[Anonymous]

[VintageKrug]

I’ve only had Shark Fin Soup once – went into a lovely restaurant walking distance from the Peninsula and asked for some local delicacies, without specifying what.

I’d vaguely heard of Shark Fin Soup, and thinking like turtle soup that it couldn’t possibly contain actual shark fins, thought little of agreeing to trying some as part of what was proposed.

It tasted very average – like a thin chicken soup.

Mentioning this to a friend the next day, she was horrified, and sent me a link about the cruelty involved in delivering this delicacy to my table the previous evening.

I’d urge anyone who is considering ordering this dish to highlight the horror around its production, and the unnecessary suffering caused:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyPxe2nfhDI

Would you dissuade colleagues from ordering it if out at a business dinner?

[canucklad]

VK…..couldn’t agree more

And you raise a very valid point ……………

Where as enlightened liberal thinking, with westernised liberal values do we articulate revulsion without offending local culture.

You could go further for those who do business in the ME and actually turn a blind eye to practices against fellow human beings that wouldn’t be tolerated elsewhere

So, yes, all for saving this most magnificent of creatures but there is nonsense everywhere!

[MartynSinclair]

VintageKrug – that was truly a horrific You Tube clip, but if you are going to tell a story, tell the whole story!

This happens to many more animals than the shark. Would you eat dog/cat in Asia, Monkey with its slead recently sliced open like an egg, eat the still beating heart of a snake which has been skinned alive. Watching Bear Grylls bite heads of snakes, chew Octopus when they are live. Not to mention lobsters being dropped into boiling water whilst still alive.

There is a You Tube clip of chefs being timed cooking and serving live animals. I saw Jonathan Ross’s show on Saturday night where the host and his guests were eating live insects, for entertainment.

There are more animals than Sharks who suffer cruelty at the hands of cooks and chefs.

I am not suggesting people become Vegetarian, but Shark Fin soup, is just one of many dishes where animals suffer.

And yes, I have been offered all of these dishes (except monkey) whilst on business trips, in Europe / Asia / USA !

[Binman62]

The accepted view of “when in. Rome…….” Is valid to a degree, however in a global environment I do expect my colleagues, no matter their cultural background to have some sensitivity to my cultural background also.

I found the Japanese to very good at this when for example I explained I would try most foods but only if dead!

The Koreans never offered dog, even in 1990’s which was a blessed relief. ……but that does not mean it was not provided!

The get me out of here grub eating is pointless entertainment for the ignorant.

[VintageKrug]

I have had personal dealings with Jonathan Ross and he’s an odious individual.

[Cedric_Statherby]

VK – thank you for the thread. I lived in Hong Kong in the 1990s and enjoyed shark’s fin soup when it was offered, though I never thought it worth the extraordinary prices. Since then I have had my eyes opened to what is involved, and I have not eaten it since.

But this raises the point that Canucklad brings in: when to accept other people’s customs and when to stand fast on one’s own. One time I refused was a formal dinner given by some Chinese hosts (you could tell it was very formal because each dish was more outlandish than the last – sea whelk, chicken’s feet and so on). There was incomprehension when I turned the soup down and not very well disguised annoyance at my “lack of respect” for their hospitality.

(Parenthesis: why is it that whenever you do something the Chinese don’t like they accuse you of “lack of respect”? How thin is the skin on the ego of the world’s second largest superpower??)

So what is the answer, and where does one draw the line? Nobody seriously thinks the West can go back to the 19th century and demand that the rest of the world obeys our customs and sensitivities: we cannot impose our moral code on others any more. But do we have the right, when in another country, to stand by our own code in our own actions? And before you say “yes of course”, try being a journalist, or a Christian, or a woman, in some parts of the Arab world …

[BeckyBoop]

Lots of top airlines, restaurants and hotels are equally guilty of this as some tend to serve fois gois and caviar which is just as inhumane.

The sound of Sharks fin soup just sounds revolting, the same reason why I would never like to eat in a Heston Blumenthal restaurant (weird food).

[canucklad]

And of course you’re right Cedric….

I will forever regret not showing by disgust at an incident at my hotel in Malindi on the Kenyan Coast..

Sitting with girlfriend, enjoying an afternoon beer in equatorial tropical heat, overheard a grosse FRAU rebuking the waiter, who became confused at her request in fast spoken German for a mug of hot chocolate with cinnamon or something just as elaborate!

The waiter who could speak fluent English, Swahili, His coastal dialect, as well as touristy French and German was sacked on the spot by the German owner who valued this most ignorant of a woman more than the trust and loyalty of her staff.

I just wonder if she would have been so quick to judge if more of us had stood up to this nasty NAZI

[canucklad]

And BB, we can be hypocritical of what others eat…..

I’m only going to mention a breakfast staple most of us enjoy….

SAUSAGES !!!!!!!

OH, may as well cross threads here and mention Iceland Chicken !!

[MartynSinclair]

“when to accept other people’s customs and when to stand fast on one’s own”

I think Cedirc’s above statement is central to this discussion about food.

The Asian culture of not wanting to waste any part of an animal is very admirable. One only needs to look at Adam Zimmern (Bizarre Foods)

http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/bizarre-foods

..to see exactly what we are missing in the West!

However, business relationships are a 2 way and whilst I always respect cultures when travelling, I have always considered it 2 way.

Most know I am vegetarian, but the one occasion in the past few years I have eaten meat, was on a visit to a hard line Arab country, who knew in advance I was Jewish, presented me with a Glatt Kosher meat meal, still sealed, not knowing I dont eat meat. I quite rightly, made an exception and ate the food with a big smile.

VK was right to highlight Shark Fin soup, but this is only one part of the problem.

[BeckyBoop]

I think the main reason why Asian people can feel offended if you turn down food is because they don’t like to see any go to waste or the fact they have gone through a whole affair of preparing food and more importantly it’s a sense of occasion as its about bringing people together and all being happy.

Here are some ways of not upsetting your hosts if you get served something you don’t want to eat:

1) Try and eat before you go out so you don’t go totally hungry. Then when you get served something you don’t like, try and have a couple of mouthfuls before excusing yourself and saying you are full.

2) Explain you don’t eat certain types of food as you are allergic

3) Its against your religion

4) You don’t eat meat because you are a vegetarian

5) If the meal is served late explain you are not used to eating so late and are very tired.

6) You have an upset stomach from lunch.

7) Just admit that you don’t like it

[Deleted_User]

Some years ago I found myself in the south of Morocco during Ramadan.

Not only out of respect, but also to test myself, I decided to observe the fast for the duration of my stay, admittedly less than a week.

Not a drop of water, not even a sneaky puff!

[toonfan62]

Or travel with someone more important than you (even if just in title). They get “first dibs” on the food and all the attention while they do so, you can just mime a nibble here or there until the rice arrives…..!
Bailed me out a few times in the middle of China!

[LuganoPirate]

Local custom or not, I’d never eat something I disagreed with, such as shark fin soup, just to please my host, no matter how important the person or potential deal. I usually explain that I’m a westerner and its not food I eat. I’m very respectful and my stand is usually respected.

On one occasion my Chinese host then proceeded to find something I did like. Finally I was served some beef in a sauce. They were so happy they’d found something I liked they ordered more. The host then said I was a very strange westerner, that his western guests will eat everything, but not my dish. It was dog!!! Well I didn’t know and revolted refused the second helping! Ughhh….

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