On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 17:05:50 -0500, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>Frogleg wrote:
>
>> Well, it's sure not because they all listen to opera during dinner
>> (see article)! They place even more social acceptance on thinness
>> than USAsians. They don't snack all day long. They serve small
>> portions. It's not a mystery or some magic formula.
>
>Small portions? I have been to France three times, and most meals were
>quite bounteous. We went to the restaurant in our hotel one evening
>absolutely famished after having skipped lunch. We ordered the three
>course menu and were stuffed after the appetizer. My wife had a shrimp
>and avocado salad. We were expecting half an avocado with a scoop of
>shrimp salad in it. What arrived at the table was a huge mound of
>shrimp salad garnished (probably 1 1/2 cups if it) with a whole
>avocado nicely sliced and arranged around it and topped with a dozen
>large shrimp. My Tourte Lorraine was a sort of quiche, about 6 " in
>diameter and 1 1/2" deep, the bottom half of it being a meat filling.

Perhaps I should have added that they eat at home more. :-) Banquet,
restaurant, and special occasion food can be quite different from
everyday eating habits. I got a single lunch at my local takeout
Chinese a couple of weeks ago, and had !5! full meals from it. A pint
of egg-drop soup (with a packet of fried noodles), about 2-1/2 cups of
pork fried rice, 2 cups of battered, fried chicken pieces in a sweet
sauce, and a fortune cookie! All the people who work in the store
are slim as minnows. They *obviously* don't eat that kind of lunch (or
dinner) every day.