Chopsticks

In Europe we have shops specialised in cutlery with some brands fetching vertiginous prices. In the Asian world the equivalent exists for the chopsticks. They come in all sort of material (bamboo, plastic, wood, bone, metal, jade, silver and ivory) and length. My favourite sticks are Japanese and the main difference with Chinese ones comes in the way they are shaped with pointed ends. This shape supposedly takes its origin in the fact that Japanese eat bony fish in their daily diet. They are traditionally made of wood and are lacquered. Some sets even include two lengths, shorter for women and longer for men. Sexist? The etiquette also surely is extensive and interesting and varies depending on the countries. Last and interesting fact I remember reading somewhere is that the use of chopsticks relieves the pain in the hand after holding a computer mouse or a TV remote control for a prolonged period of time.

My own personal chopsticks come with silver dogs engraved on the tip (my zodiacal sign).