"Scissors Are de rigeur at the Table" Top 5 Page for this destination South Korea Local Custom Tip by jburron

It looks odd at first, but it seems to make sense--many Korean barbeque tables supply (or their staff use) scissors to cut the meat.

It's rather ingenious, actually. Koreans seem to want you to know that they are giving you some special service, but if everything arrives to your table all cooked and cut how do you know? What they do at some (higher end, usually) restaurants is not only cook your meal in front of you, but slice and dice it there as well. It's not as flamboyant as a Benihana meal (with the throwing of the salt shakers and hitting of the knives) but it does display to you what it takes to make your fare. Scissors just make sense--how can they cut food in front of you with one hand? They are cheap, easy to use and relatively safe.

For those places where you do the cooking (C.I.Y. or Cook-It-Yourself) you'll either have someone at the table who can cut for you, learn to do it yourself, have mangled food or have to ask the staff to do it for you. Either way, it beats having things just placed in front of you--and you're not likely to check your watch anticipating when your food will arrive, it's right there!

• Written Apr 12, 2004
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