Has anyone tried the Joyce Chen chopsticks available only by mail
order? They look thicker and rounder than the flat angular Korean
chopsticks I can get at the Korean supermarket. I'd like to try out
the Chen chopsticks. The plastic (no, not IVORY) Chinese ones feel
right but I hate the material. I'm worried that the Korean ones feel
too pinny.

Hi!

> I'm worried that the Korean ones feel too pinny.

You'll get used to them. They're not used to "shovel" food into your
mouth, but to take precisely one bite. For rice (and soup, of course
;-D) you have your matching spoon.

Bye, Sanne.

sanne wrote:
> Hi!
>
> > I'm worried that the Korean ones feel too pinny.
>
> You'll get used to them. They're not used to "shovel" food into your
> mouth, but to take precisely one bite. For rice (and soup, of course
> ;-D) you have your matching spoon.
>
> Bye, Sanne.

Yeah, thanks to helpful Koreans I know that the matching spoon is for
delivering rice and to not pick up the rice bowl (which you do have to
do in Chinese and Japanese meals, right?) I stirred towards those
metal bowls with lids but my Korean/Japanese rice never comes out
properly. Also, I was advised against getting Asian made beaten metal
cookware because of microscopic flaking that eats into your system that
was in an Australian news expose a few years ago.

In New York, the prices for the absolutely basic Korean steel
chopsticks are 99 cents each or 10 (5 pairs) for $7.99 at local Korean
supermarkets(plural - yes, I checked.) A set of spoon and chopsticks is
typically $2.49. The steel chopsticks are very strong and unbendy.
Tableware designs start getting sweet in a Yellow Handkerchief way as
prices go up. The pricier stuff will definitely go over big in Chinese
Asia with the success of tv drama Jewel in the Palace. I want to
switch because my plastic ones make me uneasy so even if metal
chopsticks are not feng shui approved (I have no idea), I still have to
make this switch.

The hollow Joyce Chen 9 inches are about $10 for 5 pairs plus shipping.
There is also an 11 inch type from Joyce Chen.

Japanese long cooking chopsticks with a plastic handle are $8.95 from
House of Rice.

On 29 May 2005 07:09:20 -0700, wrote:

>sanne wrote:
>> Hi!
>>
>> > I'm worried that the Korean ones feel too pinny.
>>snipped
I make my own chopsticks out of those long fire place matches, seems
like a waste to throw away 8 inches of good wood and you don't have to
wash them and they are a dime a dozen. Did you know the majority of
the worlds commercial chopsticks are made in the US. As for a rice
bowl, I use a wooden one.

"sanne" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hi!
>
>> I'm worried that the Korean ones feel too pinny.
>
> You'll get used to them. They're not used to "shovel" food into your
> mouth, but to take precisely one bite. For rice (and soup, of course
> ;-D) you have your matching spoon.
>
> Bye, Sanne.

I was born and raised in Korea myself. Hi Sanne, we meet again, hehe.

Anyways, what's so good about Korean metal chopsticks? I thought they were
just terrible to get used to when I was young, and got me to use it the
"wrong" way(scissorlike). Thank god I got to use it "right" way later. It
was also very slippery when eating noodles. My mom swears by it, but I'd
stick to wooden or light ivory ones anytime.

Alai wrote:
> "sanne" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > Hi!
> >
> >> I'm worried that the Korean ones feel too pinny.
> >
> > You'll get used to them. They're not used to "shovel" food into your
> > mouth, but to take precisely one bite. For rice (and soup, of course
> > ;-D) you have your matching spoon.
> >
> > Bye, Sanne.
>
> I was born and raised in Korea myself. Hi Sanne, we meet again, hehe.
>
> Anyways, what's so good about Korean metal chopsticks? I thought they were
> just terrible to get used to when I was young, and got me to use it the
> "wrong" way(scissorlike). Thank god I got to use it "right" way later. It
> was also very slippery when eating noodles. My mom swears by it, but I'd
> stick to wooden or light ivory ones anytime.

the wood or bamboo ones will allow bacteria to embed (plus I couldn't
find any and I'm now afraid of lacquer coating) and the light ivory
ones are either a wrong against elephants or actually plastic that may
b toxic!
My hand cramped and even though we are not used to the look of them -
we are not Korean after all - we are going to have them as the
standard.

