Side dishes

We can experience many different things when we think about the cultures of different people. When we have chance to go to Asian restaurant, we often get freaked about the number of side dishes that come along with the main dish. Normally we get what we order in most of our restaurants (places like Sizzlers and Dennys), but at the Korean, Japanese, or Chinese restaurants, we get more than we order. These side dishes make us to not get bored with the food and allow us to appreciate different tastes.

All of the side dishes make us to have a better taste of the main food. We can appreciate many different tastes at the same time. It is like building a sand castle at the beach. When you build a sand castle, the base level of the castle is very important because the castle can collapse with a weak basement. The side dishes take the role of the base level, which it helps us to build a better taste of the main dish. Also often we get tired of eating just one thing that we ordered and wish to eat those of someone else’s. The side dish makes us to not get bored at eating. Many Asian families, which include my family, have dinners with only side dishes because it never gets tasteless.

On the other hand, there are couple sad things that can happen with the side dishes. I remember while I was working at a Korean restaurant. I was the one who served the side dishes. To say about the work simply, it was a disaster. I had to serve about seven side dishes to every table and refilled them when they were completely empty. It was even very ironic how the customers commended for refills rather than asking. Normally I would “ask” for refills rather than commands, but those people were so eager to have another new dish. In addition, some restaurants serve side dishes that were “leftovers” of other customers. It was not just a rumor that I heard, but it is a hot issue that many countries deal with. I feel that these actions crumble the originality of the cultural values.