One of the quintessential parts of the study abroad experience is trying new foods.

I’ve avoided writing about these experiences until this point because I’m in a bit of a different situation when it comes to food. I have celiac disease and I have to follow a strict gluten-free diet. Needless to say eating in general, but especially in Asia, provides a lot of obstacles for me that average study abroad students may not experience.

Soy sauce is a daily part of life here. It’s hidden in soups. It’s used to marinate almost every type of meat. Every restaurant offers a bottle at each table. Unfortunately for me, soy sauce also has gluten in it.

My program director was generous enough to create a card for me with instructions in English, Cantonese and Mandarin about what I can and cannot eat. There’s also a website that offers this service in most languages, so I’ve been able to print off similar cards when I travel to countries outside of China.

These cards has been helpful, but they’ve also confused a lot of waiters and waitresses. For whatever reason, allergies are not as prevalent here as they are in the United States. Chefs are not used to being told a customer can’t eat a certain food or that their meal can’t be cooked in the same oil in which anything with flour has been cooked. Some restaurant professionals have laughed when I show them the card. Some have just waved it away. Only a few have been really, really helpful.

I haven’t been able to avoid gluten entirely, but I have managed to not starve. Mostly, I eat fried rice at restaurants because it’s safe. I hand the waiter or waitress my restaurant card and ask them if the fried rice fits all of the criteria listed on it. It seems to have worked so far.

I wish I had more of an opportunity to try some of the interesting and different things that I see on menus. However, I feel like I am inconveniencing the wait staff by just showing them my card, and I don’t want to add to that by going through every food on the menu to see if it has gluten or not.

I knew when I chose to come to Hong Kong that eating out was going to be difficult and that I would have to forego trying a lot of the traditional foods. I’ve tried a few unoriginal things, including fried rice served inside a full pineapple and ice cream served as a roll. However, for the most part, I’ve survived on fried rice at restaurants and food I cook on my own.

The restaurant culture here is very different, and it’s not only because many restaurants won’t accept special orders, substitutions or additions to what’s on the menu. In addition, tips aren’t expected, but service charges of 10 or 15 percent are included in each check. Some restaurants don’t split checks.

If we do find a restaurant that does split checks, I can tell it’s something the waiters rarely do. This is probably because most traditional Chinese restaurants offer food family style. They give out portions that are meant to be shared by multiple people. Unfortunately, the American idea of portions is a lot different from the Chinese one and sometimes food that is meant to be shared by a few people is only enough for one or two of us.

Just like every other new custom I’ve come across while abroad, these differences in restaurant culture aren’t a bad thing. They just represent an alternative way of thinking about food and restaurants. In the U.S., the customer is always right. Here, the customers defer to the chefs and other restaurant staff. It’s a much more respectful approach to eating out.

Claire Moran is a junior broadcast and digital journalism and international relations dual major. Her column appears weekly in Pulp. She can be reached at clmoran@syr.edu.

Published on April 20, 2016 at 9:00 pm