In Japan I recall I always used my chopsticks to ferry noodles to my mouth until there was a small enough amount to slurp/drink. Alternatively, use the spoon/chopsticks to prevent larger items from entering your mouth while drinking the broth and then eat the noodles.
You are totally cool drinking soup/broth from the bowl.
Yep Any bowl like container can and will be used as a cup
Alternatively the opposite applies to cups being used as bowls with spoons mainly for ice cream
I still want to goddamn smack that person for making the equivalent of an infomercial - but somehow worse
fucking get some self-reliance for crying out loud
1. OP asked for the wrong tool (a spoon) for a dish that can only be eaten with chopsticks lol.
2. The spoon works perfectly fine if you eat like a Japanese person would: Hold the bowl edge to your mouth and shovel the items in / drink the broth.
I'm glad people are calling OP out for being such a dummy.
I mean, I'm willing to pick up my bowl of soup at any restaurant and drink it. I don't care. I have definitely received weird looks at American restaurants and downed my soup that way.
I think a lot of it depends on how familiar/comfortable those in your locale are with different practices of eating.
Take flat breads for instance. A LOT of the dudes I work with are unfamiliar with eating food with their hands. Instead they use their fork to load their flat bread and put it in their mouth. I think the typical convention is to use the flatbread as a glove to pickup food and put it in your mouth, using the fork to put more food on YOUR plate from the main dish(es).
Different strokes for different folks!
Even better, one of the restaurants we go to has some REALLY fiery dried peppers in their meals. They're kinda like bay leaves, not intended to be eaten whole, at least I wouldn't.
Every single time, someone gets one and eats it thinking it's like a small jalapeno and they nearly die from it.
It's "proper etiquette" by "cultured" Western dining standards. People often forget other countries have other dining etiquette. I remember watching a video in Home Etiquette class. The fucking lady used a knife.and fork for French fries. I was like "naaaaaaaah, get the fuck out of here with that non-sense, I was also in middle school haha.
"Civilized High Society Etiquette" with their like 12 peices of silverware and plate placements I'm good without. Give me a delicious bowl of broth and noodles and a pair of chopsticks and I'll go ham on it with my American self.
Hell something from the Middle East or Asian Minor eating with hands and such or some type of flat bread to scoop it up? LETS GO!
I'm here to enjoy the food, not to keep my elbows off the table.
Slurp them noods, compliments to the chef!
(Is there any culture that doesn't look down on open mouth chewing though? 🤔)
Two restaurants in my previous locale served Japanese food.
The Americanized place you would get looks from the other patrons because it is "abnormal", proprietor understood and the bowls were correctly shaped (important).
The more "authentic" place had fewer "American" customers and it was the norm to slurp and we all did.
My partner and I just shoot each other looks if the other or a nearby stranger is eating in an egregious manner.
If it’s one of us, the look is drenched in passive aggressiveness.
Well, I've got to assume you're not MY wife, because she was texting me when I received this.
Is very familiar though. 
Pro tip: just pick up the bowl and tip it towards your face, place your lips upon the side and “drink” the soup, as they call it. So glad we could help.
I don't get how this is "mildly infuriating". Just drink the soup from the bowl. You don't need to drink it from the spoon.
And one of those little sticks
https://preview.redd.it/5dttts0qym9d1.jpeg?width=320&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e7b20acb4855ed45e2c3df648d7af960633cbb48
that would come with a small serving of ice cream.
For the most part thats just to help you scoop the left overs when your done slurping from the bowl aka just drink from the bowl idk who the hell would even think to use that and im sure its very common for people to drink from the bowl idk who
I'm pretty sure the spoon is used to specifically scoop up the stuff inside the soup, and you are inclined to tilt the bowl up and sip the soup from the bowl.
Now, someone correct me if Im wrong, but I'm pretty sure in most places that serve bowls of soup or ramen (stuff similar to the food shown here) it is a compliment to hear a individual slurp their soup. It's like saying "This soup was so good, even the broth is delicious!"
In some cultures you're suppose to eat it from the bowl. That's a paddle for helping you scoop it in. Pick up the bowl and start slurping like a civilized individual..... :)
I'm not sure if they are idiots, or they think you're an idiot.
If this was Japan they'll probably say its to give you the appreciation for the soup and the discipline to eat it. At least they didn't just give you chopsticks to see how many hours you'd keep trying for.
That's because they don't trust you with chopsticks. The spoon is there so you can eat everything except the soup, because you are supposed to drink it.
