Diary - My mum and I are going to an upscale restaurant tomorrow

[Maybo]

This is an entry from my diary. Please check it and correct any mistakes.

My mum and I are going to an upscale restaurant tomorrow to celebrate her recovery from an illness. I'm more nervous than excited because the only thing I know about dining etiquette is using fork and knife. That's it. I might watch some videos about it and hope they helps. Also, I eat only fully cooked food, and I'm worried that the restaurant can't cook all their dishes thoroughly. However, the food is secondary because my mum's main goal is to take classy photos and post them on social media.

 

[Tarheel]

This is an entry from my diary. Please check it and correct any mistakes.

My mum and I are going to an upscale restaurant tomorrow to celebrate her recovery from an illness. I'm more nervous than excited because the only thing I know about dining etiquette is using forkS and KNIVES. That's it. I might watch some videos about it and hope they helps. Also, I eat only fully cooked food, and I'm worried that the restaurant can't cook all their dishes thoroughly. However, the food is secondary because my mum's main goal is to take classy photos and post them on social media.

More later.

 

[emsr2d2]

BrE speakers would say "using a knife and fork". Putting the two utensils the other way round is very unnatural here. It would be like saying "chips and fish" instead of "fish and chips", or "veg and fruit" instead of "fruit and veg". Sometimes, a word order is pretty much set in stone.

 

[emsr2d2]

@Maybo What do you mean by "fully cooked food"?

 

[Tarheel]

@Maybo
Say:

I might watch some videos about it and hope they help.

I am certain they can fully cook the food. I guess you mean you are worried that they won't do that.

If you want to be sure the food is fully cooked then don't order sushi.

 

[Maybo]

@Maybo What do you mean by "fully cooked food"?

Cook the food thoroughly. Sometimes restaurants provide raw egg yolks, or the meat still looks bloody. I can’t eat them.

 

[Maybo]

If you want to be sure the food is fully cooked then don't order sushi.

I’ve decided to order vegetarian set dinner so there’s no meat, but then I saw eggs on the menu. I hope they aren’t served raw.

 

[Tarheel]

Cook the food thoroughly. Sometimes restaurants SERVE raw egg yolks, or the meat still looks bloody. I can’t eat them.

A steak that's barely cooked is "rare".

Can't you tell them how you want your meat cooked? In fact, don't they ask you how you want your meat cooked?

 

[Tarheel]

@Maybo I'm pretty sure vegetarians don't eat eggs. I can't imagine why they would be on a vegetarian menu.

 

[Maybo]

A steak that's barely cooked is "rare".

Can't you tell them how you want your meat cooked?

I’ve watched videos about visitors having dinner in it. The restaurant serves raw egg yolk but that’s months ago.

In fact, don't they ask you how you want your meat cooked?

Does that include sheep meat or salmon? I don’t even want to eat red-ish meat.

 

[Maybo]

@Maybo I'm pretty sure vegetarians don't eat eggs. I can't imagine why they would be on a vegetarian menu.

Isn’t that vegans don’t eat eggs?

 

[emsr2d2]

@Maybo I'm pretty sure vegetarians don't eat eggs. I can't imagine why they would be on a vegetarian menu.

Isn’t that it vegans who don’t eat eggs?

You're right, Maybo. Vegetarians (generally) don't eat meat, fish, seafood or poultry (or anything with gelatin in) but do eat dairy and eggs. People on a plant-based diet exclude all food that comes from an animal, so no meat, fish, seafood, poultry, dairy, eggs, or honey. That's the food side of things, which is why I called it "plant-based". A full vegan lifestyle would also exclude wearing leather or silk.

 

[Tarheel]

@Maybo
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure you can order anything that's on the menu and tell them how you want it prepared. Otherwise, why go there?

 

[Maybo]

Otherwise, why go there?

My mum wants to take pictures.

 

[dunchee]

Also, I eat only fully cooked food, and I'm worried that the restaurant can't cook all their dishes thoroughly.

Saying “… can’t …” sounds like you doubt the chef’s ability to leave food on the stove/in the oven for a few more minutes (so the food gets cooked through). Since it’s from your perspective, I’ll preserve most of your wording:

Also, I only eat food fully cooked, so I am worried that the restaurant will serve raw or partially cooked food.

A side note. I know the feeling. I was sort of like that when I first came to the US. I had the sense of not ordering steak well-done at a restaurant, so I usually ordered steak medium-well. I was glad that I didn’t see bloody juice (most of the time) when I cut the steak, but the steak was often hard to chew. (My jaws!) So I stopped ordering steak (and buying steak for home cooking). To make my story short, this went on more than 10 years, and I finally started to enjoy medium-rare steak about 5 years ago.

 

[emsr2d2]

I think you need to be clearer about which foods you eat only if they're fully cooked. You eat salad, right?

 

[Maybo]

Saying “… can’t …” sounds like you doubt the chef’s ability to leave food on the stove/in the oven for a few more minutes (so the food gets cooked through). Since it’s from your perspective, I’ll preserve most of your wording:

Also, I only eat food fully cooked, so I am worried that the restaurant will serve raw or partially cooked food.

Very similar. I was worried that even if I told the chef I wanted a well done steak, he might still leave the steak 10% raw because of its taste.

A side note. I know the feeling. I was sort of like that when I first came to the US. I had the sense of not ordering steak well-done at a restaurant, so I usually ordered steak medium-well. I was glad that I didn’t see bloody juice (most of the time) when I cut the steak, but the steak was often hard to chew. (My jaws!) So I stopped ordering steak (and buying steak for home cooking). To make my story short, this went on more than 10 years, and I finally started to enjoy medium-rare steak about 5 years ago.

It's great that you get used to eating medium-rare steak. I got infected by parasites when I was a child, so I not only avoid eating not thoroughly cooked meat but also raw vegetables.

 

[Maybo]

You eat salad, right?

I eat salad but if there is raw vegetable, I don't eat.
Sometimes there are potato salad with only potatoes and salad sauce and some fruits.
For, fruits don't need to be cooked.

 

[emsr2d2]

I eat salad but if there is it contains raw vegetables, I don't eat it.
Sometimes, there are I have potato salad with only potatoes and salad sauce, and I eat some fruits.
For, Fruits don't need to be cooked.

OK, by "salad", I meant something like a bowl of cucumber, lettuce, tiny tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers - all raw. That's a salad too. Potato salad is, of course, cooked. It's not really a salad!

I'm sure this won't change your mind, but including raw vegetables in your diet would be really good for your health. They contain a lot more nutrition - they're full of antioxidants (especially colourful veg like tomatoes, peppers etc), and are packed with vitamins and minerals. When you cook them, especially if you boil them, most of the nutrients leach out into the water and are lost.

 

[Maybo]

I'm sure this won't change your mind, but including raw vegetables in your diet would be really good for your health. They contain a lot more nutrition - they're full of antioxidants (especially colourful veg like tomatoes, peppers etc), and are packed with vitamins and minerals. When you cook them, especially if you boil them, most of the nutrients leach out into the water and are lost.

If the vegetables are self-grown by myself, I will eat them raw. I'm trying to grow them but many of them are dead.