Dining etiquette: The dos and don'ts of dining in Hong Kong

When at a ceremony or fancy dinner, traditional Chinese hierarchy comes into play with regards to where you sit. The person with the most seniority will typically be seated facing east, or towards the entrance. From there, those with lower positions will seat themselves further away, and the person with the least seniority will sit closest to the kitchen door. Breaking these rules can be seen as disrespectful, so expect some uncomfortable silences if you do.

When you're first seated, you'll be given a big bowl alongside teapots filled with hot water or tea. These are given to you for rinsing your utensils, not for drinking! Give your chopsticks, teacups, bowls, and plates a quick rinse to ensure they're clean. The cleanliness of restaurants has definitely improved, so while this habit isn’t necessarily done for sanitary reasons anymore, it’s still considered good manners, and usually a task done by the children of a family or employees for their boss.

While maybe considered a little rude in other parts of the world, it’s perfectly normal to wave or raise your hand in Hong Kong to get the attention of your servers. When at yum cha, there will usually be a sheet of paper with food items and tick boxes, write the number of servings you want in the box, and hand the sheet to the server when you’re ready. At Cantonese restaurants, if you’re ever lost, pointing always does the trick!

Whoever has the least seniority at the table usually pours the tea, and serves everyone else’s cup before their own, even if other people’s cups are still full. When the pot is empty, take off the lid and rest it on the handle, this signals the server that you need a refill. When getting poured tea, tap the table with three fingers, which is a non-verbal way of thanking someone at the Hong Kong dining table.

There are usually more chopsticks than knives and forks at Cantonese restaurants, so get familiar with the rules. There are two main things you don't do with your chopsticks here: don't point with them and don't stick them upright in a bowl of rice. The latter resembles something done with incense sticks when paying respect to the dead. Also, you'll usually get communal chopsticks that should be used when bringing food from the serving dish to your own bowl – so don't use the ones that you've had in your mouth!

These circular turntables are commonplace on any banquet-style table as a means of seamlessly transporting food between members of a dining party. The most important rule here is to always check if anyone is taking food from a dish before you try to spin it around to yourself. When it’s your turn to spin, always spin it clockwise, and try to keep the serving dish on the lazy Susan when bringing food to your own bowl, even if that means moving your bowl closer.

Keeping in line with Chinese traditions of seniority and hierarchy, whoever organised or hosted the dinner usually pays. However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to pay, or at least debate with the host how to split the bill.