SINGAPORE: After observing that most families he visited or came across in Singapore do not use “serving utensils” when gathering for meals, a man took to Reddit to ask whether this is actually a social norm in the country.
“It seems that most of the families that I have encountered, be it extended or friends, they seem to just dig into every dish/soup using their own utensils,” he wrote on the r/askSingapore forum on Sunday (Mar 1).
“Even those who clearly have flu or cough seem to not be mindful about others and do the same, and what’s even more surprising is others don’t seem to be affected as well and just eat normally. Is it normal in Singapore families to share dishes without serving utensils?”
After attending these gatherings, he said that he and his wife ended up falling sick, even though they are the kind of people who rarely catch the flu or a cold when living on their own.
The man clarified that he has no issue with this practice when it occurs within his own household, as he knows that all his family members are healthy. “I’m just concerned about people who are sick and can’t be bothered. It’s very stressful, and I’ve got no choice but to not eat anymore whatever they have dug into.”
He continued, “Some of my family members are very frail ill elderly who are susceptible to viruses, and if I ever get sick unnecessarily and accidentally pass on to them, especially COVID, the effect is extremely fatal. Doctors have cautioned that it’s crucial that they cannot ever get COVID, because it can be life-threatening for elderly with conditions.”
“It really depends on the family.”
After the post was published, a lively discussion quickly followed, with readers sharing all sorts of experiences. Several people said it is normal in Singaporean households for family members to serve themselves from shared dishes without using serving utensils.
One user explained, “As far as I know, it is quite common for family members to share food this way. Not just here, but in many other Asian family cultures. For example, I’m sure if you watch K-drama you would have seen family members offering food to one another using their own chopsticks to pick up food and placing them on the spoon of another family member.”
Another commented, “Yes, many of my relatives and friends in general do not use serving utensils AT ALL, just dig in with their own utensils in the shared dishes.”
A third wrote, “There are fewer things to wash without serving utensils. That said, we also expect sick people to pre-fill their plates with dishes before starting to eat instead of grabbing dishes while eating.”
A fourth added, “Yeah, very normal. I’ve had dinner with extended family, and despite one of them asking the table of 10 to use the serving spoon, nobody bothered.”
Others, however, said that not all families in Singapore do this. One wrote, “It really depends on the family. My family did use serving spoons growing up. We even had our own soup bowls. It was quite a culture shock when I had dinner at my bf’s (now husband) family the first time. Everyone was drinking from the same large soup bowl and poking chopsticks everywhere. Haha. I got kinda used to it.”
In other news, a Singaporean employee took to social media on Monday (Feb 23) to vent his anger after his manager allegedly insulted him for taking medical leave (MC) during his notice period.
In a post on a local forum, the employee said that when he returned to work after being on MC, his manager immediately started tearing into him. He claimed the manager called him “useless,” sarcastically asked if he was “satisfied now,” and accused him of taking MC on purpose, even saying he had “calculated it perfectly.”
