7 Tips for Surviving an Asian Family Dinner

asian familyDid your beautiful Asian girlfriend just invite you over to have dinner with her family? Wow, things are getting serious between you two.

If you’re wondering what it’s like to have dinner with an Asian family, we’re here to say that most of what you’ve experienced having dinner with your own family is going to happen. It’ll just be translated differently: embarrassing stories, kids running around, maybe a little bit of drinking, family members debating about something, a little bit of gossip, mother or grandmother driving everyone crazy and so on – sounds like your typical family dinner. Well, you may know how to survive your own family dinner but here are some tips that you can follow when having dinner with your girl’s Asian family (and you can make a good impression at the same time):

1. Play with kids.

Your girl’s Asian family will appreciate the fact that you love kids. Play with the kids present during the dinner to show off your fun-loving side. This gives them lots of great impressions about you: fun, patient, spontaneous and so on. The kids will love you in the process too!

2. Help the elderly.

Asian families value and respect their elders. With this in mind, you have to show the same towards the elderly present during the dinner: help them walk, assist them to do something, greet them appropriately and so on.

3. Eat a lot.

Do you appreciate Asian food? You should show it during this dinner. Asians believe that the more you eat, the more delicious their cooking is. Don’t forget to compliment the cook for doing a great job! If you don’t really care for Asian food that much, too bad. Just try to eat as much of what you like as you can.

4. Mind your manners.

Manners are mandatory. If you don’t know the proper table manners in your Asian girlfriend‘s culture then do your homework, search for them and practice them before the dinner.

5. Go with the flow.

There’s a slight chance that things will go wrong – maybe a lot of things will go wrong like you forgetting your table manners, you spilling a drink, you thinking that the food is too spicy, too sweet or too salty. We’re kidding, we’re not trying to jinx the dinner but you have to admit that these might happen. If they do, just go with the flow and maintain your composure. Don’t stress over the mistake too much.

6. Extend your help.

Don’t forget to offer help whenever needed. Most Asian men don’t really help out during dinner so when you feel this kind of vibe, skip the offer or offer discreetly. Offering to help is just polite! If you’re not sure about this bit, ask your girlfriend to shed some light on the deal.

7. Compliment the cook.

Aside from eating a lot, compliment the cook for doing a fine job at cooking. An Asian woman would rather be complimented on how she cooks than how she looks. Saying something about her look is flattery but saying something about her cooking, if you truly loved it, will come off as sincere.

Doing all these 7 tips will ensure your survival! What other things do you think you can do to make an even better impression? Comment below and let us know!