April 29, 2011
Fine Dining Etiquette

There are academic tests to determine one’s scholastic abilities; there are job interviews to verify a candidate’s compatibility with a job profile and amongst many other investigative tools, there is fine dining etiquette to corroborate a person’s table manners or level of class. Do you wonder which hand clasps the fork and which one the knife? Do you have no hunch on what to do with that fancy white napkin? Do you make ghastly chewing noises likely to provoke nasty glares from the elites perched on the dinner table? As comfortable as you may be with your mundane eating habits, to reap certain benefits, you must conform to certain norms. Formal dining etiquette has been deeply ingrained in society’s principles of respectable behavior. Bending these norms in the hopes of converting the world into a dining room of savage eating beasts would be as challenging as persuading corporate into entering office unclothed. So, you’ve got no choice but to swallow your pride as you swallow your well sliced and diced pieces of chicken. Let this article bequeath you with the finest of instructions to help you survive, if not shine during the most intimidating of all dinners!

Etiquette For Fine Dining
• See that exquisite throne? Pull it out of the table and gently plop yourself onto its cushioned seat. Don’t be hasty and make no noise. Sit up straight and slouching is a strict no-no. Keep your elbows in.
• Neatly spread your napkin on your lap the moment you are comfortably seated. Note that the large dinner napkins are half folded while the small ones are opened to its full-size. Once the meal has come to an end, leave your napkin semi-folded at the left side of the place. Never wipe your mouth with a napkin, use it only to dab.
• Exhibit your etiquette by patiently waiting until everybody around the table to serve before digging into your plate. Remember to use the silverware farthest from your plate first.
• Do not be threatened by the series of forks on the left side of your plate, and the series of spoons and knives on your right. Use them efficiently to cut one or two tiny bits of meat at a time. Always hold your knife and fork at the same time and always point the tines of your fork down toward the plate. Never use your fork like a scoop!
• Ensure that the soup bowl remains on the table while you sip. While consuming the soup, push your spoon away from you starting point at the centre of the bowl to the farthest edge. Do not insert the whole spoon into your mouth and sip from the edge. Never ever slurp!
• When you are finished, place your knife and fork together in the centre of the plate.
• Be elegant if at all you have to remove inedible food from your mouth. In cases of olive pits, first drop it onto your open palm and then onto your plate! If you unintentionally discovered a little bone in a bite of chicken or mutton, delicately drop it on your plate with the help of a fork. However, it is acceptable to remove a tiny fish bone with your fingers.
• Use your napkin to protect yourself from spills. It is perfectly alright to request the server to clean up and replace the soiled napkin or dirty utensil with a cleaner one.
• Generally, the pudding fork and spoon will be found directly above your plate, rather than in the cutlery at the side. If a dessert course is served, you will probably have a dessert fork and knife. You should use these on larger pieces of fruit.
• Place you napkin on your seat if you have to temporarily get off your seat. This insinuates your return.
• Many a time, you will notice more than two glasses on the table arranged in a diagonal or square pattern. The top left glass with a fairly large bowl is for red wine and the smaller one is for white wine. On the bottom right, you will find your water glass. Do not gulp your wine and never hold the glass for the server to pour your wine.
• Bread should never be cut. When you wish to eat it, tear a bite sized piece off with your fingers.
• Steer clear of topics that include politics, religion, or sex at the table, especially when you don’t know the guest very well. Although, it may be difficult to incite effortless conversations with strangers, it is necessary that everybody can join in on the conversation.
• Do not yell to the ends of the table. Stick to speaking in low tones. However, do not treat the dinner venue as a church hall or a library room. Be a good listener and allow the person sitting next to you to share his or her opinions.
• If you don’t like something, do not hesitate to leave it. Don’t smoke at the table unless invited to by the host.

The best hotels outside Manila in Pampanga and Subic are listed here including a beach resort which is a semi-private establishment located in the central business district near shopping, business, entertainment, airport and other conveniences of Philippines Clark Freeport Zone. The beach resorts, leisure parks and vacation hotels in Clark Pampanga offer a unique ambience that supports a laidback relaxing lifestyle. Many visitors travel north to Clark Pampanga from Manila to unwind and relax in these resorts.

This Pampanga resort hotel is different from other hotels in Clark Philippines or hotel in Angeles City. This Clark Hotel has large outdoor space for children to play and adults to enjoy some peace and quiet in the picnic grounds near the lake. Guests like the Hotel’s café breakfast garden which serves the best breakfast in Pampanga. Clearwater Resort has nice ambience and wide space, much better than the other hotels in Angeles City and Manila Philippines.

Traffic along the North Expressway NLEX from Manila to Clark is always light and the new Subic Tarlac Clark Expressway ScTex takes visitors straight into Clark Freeport without going through any towns and cities along the way.

Many guests like staying at Clearwater Family Inn Hotel Room in the picnic grounds of this resort in Clark Pampanga. Some like the trees in the resort camping grounds. One can stay in other hotels in Angeles City but it is not often one finds amenities and ambience like Clark, not like Clearwater Resort in Angeles City Philippines.

Those who are lucky enough to get a room at this lake resort in Clark Philippines will be able to enjoy the magical sunrise across the lake of Clearwater Resort at dawn. This is the only hotel in Clark Pampanga that guests can really enjoy viewing sunrise.

For information as well as assistance with reservations in hotels and resorts in Pampanga, Clark Philippines, click here to contact HotelClarkPhilippines now

Or call us at

Hotel Clark Philippines
Creekside Road corner of Centennial Road,
Central Business District, Clark Freeport Zone,
Pampanga, Philippines 2023

Tel: (045)599-5949 0917-520-4403 0922-870-5177

Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 Rea or Chay

http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com

Email: Info@ClarkPhilippines.com

Getting to this hotel in Clark Philippines
After entering Clark Freeport from Subic, Manila, Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along Clark’s main highway MA Roxas, passing Clark’s largest wine shop called Clark Wine Center on your right, continue to bear right making no turns at all, go past Mimosa Leisure Estate on the opposite side of the road, you will hit a major intersection. Go straight and the road becomes Creekside Road. YATS Clearwater Resort and Country Club is on your right just 200m down. Traffic in Clark Philippines is light so it should be quite easy for get to this hotel in Clark Philippines.

To inquire with the beach resort hotel in Clark Pampanga visit http://www.ClearwaterPhililippines.com

YATS Leisure Philippines is a HK-based developer and operator of clubs, resorts and high-class restaurants and wine outlets http://www.YatsLeisure.com