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Alai wrote:
>> "sanne" > wrote in message
>> oups.com...
>> > Hi!
>> >
>> >> I'm worried that the Korean ones feel too pinny.
>> >
>> > You'll get used to them. They're not used to "shovel" food into your
>> > mouth, but to take precisely one bite. For rice (and soup, of course
>> > ;-D) you have your matching spoon.
>> >
>> > Bye, Sanne.
>>
>> I was born and raised in Korea myself. Hi Sanne, we meet again, hehe.
>>
>> Anyways, what's so good about Korean metal chopsticks? I thought they
>> were
>> just terrible to get used to when I was young, and got me to use it the
>> "wrong" way(scissorlike). Thank god I got to use it "right" way later.
>> It
>> was also very slippery when eating noodles. My mom swears by it, but I'd
>> stick to wooden or light ivory ones anytime.
>
> the wood or bamboo ones will allow bacteria to embed (plus I couldn't
> find any and I'm now afraid of lacquer coating) and the light ivory
> ones are either a wrong against elephants or actually plastic that may
> b toxic!
> My hand cramped and even though we are not used to the look of them -
> we are not Korean after all - we are going to have them as the
> standard.
>

Your worries about wood chopsticks are just plain silly. A good washing
kills any bacteria. We put ours in the dishwasher and they last thru many
dozens of washings. Wood - actually bamboo - provides the right surface
texture to hang onto food. The ivory or plastic ones are pretty but hard to
use. The idea of using metal chopsticks is revolting to me. I know that
seems strange since metal forks etc. are the norm, but that's the way it
seems.


--
Peter Aitken
Visit my recipe and kitchen myths page at www.pgacon.com/cooking.htm

I miss the bamboo chopsticks that we used to have but I don't trust the
new manufactures from China and I believe that the ones from Japan may
actually be made in China. I touched my teeth with the metal
chopsticks yesterday when I was delivering rice into my mouth and the
sensation was horrible.

"Your worries about wood chopsticks are just plain silly. A good
washing
kills any bacteria. We put ours in the dishwasher and they last thru
many
dozens of washings..."



How long do people use soft or hard wood or bamboo chopsticks? Can
they be used indefinitely? When would you discard them?


ww

> wrote:
>How long do people use soft or hard wood or bamboo chopsticks? Can
>they be used indefinitely? When would you discard them?

We use our bamboo chopsticks until they start discoloring badly (or
until my wife says "let's change them", whichever comes first). At
99 cents for a ten pairs, it's not a big deal to throw out twenty
pair every three to six months.

We have some wooden chopsticks (not sure if they're soft- or hardwood),
which cost about three times as much (!), and basically only use them
for cooking.

We run our dishwasher on "extra hot wash", and place our chopsticks (both
kinds) on the top rack in a single layer (with other dishes above
that, often). Never had a problem.

Donald

Thanks, Donald. They usually say not to put such things as wood into
the dishwasher, but you've had no problems, extra hot, too. The wood
doesn't warp at all?


ww

In oups.com,
> typed:

> Thanks, Donald. They usually say not to put such things as
> wood into
> the dishwasher, but you've had no problems, extra hot, too.
> The wood
> doesn't warp at all?


We put wooden chopsticks in the dishwasher too, and have never
had a problem with doing so.

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

Ken Blake wrote:
> In oups.com,
> > typed:
>
>
>>Thanks, Donald. They usually say not to put such things as
>>wood into
>>the dishwasher, but you've had no problems, extra hot, too.
>>The wood
>>doesn't warp at all?
>
>
>
> We put wooden chopsticks in the dishwasher too, and have never
> had a problem with doing so.
>

Same here with bamboo chopsticks. I put mine in the utensil section,
angled toward the interior with narrow ends up, and wash with an extra
hot wosh. They come out beautifully and last a long time.

--
Kael
-- take out "the dog" to reply...!

