Washing utensils such as chopsticks in hot tea is quite a usual practice in some older cafes of Hong Kong. Sometimes, we are really not sure if we should drink the tea or use it to clean/"sterilize" the utensils. After several observations of locals doing the cleaning/"sterilizing", we reckon that was the thing to do... .... .... .....or not ?
*Taken few months back in Hong Kong
Odd... Tea is a perpetual source of stains on china... wonder what makes theirs different?
ReplyDeleteBlogBlast for Peace - 11.6.2008
My family still does that we go out to eat Chinese food in HK. We use the tea they give us to drink to sanitize the utensils. The only times we abstain from such behavior is at a 5 star hotel or restaurant.
ReplyDeleteIs this a cultural thing? We also "sanitize" our utensils in Chinese restaurants here. Sometimes I wonder though, what for, when we have not sanitized the plates of the food we order :P
ReplyDeleteIn Hong Kong, we don't fully trust the cleaning process behind the kitchen even if the utensils are cleased to the highest standard. (that's why I still am trying to get used to Singapore standard) We still would like to clean them again.
ReplyDeleteDim Sum is our lunch (and to some, daily breakfast). And during Dim Sum we drink tea. Hence the convenience in using tea to clean utensil. Currently in many restaurant, they give pots of hot water instead. Hence not necessarily need to clean them with tea.
That's an interesting procedure. I knew an Irishman who cleaned the same way. I was always a little wary of his tea!
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of gross if you have to drink the tea afterwards (or if it's a shared cup of tea for sanitizing), haha :D
ReplyDeleteWhat a great little vignette! I never knew about washing anything in tea, is it the tea that does the cleaning specifically or the hot water?
ReplyDeleteHahhahaa... If I'm in those really old cha chan tang I'll use the tea to wash my cups :P Den after doing that, I'll hear my old man say me ma-fan :P
ReplyDeletemari kita ramai2 meriahkan lg mjls hr ry thn ini. dsertakan jgk list rmh terbuka slrh dunia;
ReplyDeletehttp://www.warisan-marzuki.blogspot.com/2008/10/sywl-jth-dlm-okt-utk-kt-braya-ianya-jgk.html
jk anda ada info lain, sila emailkan lmn web ATAU no telnya ke sronoknya@gmail.com ATAU sms +60128624623 segera!
thx... semua d jmpt hdr & jgn malu2
apa komen anda psl video d bwh ini;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdXf2iI8ap4
http://test.chedet.com/che_det/2008/09/selamat-hari-raya-aidilfitri.html#comments
http://rantingsbymm.blogspot.com/2008/10/open-housing-in-kl-and-jakarta.html
maaflah TUN... drkm pun ms tgh kecewa, lpr, malu & mrh! sape yg sepatutnya mhn maaf nie?
Great shot. Looks yummy..Happy WW:)
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I wonder what happens to the tea afterward? Do we drink it...eww? Or just reuse it? Or, toss it? You always come up with such intriguing post, Tigerfish!!
ReplyDeleteWhen u think abt it, it's rather silly as the water/tea is never hot enough to sterilise or kill off any harmful bacteria. I think ppl do it cos it makes them feel better. Great u have the chopstix "clean"...does it matter if the food is not prepared properly?
ReplyDeleteHi Tigerfish - we do the same thing here in almost all restaurants in Cambodia only we use hot water instead of tea.
ReplyDeleteI thought tea cause stains, how come still use to wash chopsticks *puzzling*
ReplyDeletehaha yeah that's the practice in some Asian countries, in malaysia, hot water is provided at those chinese tai pai tong (outdoor restaurants?) to cleanse utensils, I always thought it was pretty funny...cool observation!
ReplyDeleteYa, saw this cleaning procedure when i watch tvb dramas.
ReplyDeleteI use hot water. Such a waste of tea leh!
ReplyDeletei did that when i was there too..
ReplyDeletemy WW is about HK too
the hongkies really do this...
ReplyDeletemy friends use their tea (and mine) to wash their utensils all the time, and there was one time when i ALMOST drank their utensil tea...arrgghhhh
hilarious to them...but i really wanted my tea ^_^
i was advised not to drink my tea as it might be a cup of "overnight tea" and it causes hair loss (scary eh)
Really, it stain to white china utensil, I just heard it from you but maybe because of the antiseptic property of the tea maybe it's good..
ReplyDeletesee mine if you can..
Hrmmm interesting practice! :)
ReplyDeletehow true, i guess it's part of an asian culture that will be staying for a long time... :)
ReplyDeletelearn something new everyday.
ReplyDeleteWhen my dad to to eat bak kut teh in M'sia, he also used the tea to clean the utensil and tea cups!
ReplyDeletewhen I was in HK eating at Ladies St,I see how yucky and dirty the way they wash dishes!,Well,it's same apply to Msia vendor stall!! Maybe I live too long in US and forget that is our Asian culture! hahaha!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that. Interesting!
ReplyDelete