Aussie TikToker explains why she converted from fork to spoon to eat rice after living in Malaysia

July 5, 2022

An Australian TikToker living in Malaysia surprised her Southeast Asian followers when she claimed that people from down under use forks while eating rice dishes.

In her recent video, TikTok user Georgia says that Australians think that using a spoon to eat rice is unusual.

She admits, however, that using a spoon “makes so much more sense” and declares that she has converted to eating rice with a spoon.

“Why do we use a fork when all the bits of rice fall through it?” she says in her video.

Georgia told Malaysian news outlet Says that she only realized people use spoons for rice after living in Singapore and Malaysia. She shared that her friends and colleagues in Singapore would tease her for choosing a fork over a spoon.

Commenters were quick to highlight the benefits of using a spoon over a fork, while some suggested that eating by hand is even better.

“Sometimes, we pair rice with lots of gravy/sauce.. so definitely have to eat them with a spoon,” one user wrote.

Georgia explained that utensil preferences may be attributed to the differences in how food is prepared and consumed in Australia and Asia. She noted that knives and forks are often used for most of the dishes in Australia, and spoons are meant for soups and desserts.

Rice is notably consumed in a variety of ways in Asia depending on the type of rice eaten and the local cultural norms.

In Japan and China, short-grain rice is usually eaten with chopsticks. Meanwhile, Koreans tend to consume this type of rice either with chopsticks or with a long metal spoon. In Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia and the Philippines, many eat rice using a combination of a spoon and fork. The use of bare hands also remains popular in many parts of the region, as well as countries such as India.

Georgia’s video, which has ignited a positive discussion on the subject, has so far been viewed over 91,000 times on TikTok.

Featured Image via @simplegreensoul

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