In ,
Kael > typed:

> Ken Blake wrote:
>> In oups.com,
>> > typed:
>>
>>
>>> Thanks, Donald. They usually say not to put such things as
>>> wood into
>>> the dishwasher, but you've had no problems, extra hot, too.
>>> The wood
>>> doesn't warp at all?
>>
>>
>>
>> We put wooden chopsticks in the dishwasher too, and have never
>> had a problem with doing so.
>>
>
> Same here with bamboo chopsticks. I put mine in the utensil
> section,
> angled toward the interior with narrow ends up, and wash with
> an extra
> hot wosh. They come out beautifully and last a long time.


Yes, when I said "wooden chopsticks" I meant to include bamboo
chopsticks as a a kind of wooden ones. We've never had a problem
with any kind of wood--bamboo or any other.

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

> wrote:
>Thanks, Donald. They usually say not to put such things as wood into
>the dishwasher, but you've had no problems, extra hot, too. The wood
>doesn't warp at all?

With things like wooden spoons, always put the concave-side down, of
course. And i'm sure the dishwasher does cut down on the life of
bamboo and wooden chopsticks by some amount, compared to hand-washing.

But it's a dollar for ten pair, which last at least four months on
extra-hot wash. Three dollars for the wooden ones. Who cares?

Donald

> wrote in message
oups.com...
>I miss the bamboo chopsticks that we used to have but I don't trust the
> new manufactures from China


Yeah, the Chinese just have so little experience in dealing with bamboo.
Lol. What a stupid post.

Peter

On Sat, 11 Jun 2005 07:38:44 GMT, "Peter Dy" >
wrote:

>
> wrote in message
roups.com...
>>I miss the bamboo chopsticks that we used to have but I don't trust the
>> new manufactures from China
>
>
>Yeah, the Chinese just have so little experience in dealing with bamboo.
>Lol. What a stupid post.
>
>Peter
>

Dinna be so dismissive! Your Japanese restaurant takeout ones aren't
safe either and those hot nappies don't belong anywhere near your
membranes nevermind to wipe "clean" utensils.

I get my Mainland news READ to me but English translations are
available on the internet:
" In China's small roadside restaurants, the widely used disposable
chopsticks are referred to as "sanitary" chopsticks. They are commonly
seen in Chinese restaurants overseas. You can see them placed together
in a container or packaged separately and labeled "Sanitized For Your
Safety!" According to a survey in China, over 80% of those chopsticks
have never been sanitized. Fierce market competition has made it
impossible to cover all the costs, so some businesses have omitted the
sanitizing process. Others burn sulfur to make the chopsticks look
bright and white even though they know it could make the chopsticks
toxic. In order to minimize costs and increase profit, some
manufacturing jobs are subcontracted out to prisons and forced labor
camps where there are no controls put on sanitary conditions."

On Sun, 12 Jun 2005 23:52:26 GMT, ggg > wrote:

>
>I get my Mainland news READ to me but English translations are
>available on the internet:

Even though Epoch Times is one of the sources of the translations,
please remember that it is the official Mainland news that is giving
out all this information. The Mainlanders are the original concerned
parties, but outsiders should look into what they are buying without
worrying about looking like maniacs. The information IS available:


According to The People’s Daily, food safety concerns are prominent in
China, and the food manufacturing process needs better inspection and
controls.

This problem is evident in the recent distribution of impure milk
powder in Fuyang and poisoned liquor in Guangdong.

In recent years, the Chinese media has reported many incidents of
people having been poisoned by inferior or spoiled foods.

There are five major food safety problems in China:

Contamination occurs during the cultivation process. It is very
difficult to supervise and control the manufacturing process of
agriculture products produced by individual farmers; prohibited
products and processes are widely used.

Food-processing factories are problematic sources of contamination.
Most such factories are small, isolated and unorganized. Most
factories are not properly equipped to produce quality foodstuffs.

Food distribution is not well organized. Chinese food management
enterprises lack needed facilities and food distribution is managed
with out-of-date methods.

Food safety protection is relatively weak in the countryside.
Criminals sell impure and bad foods at country fairs and in small
shops. During the Fuyang milk powder incident, farmers’ rights and
interests were seriously and directly harmed.

