Not sure where to put this so will try here.

Other than Raclette, Fondue, this does not seem to be a very common practice in Swiss (german culture)? I have a couple experiences, one was a meal in Hong Kong with a few Swiss colleagues and Hong Kong colleagues, the Swiss were rather relunctant to take food from common plates.

Likewise, last weekend was eating at a restuarant in Chinatown NYC. There was a family of four German tourists eating at the table next to me. They each order a sweet and sour pork individually. Four orders of the same exact same dish. Having much exposure to Asian culture, this made me laugh internally...this was family not even strangers. And being in the US with US portion size this means they probably were eating sweet sour pork for lunch the next day.

I felt the same the first time I had a 'meze' in Greek restaurant in England, after three years of picking at a few communal plates in the middle of the table.

Each to their own, I guess. I never use chopsticks (on principle), which I suppose raises a chuckle from savvy westerners sitting nearby in Chinese restaurants.

It's my dinner, aint it?

You are absolutely right. Upbringing I guess.
My American wife and MTV-watching Gen-Z kids will happily share while I order my own stuff.
For me I don't have the urge to try dozens of different things (I hate buffets). I'd rather have more of something I like.

For some reason I feel it is yucky to eat from someone else's plate and I certainly hate when someone takes a dive on my plate (except for hubby). I still have nightmares about my grandpa puting his already licked spoon on my plate ...being followed by my mom having to give me another plate.

On a more practical note: Having a rather unpleasant (and sometimes quite sticky) food intolerance, I'd rather have my own plate, which I know is safe to eat, than have to ask the waiter fifteen times if those little plates of eastern delight in the middle of the table contain any of the substances that will result in a night and a day of intestinal misery should I inadvertently gobble them up attached to a strip of beef or a sauteed prawn.

This my plate. That yours.

Now bugger off and let me eat, dabizi!

It breaks my heart to have to share your nasty pizza when I've ordered the yummy one. With Asia I guess do as Romans do, otherwise it'd look a bit funny at a fancy Swiss restaurant tucking into your mates' cordon bleu...

Not using the chopsticks is fine...it is your dinner.....

I just find it an interesting cultural difference... not criticizing anyone for their choices. Not outwardly at least. I am not that arrogant...just found it culturally amusing. Plus Sweet and Sour pork is the worst Chinese meal in existence.

Recall being in an Italian restuarant in Florence, and some savy American couple were sitting next to us gloating to themselves on how globally cultural they were. As an example the wife noted to her husband how unsophisticated this couple next to them was for coming to Italy and ordering a simple past with tomato sauce (how can they do that) - as this was all said out loud I often wondered do they think we are deaf, dumb or just don't understand English.
they must think everyone else including the English speaking couple next to them don't speak English). They were later quite shocked when our second course came, salted cod with the head still on.

I love people like that: In fact, they're one of the reasons that I never use chopsticks (with which I am perfectly competent, by the way, as every gentleman should be).

Indeed, I take great delight in being a boorish, ethnocentric lover of foreign food on my terms, if only to annoy the pretentious and the gullible.

Just watch me use Stilton instead of feta cheese in my Greek salads, and observe the horrified faces of the philhellenic purists at the table.

I seem to have wandered off-topic, but ah! what a topic...

Arm-wrestling to settle who pays for the bill goes down well in Argentina.

Good question. I wonder how the Swiss act at an Ethiopian restaurant?



Any recommendations for some Ethiopian food in Switzerland.

Mmmm looks good. I've never had Ethiopian food though. Maybe there's someplace in / near Basel?

Satay Celup anyone ?



Or Lok-Lok

Hmmm yummy

I see that you are in Swiss Germany...which I cannot help for a recommendation. However, if you ever come to Lausanne...you can try:
http://www.nil-bleu.ch

It's good...not the best that I have ever had but for ethnic food in Switzerland, a good choice.

Cheers,
Rebecca

One in Zürich (see here).
Not sure about Basel or Luzern though.

That's funny.

When we were in Singapore for a few months I don't think the waitress in the local restaurant ever got over our "wierdness", asking for individual main courses and wanting them to all arrive together.

I don't mid sharing communal plates, as long as nobody trys to share my plate.


And of course girls who share their pudding are my favorite kind of girls.

And especially not for eating soup.

Cheers,
Nick

Happened to me too, at the Moroccan place in Kreis 5. Their multi-plate selection are obviously meant for sharing, but the local insisted on ordering separately. We ended up ordering two of the exact same sharing plates. Even the waitress alerted the person to the fact and that we could have more variety if ordering together, but they insisted.

I was miffed only due to the resulting lack of variety.

In North America, sharing is common, esp at Chinese, Indian, Ethiopian restuarants, where obvioulsy you want to try different dishes, as would be done in those cultures anyways.

On the other end of the conversation:

I was in an American-style diner in Hong Kong and watched 4 young local order a hamburger with fries, spaghetti, a club sandwich and some chili, and then share that Asian-style. It made sense that they did it, but it still looked weird to me

... and never forget the dangers of double dipping...