Lunch - 'to eat chaotically'

Random Thoughts – Lunch Ritual in Chinese Company

See also: Chinese Food from BME

Lunch in a Chinese company is quite different from the sandwich or cold salad eaten at the desk in the West. Lunch is the most important meal of the day for the Chinese, so when they talk disparagingly about the nasty cold ‘lunch’ eaten in foreign countries they twist the pronunciation to ‘luanchi’ – which means something like “to eat chaotically / in confusion / promiscuously” in Chinese.

Lunch is the most important meal of the day, so it is invariably eaten in the canteen or company restaurant, and no Chinese person would ever consider eating alone (that’s no way to eat!) so it is imperative that we all go down to eat at the same time.

This, coupled with my colleagues’ incredible work ethic (always look extremely busy) leads to a bizzare ritual every lunchtime.

By about 12.30 everybody’s getting really hungry, but also doesn’t want to be the first person to go to lunch (and look like a slacker). Eventually one person gives in and announces that’s it’s time for lunch – but they can’t go on their own, so they have to ask others to go with them – and since they ask one person, they have to ask everybody.

But their other colleagues have to look incredibly busy, and therefore won’t respond to calls for lunch unless addressed by name. So the slacker who announced it was time for lunch has to go and tell everybody it’s time for lunch, one by one (cue surprised glances at watches), before anyone can go at all.

The hungry slacker is usually me.

Wo betide anyone I forget to call, they have to scuttle down five minutes later loudly wondering how the morning flew by so quickly.

See Also Lost in Beijing