Food safety problems have brought a bad reputation to Chinese foods in
the international market. The recent consecutive reports about the
incidents of Fuyang milk powder, Longkou noodles and Sichuan pickled
vegetables have already drawn attention and brought serious concerns
from Japan, the United States, Hong Kong and Macao. The aforementioned
countries have already exerted restrictions on the import of Chinese
foods.

Sichuan mooncakes were deemed 80% inedible this year by the government
inspectors.

In 2002, it was Nanjing mooncakes:

Safety lapses poison Chinese food reputation
By Antoaneta Bezlova

BEIJING - China's self-esteem as a country of great culinary
traditions is being poisoned by a spate of food-safety scares, which
have brought down hundreds of students and workers across the country
with sometimes deadly illnesses over the past year.

Dining and wining at sumptuous feasts these days, Chinese people often
congratulate themselves for the abundance of food that a growing
economy has put on their tables. However, a shocking array of
food-related hazards are alerting diners to the fact that not all is
well with China's booming food industry.

Honey contaminated with the banned antibiotic chloramphenicol, widely
used in China to treat infections and promote rapid growth, is being
exported abroad. Moldy rice, bleached and polished to look normal by
adding mineral oil, is sold in many of the country's markets. Cheaper
industrial salt is commonly used for cooking in restaurants instead of
the processed salt available in supermarkets.

"Have you eaten?" is the Chinese people's traditional way of greeting
friends and neighbors throughout the day, highlighting the importance
of food in a country long plagued by food scarcity. But soon, as
Beijing cook Lang Haohe jokes, Chinese people may well start greeting
each other with the anxious: "How is your stomach?"

Last year, food poisoning killed 146 people and affected more than
15,000 others in China, the state media reported. Alarmed by concerns
over food safety, the government launched a nationwide crackdown on
fake and inferior foods. But worse was still to come.

On September 14, more than 400 people, many of them students and
construction workers, were rushed to the hospital in Tangshan, near
the central city of Nanjing, after they ate breakfast supplied by a
breakfast shop that had been tainted with rat poison.

The government later said 38 people died, but local residents claimed
that the toll was much higher. The food-poisoning case appeared to be
the biggest in recent memory in China, but was also the second major
food scandal to hit Nanjing in as many years.

Last autumn, state television broadcaster CCTV accused a well-known
Nanjing bakery of recycling old moon-cake fillings and wrapping them
in fresh crusts. The traditional sweet delicacy is associated with
celebrating the full-moon harvest during China's mid-autumn festival.

Public fears over food safety were hardly calmed with the disclosure
that the Nanjing food-poisoning case was a deliberate one, caused by a
business rivalry.

A week later, another food-poisoning outbreak hit an elementary school
in Hebei province, in China's north. Some 110 students were admitted
to hospitals for stomach pain and headaches after they ate fried
chicken, bean strips and bread from a snack vendor outside the school.

As a developing country with a population of about 1.3 billion,
China's food problems are most often caused by polluted soil and
water. Meanwhile, weak government supervision of food production and
storage and an underdeveloped public health system only serve to
aggravate the food-safety situation.

Much of the contamination of China's soil and water took place during
the early decades of communist rule, when China's leaders strove to
sustain rapid agricultural growth with excessive use of toxic
pesticides. However, some of the more recent contamination scares have
been deliberate. Local food producers often sell food beyond its
expiry date to minimize losses and resort to mixing food with
additives to increase its weight.

"Greed for exorbitant prices has driven some immoral and lawless
people to ignore laws and adulterate or even use toxic and harmful
materials in food making," state media quoted Peng Peiyun, vice
chairman of the standing committee of the National People's Congress
or parliament, as saying this year.

Peng was assigned to lead a government inquiry into the implementation
of a national law on food hygiene, which became effective in 1995.

With some 5 million companies operating throughout China, the food
industry became the leading sector in terms of annual output value
five years ago. Food accounts for about 40 percent of the total
consumer purchases in China, according to the Chinese Association of
Consumers, a national watchdog on consumer rights. But problems with
food only accounted for 20 percent of the total complaints received
during the 1998-2000 period.

