Where are your manners? Hong Kong students taught etiquette of Western dining
It's important to start learning about manners and etiquette early
The menu: a green salad, steak with potatoes, peas and bread, and for dessert, cake. The setting: six large tables with colourful tablecloths and cutlery set out. The guests: students of the Jockey Club EduYoung College, Tin Shui Wai.
But this is no ordinary meal. It's not about the food - which was imaginary, with a bowl of lettuce for the salad, bananas masquerading as steak, and a simple cake for dessert.
The students will be chewing on the niceties of Western dining in a workshop led by Bernice Lee, founder of ELI, the Etiquette and Leadership Institute, as part of an educational outreach programme organised by the American Women's Association.
"How many of you eat Western food?" Lee asks. There's silence until someone whispers "McDonald's", followed by a flurry of hands in the air.
"Our students in this community lack experience with Western culture," says EduYoung College's Yoko Leung Pui-yan. "Because of this course, I've seen them pay more attention to their table manners. In previous years, they also had a meal at volunteers' homes, giving them an opportunity to practice."
It's also a fun way to get the students to speak English. Lee aims to point out the differences between Chinese and Western culture, and help the youngsters "feel more confident about how they show respect to others and to themselves", Lee says.