Question: Customs

[babey16.livejournal.com]

Hello..
I'm a bit lost so if this post is....uhmm... posted :)  wrong I'll be happy to deleted it.
             My question is about an episode in ANS where they were eating curry ( their guest was an actor in their PIKANCHI movies) and as Aiba was trying to eat the curry he made a slurping sound. And one of the boys told him " Thats not soba you know" ( In Japanese, of course).

           And I was wondering, do they really have to make that " slurping sound" only when eating noodles? Is that like a sign that you love/enjoy the food? Because I have heard/read somewhere that there is also a custom in one country that if you burp out loud it  shows that you enjoyed the food and people will not be offended by it..

          I really would like to be ignorant just once and not for a lifetime, hence the quenstion.. So, any help would be great.
           thank you...

Comments

[ohno-matsurika.livejournal.com]

It is actually considered good manners to make slurpping sounds when eating noodles in Japan, it shows that you enjoyed the food that they put work into making. I'm pretty sure that applies mostly to noodles and not to other foods.

[babey16.livejournal.com]

your fast.. thanks for the info..

[jimjamjenny.livejournal.com]

Apparently noodles taste better if you slurp and let in air at the same time.
I think that might actually be true. It also helps to cool them if they're very hot, so you can eat faster than you would be able to otherwise! I try to let myself slurp when I eat noodles here (I live in Japan), but even though everyone else around me is doing it, I can't quite let myself half of the time.
I don't think it's particularly rude NOT to do it, but you get some strange looks if you don't.

[nicolearoni.livejournal.com]

Well, typically, we slurp to show that the food is delicious, and it's really just something that's never actually questioned. We never slurp while eating spaghetti, or eating soup-based foods because that's considered as bad manners (At least that is what my family believes. I'm not sure if that's how it is for others). It's not something you need to do, but most people do any because it's become somewhat of a tradition? Some believe that in restaurants, if you don't slurp, then it shows that you disrespect the chef/cook.

[purasuti.livejournal.com]

When I went to Japan, the tour guide take us to Soba restaurant.. and he said "Make slurp sound when eat it" and he showed us.. He said "It feels better for me when you eat that way than you just eat it normally.like you did in your home.".. that was my experience.. hope it'll help ^^

[neocopasetic.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's a sign of having bad manners, but you never see people NOT do it in Japan. So while it's not "omg, they must not like it!" it's kind of "weird.." However, when I lived in Japan, my host family tried to show me how to do it.... and I am physically unable, it seems xDD;;; Of course they were okay with it, because I'm a foreigner. I tried, though! ;^;!

[riverofcurios.livejournal.com]

Some parts of Asia consider slurping to be rude but in Japan's case it's actually polite to slurp to let the chef know that you're enjoying the food :)

[babey16.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the info :)
In our country you can send your compliments to the cook for the delicious meal by telling them :)

[hontowa.livejournal.com]

Like everyone has said, slurping noodles and soups is done by everyone in Japan. If you ask Japanese people about it, you get a lot of different reasons. Some say it's a sign that the food is good, others say it makes the food taste better, and I've even been told that you should slurp so you don't burn your lips on the hot noodles. I personally find it almost physically impossible to do XD I guess it's just so ingrained in me that slurping your food is a super rude thing to do (where I come from) that I can't do it.

[minamichan03.livejournal.com]

yes, it is a custom for us... :)

so, if you don't know how to make sounds while eating noodles, it's like you don't know the proper way to eat it..

but, only to noodles,okay! hehe.. :D
not applicable to other foods.. LOL.. XD

[babey16.livejournal.com]

haha :)
A little contradicting...
thank you for the tidbit

[turtle-yurippe.livejournal.com]

Isn't that because slurping is okay for men, but a lady must not slurp?

[love-kat-tun.livejournal.com]

I was taught to slurp noodles loudly to show that you enjoy the food and show appreciation to the people which made it .

[corlee1289.livejournal.com]

HAHA!!

I'm Chinese so I was brought up slurping our noodles! <3 So I found it really bizarre when my friend who wasn't Asian eating noodles without slurping! She's tried slurping, but in vain. However, for me it's second nature!

I guess it depends on the culture. Since another friend of mine burps after eating, but I cannot. And vice versa with me slurping my noodles!

[elarasakurai.livejournal.com]

hmmm slurping . . . applies to eating soba, udon, soumen and of course ramen. goes well together with eating/slurping everything you pick up with chopstick (meaning you do not cut the noodle somewhere and return it to the soup/dipping broth). applies to both hot and cold noodles, including sarusoba and tsukemen, both of which has the noodles and the dipping broth separate.

it is considered goodmanners in japan, not just because it tells the cook it thet the food is good, but also because it apparently enhances the flavor.

i never did get the hang of it, i loose steam mid slurp. but it does help in eating really hot ramen or kake soba. especially since i have "neko shita" (have to cool my food a bit before i eat it).

upside, we ate at a ramen shop whose chef was 1st gen japanese in new jersey. he was quite surprised and pleased that a foreigner was (trying) to eat ramen the proper way :)

downside, sometimes the soup flies all over the place as you slurp. or is it because i am not an expert :(