Italian man in SG says seeing diners share food was a culture shock

SINGAPORE: An Italian man took to TikTok to say that it was a “culture shock” to see people sharing food in Singapore. Commenters on his video, however, said that it was all about sharing.

The video from @andreafassi has since received over 132,000 views, as people tried to explain the difference in eating cultures between the two nations.

@andreafassi

Culture shocks in Singapore as an 🇮🇹 part 2

♬ original sound – andreafassi – andreafassi

“You see, in Italy, the way we approach food is quite different. For example, when it comes to pasta or pizzas, those are individual dishes,” he said, which are, in general, rarely shared.

The TikToker also added that when people go on a date, each person orders their own pizza or pasta.

When he came to Singapore and saw people sharing pizza or pasta set at the centre of the table, he asked himself what the point was of doing that.

“So I found that very, very strange. In Italy, you have very strict eating rules, he added.

Perhaps the tradition of sharing food isn’t just a Singaporean but an Asian one.

“Cos we need to try more food. By sharing, we can have more variety of food choices,” a commenter wrote, adding, “We need variety, not just pizza. We prefer to order a few dishes like pizza, risotto, lasagne, pasta. For dessert, we can have one each, but we would still like to ‘taste’ others’ choices by sharing. You will get used to this soon!”

Another had a question right back for the post author. “Aren’t pizzas big??? How do you finish it all yourself??”

@andreafassi wrote, “Yes, but not as heavy as in SG.”

Pizzas may indeed be bigger outside Italy, especially those that are family-sized. While many Italians share appetisers, it is customary for diners to have their own main dish, and so if one orders a pizza or pasta as a main, it’s served as a single portion.

One commenter simply wrote, “because we have a culture of sharing, while another added, “Sharing is caring….simple as A, B, C. This is Our Culture.”

However, in his next video, @andreafassi clarified with a smile that “sharing is caring is not a Singaporean thing only.”

In Italy, he explained, each person orders their own dish, and then they’re “supposed to ask” the other people they’re eating with to have a taste of their food.

“In fact, if you don’t do that, it’s quite rude,” he added.

@andreafassi

sharing is caring it’s not a Singaporean thing only 😋

♬ original sound – andreafassi – andreafassi

/TISG

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