Already, China's food-processing practices are causing concern beyond
its borders. As a large agricultural producer, China exports
vegetable, meat and aquatic products to more than 40 countries.

In August, the US Customs Service seized bulk imports of Chinese honey
that were contaminated with low levels of chloramphenicol, a
potentially harmful antibiotic and banned food additive. The European
Union continues to ban Chinese poultry, shrimp, prawns and other food
products because of suspicions that they are contaminated with the
same antibiotic. Similarly, tensions over Chinese agricultural produce
banned by Japan, because of serious pesticide-residue problems,
continue between Beijing and Tokyo.

Now that China has become a member of the World Trade Organization,
its food exports are expected not only to increase rapidly. China is
also empowered to use WTO mechanisms to fight non-tariff barriers to
trade, such as safety standard requirements for food products.

(Inter Press Service)

Doesn't this sound delicious: http://www.tiffinbites.com/about/tb.htm

I don't think locals would complain or categorize someone as alarmist
or better off eating at MCDONALD'S for taking care. It's not
xenophobic to give new things a long look.

"Bombay's conservative middle-classes remain sceptical of what is
described as 'outside' food. They prefer their chapatis cooked at home,
preferably by mum. And they are deeply attached to their food- not just
the standard rice and dhal - but also the region's abundant seafood:
the pomfrets and the red snapper; the king crabs and the prawns; and -
of course - the succulent, magnificent Alphonso mangoes.

'Your stomach can get off if you eat outside food,' Mrs Gavai pointed
out sagaciously. 'In restaurants you don't know what oil they use or
how they prepare.
You get infections.'"

"ggg" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 11 Jun 2005 07:38:44 GMT, "Peter Dy" >
> wrote:
>
>>
> wrote in message
groups.com...
>>>I miss the bamboo chopsticks that we used to have but I don't trust the
>>> new manufactures from China
>>
>>
>>Yeah, the Chinese just have so little experience in dealing with bamboo.
>>Lol. What a stupid post.
>>
>>Peter
>>
>
> Dinna be so dismissive!


Huh? Let's look at the original post:

"Has anyone tried the Joyce Chen chopsticks available only by mail
order? They look thicker and rounder than the flat angular Korean
chopsticks I can get at the Korean supermarket. I'd like to try out
the Chen chopsticks. The plastic (no, not IVORY) Chinese ones feel
right but I hate the material. I'm worried that the Korean ones feel
too pinny."

He or she's trying to buy new chopsticks in the US, not use the chopsticks
at a roadside restaurant in the People's Republic of China. Thus your
unattributed cut-and-pasting was irrelevant. Just wash the damn bamboo
chopsticks you buy here before first use.

As for your, again, citation-less quotes, I could easily google news stories
from the US about unsanitary conditions right here in America. Don't eat in
China if you are so worried, more for me!

Peter














Your Japanese restaurant takeout ones aren't
> safe either and those hot nappies don't belong anywhere near your
> membranes nevermind to wipe "clean" utensils.
>
> I get my Mainland news READ to me but English translations are
> available on the internet:
> " In China's small roadside restaurants, the widely used disposable
> chopsticks are referred to as "sanitary" chopsticks. They are commonly
> seen in Chinese restaurants overseas. You can see them placed together
> in a container or packaged separately and labeled "Sanitized For Your
> Safety!" According to a survey in China, over 80% of those chopsticks
> have never been sanitized. Fierce market competition has made it
> impossible to cover all the costs, so some businesses have omitted the
> sanitizing process. Others burn sulfur to make the chopsticks look
> bright and white even though they know it could make the chopsticks
> toxic. In order to minimize costs and increase profit, some
> manufacturing jobs are subcontracted out to prisons and forced labor
> camps where there are no controls put on sanitary conditions."
>
>

On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 07:27:42 GMT, "Peter Dy" >
wrote:

