other special occasions.Each event is associated with particular treats-flled moon cakes for the Moon Festival or New Year’s pudding，for example-but there are also many common characteristics and ceremonies involved.A banquet acquires much of its festive character through 2 elements:the release from some everyday eating customs（usually those that impose restraint）and the exaggeration of others.At a banquet，for example，rice doesn’t need to be treated as the center of the meal，but the re specftul interaction between guest and host，a commonplace，must be performed with extra gusto.
Getting In
The meal begins with the entry of the revelers into the banqueting room.An elaborate ceremony of deference may take place at the door，where the most honored guest is supposed to enter first.Two or more guests may hold up this entry for some time，each insisting that the other is more worthy of this honor.The ensuing debate can，among good friends，lead to a bit of pushing，as the struggle escalates.Once through the door，the process may begin again，this time over the issue of precedence at the table.Usually，the guest of honor sits directly across from the host，who takes the least honorable seat near the serving door.
