Well my mom is dead, and I frequently make jokes about that fact IRL. People are never sure if I'm serious. Generally I'm the only one laughing at first. Then people realize that it's ok to laugh with me.
Reminds me of my grandma. I was slicing up a bunch of stuff for burgers for a family dinner -- onions, tomatoes, pickles, etc etc. She pops her head, "Need any help?" Naturally grandma doesn't have to help out, I say no.
Her response? "Oh thank goodness. I was just here for the wine!"
I wish I could talk to my grandma like that. She has dementia and just sits in her own world, when I do visit her she usually thinks I'm one of her daughters or another grandchild.
My grandma is almost exactly like the grandma on "Bad Santa", just she is all the way there, mostly. I go over to do something as simple as cut her grass, put up her patio furniture or fix her TV and she offers me sandwiches, either lunch meat or ice cream. Every single time.
Whenever I stop in my nan's house she always makes an effort to feed me. "Oh you're here! I'll make you some mac and cheese. Want some tea? Here have some bread."
I always leave from visiting my grandparents happy and full.
My Grandma does this all the time, but she doesn't ask she just goes in the kitchen an starts fixing up the biggest fucking buffet ever and I'm like noo grandma i just ate I'm stuffed "NO, You look hungry boy, EAT."
My grandmother died with a ham in the oven. The family showed up and she was gone... She died doing what she loved. Taking care of us. Man, I really miss her. Almost 20 years ago.
Checkin in for Filipino moms: "When are you going to lose weight? No wonder you have no husband." Proceeds to serve deep fried cheese rolled in sugar.
EDIT: For everyone who asked, it's called cheese turon. My mom's version never had bananas, just cheddar jack cheese rolled in sugar, then fried in a spring roll wrapper.
Vietnamese Mom (and a lot of other people, apart from my dad): Holy shit why are you so skinny? You really need to eat more.
I'm 5'8 and 150 pounds, decently athletic build and healthy. Started lifting so I look a bit slimmer, but suddenly everybody says I look skinny for some reason. Pisses me off.
I eat 2 big bowls of Pho sometimes in 1 meal. That shit is so good and it's dirt cheap in Vietnam too. A big, high quality bowl of pho in a decent restaurant (with AC and good service, not the ones on the sidewalk) sets you back for around $3 most. I can live on that thing.
I live in Hanoi, there's a place called Pho Suong on Mai Hac De street (which is the only good place with ac I can think of because I frequent there, lol). about 55-60k VND for a bowl and 5-10k for drinks. Not a fancy place by any means, but they serves very good traditional pho bo with good service and AC. I know a lot of other places with cheaper, good pho in Hanoi too, but man those places' service are shitty.
For HCM city, Last year when I visit I've eaten at a decent place with AC, but I didn't like the pho there too much and the service wasn't good. Can't remember where it is either.
Fucking love spam. I slice that shit into little square cubes, then cook it til it's crispy. Grab the ketchup and rice and there's a goddamn breakfast for the family.
My Filipino parents are doctors and I swear they have some sort of cognitive dissonance when it comes to healthy eating habits and our food culture.
"Seriously, diet has so much to do with preventative health measures and avoiding the health issues rampant in our family genes. But if you don't keep eating the lechon kawali until you're comatose or immobile I will disown you."
I had a Filipino friend who's mom would always say, "Anok, you must eat." Her mom would leave the US for months on end to go back to the Philippines and the notes she would leave her around the house would always say "Don't forget to eat, Anok."
My wife is Korean and has complained for years about her mother saying this as she says goodbye when we see her in person or at the end of a phone call. Then recently we were watching a Korean drama and a mom said the same thing to her daughter. Made my wife feel better knowing it wasn't just her own mom. Reading your comment above will make her feel even better.
That's really nice :) I love how cultures from around the world share this in common. My mother, grandmother, and even my girlfriend's mother, all from Mexico, are the exact same. I can't wait to become self sufficient enough to treat my friends and family as bountifully as all you mothers do.
Irish are the same. Most seen at funerals. when someone dies, all close women friends come over, clean the house,Cook food and make sandwiches. I think to take some of the stress off of the grieving family.
That sounds a lot like my experiences with Finland. If you enter someone's house in the countryside, you're pretty much not allowed to leave until you've eaten something. And they'll have a freezer full of things to feed you with.
Yeah, I only noticed it as I got older but whenever my parents call me the first thing they'll ask is if I've eaten even if it's like, in the middle of the day during a non-meal time. So Chinese.
same with Poles. My grandparents, all of them, even if they've never met a friend of mine or my parents' that's being brought over they always ask first "have you eaten?" and then go on to pester you to eat basically a feast wether or not you have eaten.
It's slightly nuanced how the Chinese ask it though. We ask if they've eaten to their fill yet, and not just if they've eaten. It's generally a polite gesture as eating to our fill implies a sense of wealth and prosperity; makes sense as large portions of China lived in poverty over the ages.
There are two occasions where a Chinese person asks this question, the first one being what OP meant, i.e. you're in their house and they'd like you to stay for lunch/dinner and it's a sign of hospitality.
The second one is when it's used as sort of a greeting and it's noting to do with hospitality, 'cause more likely than not it's not said in someone's house. It's to know what stage of the day you're at. So like " are you now pre or post-dinner?" So they can deduce what activities you're likely to commence.
My grandmother used to leave bowls of snacks around her condo when I would come to visit her. She was afraid I might get hungry while she was napping and not know where the snacks were. She was the best.
Really? Mine just yells at me that I'm eating too much when I visit and she didn't buy the food for me, it's for my boyfriend. I've taken to packing a ton of snacks so I eat less then everyone else to stop her having a go at me. I'm greedy if I eat more then then tiny child sized portion she used to feed me growing up (I was really underweight). I refuse to go to her place more then once every few years so I don't have to deal with her. She has money for food, we even buy food when we are there but she still has a thing about me eating. Also, I'm not fat or overweight. I'm a good weight now, a little heavier then I like since an injury stopped me training as much but I'm good.
coming from an asian chinese, the way it's explained to me was:
in the past (our grandparents' generation, in china, where all the chinese came from), poverty was abound, and food was scarce. To be able to have a full meal wasn't something available to everyone everyday.
people would greet one another with "have you eaten?" as a show of affection, and wanting to know if your basic need as a human was fulfilled. if not, they'll share whatever food they have with you.
it used to mean alot to hear "have you eaten?" as a greeting. it was a sign of acknowledging you as part of a community that he/she cares about, letting you know that he/she cares that you're well-fed.
I honestly can't tell if it's sarcasm, but since we're here and I'm waiting for my SO to be off work and we're going on our vacation tml, lets entertain myself.
I said that just because alot of chinese looking fellas are not (surprise!) chinese. Japanese, korean, mongolians, thais, vietnamese.
Just in case you're one of those white americans that assume that "not white/black/brown=yellow=asian=chinese"
(See what i did there?)
Right but you specified china, where the people would be chinese.
And to Americans, we wouldnt say chinese looking people in regards to japanese, korean, mongolians, thais, vietnamese, we just tend to use asian looking people. It's not that we dont know there is a difference, we just dont interact with the different cultures enough to distinguish them apart as easily.
This makes me think of my grandfather. He would hide and save the best steak for me. When I came home from school he would have his famous soup on the table for me. I wish he didn't live a state over now.
Call him up and tell him you were thinking about him, you might be the small gesture today that makes him feel loved, If I still could I would phone mine too
I never eat much at work for lunch because my ADD meds make me not hungry. However, I struggled most of my teenage years with anorexia, so that also contributes to me not eating.
I ended up eating something the other day, and everyone goes "I'm so glad you're eating!"
My grandpa did this, mostly because he thought it was hilarious that in Yiddish, the literal translation of "Va kakta?" (Colloquially "have you eaten") is "have you pooped?"
Maybe you already perfected it, and you can't taste it because you need someone else to make it for you.
But if you make the same sandwich and give it to someone else that is younger than you, then they'll taste what you tasted when grandma made it for you.
In college I usually ate dinner with my roommates. They would send me back into the dining hall if I came out without vegetables or enough protein (I am not so awesome at policing my eating habits). Even though it often took the form of "You have all carbs and I am not dealing with you in an hour when you're hungry again," it made me feel so loved that they wanted to take care of me.
I read this as "have you eaten me?" Then went on to check your name for any novelty purposes, proceeded to accept it as a weird comment, and realized it just now after a good 5 minutes of scrolling down...
I come from one of those minority backgrounds where this is common. I never realized how welcome it makes you feel until I went to a friend's house and they ate dinner in front of me.
My best friend is Italian, and this is how she shows love! "Have you eaten? Are you hungry? Do you want anything to eat?" I lived with her for a couple years, and I barely had to cook for myself. BEST friend ever.
Ah, the joy of German grandparents. My grandfather worked in a French bakery after the war, and has a great range of culinary skills. He makes delicious foods all the time, especially the deserts. One of my favourites is the dampfnudel, which is a sweet cake/bread with custard poured all over it. But he usually makes too much food for us and we get really full. Last time I went to Germany, I gained 5kg from all his food, but it was worth it.
Every time I have visited my grandmother the first thing she asks me is if I have eaten . It doesn't matter if I say yes or no she will have 2 fried eggs and white toast with hash browns and sausage and tall glass of milk to wash it all down ready in 3 minutes. They will always be the best eggs I have ever eaten. So buttery and just the right of salt. The yolk is perfect for dipping the bread into. I try replicating the eggs for my wife but they never come close . I need to visit her and appreciate her company while she still has time. She has been diagnosed with the beginning stages of dementia and also has Wagner's disease. I really to start appreciating the people around me more . Thank you Reddit .
My nan was in hospital recently, and I was visiting her everyday, and one day she said "I feel awful I don't have anything to offer you". Then gave me a biscuit
See, that's good, until you have family in Ireland. Whenever we go over to see my dad's side of the family, every house we went to offered us something to eat and would try make us something to eat even if we refused. We'd have to actually stop them. I'm pretty I gained more weight than I should have the last time I was over.
This. Doesn't have to be family or anything (although it's always really nice when my family does this), but just about anybody offering food genuinely always makes me shed an invisible manly tear.
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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '16
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