>
>Huh? Let's look at the original post:
>
>"Has anyone tried the Joyce Chen chopsticks available only by mail
>order? They look thicker and rounder than the flat angular Korean
>chopsticks I can get at the Korean supermarket. I'd like to try out
>the Chen chopsticks. The plastic (no, not IVORY) Chinese ones feel
>right but I hate the material. I'm worried that the Korean ones feel
>too pinny."
>
>He or she's trying to buy new chopsticks in the US, not use the chopsticks
>at a roadside restaurant in the People's Republic of China. Thus your
>unattributed cut-and-pasting was irrelevant. Just wash the damn bamboo
>chopsticks you buy here before first use.
>
>As for your, again, citation-less quotes, I could easily google news stories
>from the US about unsanitary conditions right here in America. Don't eat in
>China if you are so worried, more for me!
>
>Peter
>

ok please yourself I wasn't interested in dictating behavior. My
position has been blogged.

"ggg" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 13 Jun 2005 07:27:42 GMT, "Peter Dy" >
> wrote:
>
>>
>>Huh? Let's look at the original post:
>>
>>"Has anyone tried the Joyce Chen chopsticks available only by mail
>>order? They look thicker and rounder than the flat angular Korean
>>chopsticks I can get at the Korean supermarket. I'd like to try out
>>the Chen chopsticks. The plastic (no, not IVORY) Chinese ones feel
>>right but I hate the material. I'm worried that the Korean ones feel
>>too pinny."
>>
>>He or she's trying to buy new chopsticks in the US, not use the chopsticks
>>at a roadside restaurant in the People's Republic of China. Thus your
>>unattributed cut-and-pasting was irrelevant. Just wash the damn bamboo
>>chopsticks you buy here before first use.
>>
>>As for your, again, citation-less quotes, I could easily google news
>>stories
>>from the US about unsanitary conditions right here in America. Don't eat
>>in
>>China if you are so worried, more for me!
>>
>>Peter
>>
>
> ok please yourself I wasn't interested in dictating behavior.


I wasn't dictating behavior either. I just thought it stupid and even
racist to suggest that Chinese chopsticks are somehow suspect. Your bizarre
quotes of whatever they were quotes of didn't clarify anything. Just more
muddle.


My
> position has been blogged.


This is a NG, not a blog. So, no, your position hasn't been blogged.

Peter

I see many newsgroups posters as blogging with their posts including
posting news articles that interest them and getting comments on them.
I understand what a blog is and I have a couple and I read a bunch and
from my perspective, the newsgroup posts other than the mayday calls
are bloggings in many respects.

Peter Dy wrote: Just wash the new chopsticks...

Yes, that sounds like the thing to do all right!

Back to GG's original post...I think this might be what you're looking
for:

http://everythingchopsticks.com/item...-Chinese-Chops

What does "pinny" mean anyway? I like Korean chopsticks, too. Never
tried these Chinese stainless steel chopsticks, but they look excellent
- maybe a bit slippery, like plastic sticks. The Korean sticks, being
narrow and angular, have a good grip, plus some are grooved.


ww

wrote:
> Peter Dy wrote: Just wash the new chopsticks...
>
> Yes, that sounds like the thing to do all right!
>
> Back to GG's original post...I think this might be what you're looking
> for:
>
> http://everythingchopsticks.com/item...-Chinese-Chops
>
> What does "pinny" mean anyway? I like Korean chopsticks, too. Never
> tried these Chinese stainless steel chopsticks, but they look excellent
> - maybe a bit slippery, like plastic sticks. The Korean sticks, being
> narrow and angular, have a good grip, plus some are grooved.

I have some Jade chopsticks.. don't think I'd want to use them. More of
a decorative piece.

I have a bunch of the Thai chopsticks that a friend brought back from
Thailand. Very nice, and we do use them.

--
Dan

"Philippe Lemaire \(remove oldies\)" >
wrote:
> Dan Logcher wrote:
> > []
> > I have a bunch of the Thai chopsticks that a friend brought back from
> > Thailand. Very nice, and we do use them.
>
> Were not only spoon and fork used in Thailand ?
>
The fork is generally used as a 'pusher', the spoon for the eating.
Thais use chopsticks for noodle dishes.

--
Nick. To support severely wounded and disabled War on Terror Veterans and
their families go to: http://saluteheroes.org/

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !