A bowl of ramen can satisfy your hunger, provide a source of nutrition, and warm your body up on a cold day. If this type of Asian fare is appealing to you, getting together with some friends and visiting a local ramen restaurant may be an outing to add to your to-do list. However, you'll want to brush up on some ramen restaurant etiquette in advance of your visit. This can especially be true if none of your friends have any experience at this type of establishment, as you'll be able to share your tips with them and ensure that everyone deals with their ramen appropriately. Here are three etiquette tips to remember.
Try To Eat Quickly
With many different types of cuisine, it's an etiquette blunder to eat too quickly. Eating a bowl of spaghetti or a steak as fast as you can, for example, can definitely be rude — especially when you're visiting a restaurant. It's important to know that this isn't the case when you eat ramen. It's conventional to eat this dish quickly because if it sits too long, the noodles can begin to get soggy and lose their appeal. While you should take care to avoid unnecessarily clinking your spoon against your bowl or spilling on yourself, you shouldn't hesitate to consume your ramen quickly.
Use Your Spoon And Chopsticks
When you take your seat at a ramen restaurant, you'll typically see that you have a spoon and some chopsticks on the placemat in front of you. While you might instinctively reach for the spoon, given that you'll need it for the ramen's broth, you shouldn't overlook the chopsticks. It's good etiquette to use both the spoon and the chopsticks as you eat this dish. A simple way is to use the spoon for the broth and for smaller pieces of food while using your chopsticks to bring the noodles to your mouth, as well as lift larger pieces of food that won't fit on your spoon.
Don't Be Afraid To Slurp
Audibly slurping your food is rude in most restaurants, but that's not the case when you eat ramen. Slurping when you pull the ramen noodles into your mouth is commonplace in ramen restaurants and perfectly acceptable. In fact, you may find that it's difficult to eat the noodles without making some noise. Don't worry about slurping down the noodles — your server or the other patrons will not be upset with this behavior.
