Never been to Malaysia but I have eaten extensively throughout Thailand with Thai people in elegant restaurants, street vendor stalls and small eateries. Never once have I seen a Thai person touch rice with their hands. It is always served on a plate or from a bowl with a serving spoon, then pushed by fork onto one’s spoon and eaten from that. Thais do eat (and love) finger food, but from my first-hand experience rice is not one of them.
This is just stupid. Are you really saying that it is Taiwanese culture for restaurants to take uneaten food off one group’s table and then give it to people at another table? Are you? Give me a yes or no answer.
OK, don’t bother, because the answer is no. And don’t tell me that I’m wrong because I’m a foreigner who doesn’t understand Taiwanese custom.
Brian
Well, you’ve got to give little Mr cpdashfjklsdh up there one thing - he’s good for a damn hearty belly laugh. Stupidity generally is.
You disputed their points of view. Why can’t they challenge yours?
[quote] You guys have no privilege to attack the people like this and it is too bad that you had this “terrible” experience. If you don’t like the ways people handling the food here, and nobody asks you to dine out. I might suggest you that the better way is to avoid eating in all the Asian countries, or even going back to where you are 100% sure of safe dinning place where it is your hometown I guess.
You guys just don’t know when we are in other countries, we need to at least respect the local behaviors, just like when we visit our friend’s house, we need to obey his/her house-rules. [/quote]
Believe me, foreigners in Taiwan know they are in a different country. They are reminded of that fact every single time somebody talks to them.
[quote] In Thailand or Malaysia, people use hands to grab the rice and this is their tradition. Are you going to complain this? So far as I know and have been to the Crystal Spoon, it didn’t recycle used rice , it recycles clean unused rice on the silver bowl where no customer directly touched by their hands or eating utensils and this is the ways almost all the restaurants handling their rice if they serve the rice by this ways. I have no idea how well you are educated, but from the discussing here, I saw all of you guys are so self-centered and like a bunch of gossiping old ladies. I am just educating you guys don’t make a fool of yourself,
[/quote]
Ahh, now I know why you have the privelege of arguing your case, but the other posters on this forum are considered arrogant for arguing theirs: you are educating them. You have some special knowledge about Taiwan that nobody else here has. Are you Taiwanese, or are you a foreigner who studies Taiwan and now has some special insight into Taiwan that nobody else has?
Unfortunately, many people have called into question your priveleged knowledge. Many people here appear to be long-time residents. And many people had their suspicions confirmed that recycled rice is considered disgusting by Taiwanese by asking their friends. Hell, Flicka’s four Taiwanese friends found it revolting. But I bet you think that your deep knowledge of Taiwan, acquired by living in Taiwan for a long time, gives you insight that not even Taiwanese themselves have.
I think people are also worried about what some malicious person might throw or spit into the silver rice bowl. Just because customers aren’t supposed to touch it, doesn’t mean that someone won’t flick a booger into the rice bowl.
[quote] and you guys don’t even bother to write back cause I will not see you guys’ junks and response. you can save your time to gossip other things if you guys have nothing else important to do.
[/quote]
No, man, you will be back. I know you are insatiably curious to how people responded to your posts. Even though you pulling this immature bullshit about not caring about the debate, you want to see what people have to say. It’s kind of like wanting to fake your death to see who shows up at the funeral.
Just because we don’t accept what you say, we are narrow-minded? That’s the one of the stupidest things you’ve written. Your arguments are unconvincing. They do not pass our bullshit detectors.
Moroever, we are no more narrow-minded than you who won’t allow other people to have their own opinions. And when they have the audacity to voice their opinions that contradict your special knowledge, you threaten to pack up and leave.
Good question. What are you doing here? You don’t speak for the DOH. You don’t speak for our Taiwanese friends who were revolted by this news. Do you speak for the Crystal Spoon? Are you a foreigner who is trying to show us how superior you are to us because you understand Taiwan?
We can be educated. But what is being offered as education must first pass our bullshit detectors.
Good advice. Maybe I will do just that.
So, is it really true that the Crystal Spoon is selling Spit Rice for the same price as plain, old regular rice? After all the times I’ve been charged massive wads of cash for Bird’s Nest Soup, I can’t believe any of you guys are complaining. Flicka, shame on you! Crystal Spoon is offering its customers a “little somethin’ extra” with every bowl of rice, and you all have the gumption to: 1) complain about it to the DOH; 2) take the DOH citation seriously; and 3) take the time to argue with cpcrewmw.
A positive attitude will go a lot further than all this negativity. Instead of thinking of a fat man’s spit inside that silvery rice bowl, imagine it full of syrupy and exotic Thai flavors. Oh, wait… the thought of that is totally disgusting. Scratch all that.
Fuck! Think of the goddam location – super high-profile location like 101, and you’re supposed to expect everything to be a notch above the best. Instead, you’re getting somebody’s slippery rice. Probably some hunka hakked-up gems floating in the middle of the white crap that shows up between my teeth when I’ve eaten something starchy. In a night market you would get better – at least those guys have to make most of their food right in front of your face. Crystal Spoon is, without a doubt, doing for Spit Rice what the movie Cadddyshack did for chocolate bars floating in swimming pools.
In Malaysia people use their hand, that is true, but only to take the food from THEIR own plate.
The food is however put on the plate with a spoon or similar.
Never seen people in Thailand using their hands. Maybe this is done in the Southern part where there is a predominantly Muslim population, dunno.
I thought Thai people usually use forks and spoons to eat, except for noodles for which they use chopsticks. It seems really strange for a restaurant that is clearly paying Taipei 101 rent prices to cheap-out on rice and, thus, ruin their reputation with the high-end clientele they would normally want coming. Their customers pay more and should expect fresh, non-spit-covered rice.
It seems they’ve spent most of their budget on decorating the place than on the actual food. I am not sure what gigantic colored felt balls placed on chairs and a bar that stretches across the restaurant has to do with Thai food, but glad they could cut rice costs.
Frankly, Taipei 101’s restaurants are a big disappointment. Visit any high-end mall around the world, and you’ll find at least one classic place to eat. Hell, even the Marie Calendars at the Valley River Center in Eugene, Oregon, is leaps and bounds ahead of the crappy offerings at 101.
You are right–the Thais do use utensils, more proof our new friend doesn’t know what he or she is talking about.
I don’t know if it’s still the case, but in the late 90s the custom at some of barber shopa I went to was to not change the razor blade between customers. Couldn’t go along with that one, either.
I don’t know if it’s still the case, but in the late 90s the custom at some of barber shopa I went to was to not change the razor blade between customers. Couldn’t go along with that one, either.[/quote]
Peasant is, as peasant does.
I went by 101 this past weekend and saw Crystal Spoon at lunchtime, which was pretty empty. However, if they go out of business, won’t they simply be replaced by a restaurant that doesn’t let the customers see into the kitchen area.
How about a lunch for Forumosans at the Crystal Spoon?
I think that cpcrewfkcd has a good point. I’ve been to Thailand, Malaysia and have lived in Taiwan for several years.
As a foreigner, who am I to insist my rice is spittle-free? Really, I should feel priviledged to take part in this unique cultural happening.
So, why don’t we all do it. Sadly, none of the Taiwanese, Thai or Malay people I know want to join in - something about hygeine and health concerns, but that’s ok. As responsible foreigners living in Taiwan, it is something we should all take part in.
Love live the Spit-Drenched Spoon!
Who’s in?
ive never been to this place…but if all they recycled was the rice…at least u kno it was steamed at over 100C thus killing all the bacteria…but still pretty nasty considerin other ppl been all over the rice your going to eat 
…anyway if you want to try a really nice…however quite expensive Thai restaurant [very nice designed etc…] try “forever HOME’S” if i could give you the address i would… however still workin on my chinese. You can call them at +886 2 2731 7309 (get directions that way) The food is really nice and did not taste recycled.
Pelle … now that you mention it, spit cooked at 100C is probably a bit like bird’s nest soup.
eating rice, and food, with hands is done in bali. i did it as well. but i didn’t eat anyone else’s rice with my hands. (at least i hope not) 
i don’t mind to eat my wife’s leftovers, but i’m not to happy to pay for someone else’s. some kid’s hork in there … or 13 sneezes over it. and this is “fine dining”. at least in bali it cost 30 NT.
[quote=“Pelle”]I’ve never been to this place…but if all they recycled was the rice…at least u kno it was steamed at over 100C thus killing all the bacteria…but still pretty nasty considerin other ppl been all over the rice your going to eat :P[/quote]The toxins that are produced by bacillus cereus are not destroyed by high temperatures.
rbkc.gov.uk/EnvironmentalSer … ness13.asp
I came to this thead because another member told me about it…
Yes, I do realize the thread is really, really old… but I just wanted
to know what happend to this restaurant?
Thanks!
I once had to go there because of customers in town, which forced me to watch the rice handling very carefully against the backdrop of this thread. When I was there, the servers were the only ones handling the rice bowl – they kept the big covered metal bowl of rice off on the side, away from our table and only spooned some out for us when they perceived a need or we requested it. At no time did any of our own utensils get into the rice.
Of course, that was for a table of only about 6 or so people. No telling if the rice we were served had previously been sitting on a bigger table, where patrons had been free to rub their privates in the bowl.
I second the vote for cpcrewmw = Nob of the week. :bravo:
I can’t be bothered to argue in face of such stupidity.
