Date: 18 October 2006 (Wednesday)

Time: 12:30-3:30pm

Venue: City University of Hong Kong

It was with excitement that the several dozens Form 6 St Marians filed into the small but cosy restaurant, located at the top floor of Amenities Building in City University. After all, we were there to learn dining etiquette, which we understood to be very important for our future.

This was again emphasized by Mr Rock Tam, our instructor, who was also the Senior Counsellor of the university’s Student Development Services.

The workshop started off with a ‘cocktail reception’…

…and the throng of bemused-looking St Marians began to wander about the restaurant with a glass of cold drink in hand.

As it turned out, one was not supposed to hold one’s glass with bare hands. It was proper manner to wrap it with a piece of napkin; and for practical reasons too – one would not want to shake your future boss’s hand with yours that is clammy from the moist glass.

In fact, the entire three-hour session was filled with all kinds of revelations, whether it was to spit food you would like to get rid of into your napkin, and then throw it under the table (while looking away); or to scrap the whole splatter of butter from its little plastic container and onto the plate; or the way to open a bottle of wine – or, talking about drinking, to watch your friends get drunk – it was an amusing yet educational experience.

Mr Tam, our instructor, gave very succinct explanations on the many points to note while dining out. He was also very helpful and ever ready to answer our numerous enquiries.

The food was not bad too –-

…though a lot of us left our wine glasses considerably untouched (for fear of getting drunk/because the wine was too dry...?)

Overall speaking, the workshop was a very interesting one from which one could learn a lot. I look forward to similar courses in the future on other aspects of etiquette.

Written by Lorraine Lui 6B