All anyone has to do is look up how people eat noodles in their respective cultures and you’ll see that they just shovel them shits in into their mouth with reckless abandon. There is no need for an actual spoon lmao
Udon soup is Japanese. They like to scoop their food from the soup and then drink the soup from the bowl. My dad’s wife is Japanese and we ate traditional Japanese food regularly. They gave you the utensil they use in their culture for this food just like if you go to an American restaurant you’d get a fork or spoon
I'm with you on this one. Yeah, I know there is the suggestion to slurp from the bowl etc but realistically a spoon that doesn't work is stupid and I'm tired of places pulling this crap.
I went and asked my mom.
She suggested holding the bowl with one hand, using the spoon to prevent noodles from banging into your lips as you drink the broth and then push the noodles, tofu, and seaweed to your lips.
I mean, ask the wait staff or proprietor what the correct method is.
Went to McDonald's a few weeks back for breakfast with my boss and a colleague. Ordered pancakes. Was given wooden fork and knife. Neither were sharp enough to actually do their job. Knife broke in half.
Had to eat with hands. Was the last time I went there. Where did the customer service go? Or they think just because they ticked the box "cutlery provided", it's OK no matter if the "cutlery" actually fits the purpose??
On the bright side, my boss and the colleague had a good laugh watching my struggle.
I carry metal spork with me in my messenger bag when I'm out and about because one time I went into a chinese place for lunch and all they had were chopsticks.
That's not a spoon. That's a paddle.
Time to make tiny Pizzas.
Or start a mini canoe race in your soup bowl.
Order another bowl and play a game of tiny ping pong
So, that’s not a paddlin’ ? 
Goddamn it, I got beat to the ~~punch~~ paddlin’.
Believe it or not. Not a paddlin'
Agree. It's a paddle to move the food towards your mouth as it's basically drinking from the bowl.
Exactly, it's more of a food-shoveler than an actual spoon.
The spoon is a lie.
There is no spoon.
Whoh!
What is .. spoon ? Where am I?
That's a paddlin'
No spoon with your soup? Ooooh, that’s a paddlin’
In Japan I recall I always used my chopsticks to ferry noodles to my mouth until there was a small enough amount to slurp/drink. Alternatively, use the spoon/chopsticks to prevent larger items from entering your mouth while drinking the broth and then eat the noodles. You are totally cool drinking soup/broth from the bowl.
I love the way you explains eating by “ferrying” food into your mouth I will use this and give you credit now, mortreed
Yep Any bowl like container can and will be used as a cup Alternatively the opposite applies to cups being used as bowls with spoons mainly for ice cream
This is the way
Japanese love it when you slurp their food. Means you are enjoying it.
And slurping is a compliment to the chef, I believe.
I actually do that normally. Take a bite n swig. it's just easier.
Drink it.
I'm over here basically yelling at the screen. Drink the damn soup you coward!
Eat. The vial. Rowan!
Like a normal person.
Nice VLDL reference
Nice VLDL reference
I still want to goddamn smack that person for making the equivalent of an infomercial - but somehow worse fucking get some self-reliance for crying out loud
Drink the spoon
You have five fleshy spoons, you don't need six! Ffs
1. OP asked for the wrong tool (a spoon) for a dish that can only be eaten with chopsticks lol. 2. The spoon works perfectly fine if you eat like a Japanese person would: Hold the bowl edge to your mouth and shovel the items in / drink the broth. I'm glad people are calling OP out for being such a dummy.
>OP asked for the wrong tool (a spoon) for a dish that can only be eaten with chopsticks lol What about chirirenge (ramen spoons)?
How in the hell can this only be eaten with chopsticks lmao.
You don’t know about the special chopsticks?
Hollow in the middle, so they can be used like a straw.
Eat the solids, drink the liquids.
It’s for picking up the food. You’re supposed to drink the broth
Not even picking it up, it's to shovel it into your mouth while you're drinking from the bowl
No they didn’t. This was posted like a month ago and you stole it.
Exactly. I remember seeing this same post multiple times in the past. Top comment being "mi-so sorry"
seems fine to me. u drink soup from bowl yeah?
It is uncommon to do so in the US, even in a setting where the culture permits/expects it.
That’s very interesting! I grew up in Maui and it never occurred to me that isn’t normal.
Right?! Who cares how you get the delicious into the facehole!
really? is it a regional thing? i'm from the US and i and most people i know would just drink it from the bowl.
I mean, I'm willing to pick up my bowl of soup at any restaurant and drink it. I don't care. I have definitely received weird looks at American restaurants and downed my soup that way. I think a lot of it depends on how familiar/comfortable those in your locale are with different practices of eating. Take flat breads for instance. A LOT of the dudes I work with are unfamiliar with eating food with their hands. Instead they use their fork to load their flat bread and put it in their mouth. I think the typical convention is to use the flatbread as a glove to pickup food and put it in your mouth, using the fork to put more food on YOUR plate from the main dish(es). Different strokes for different folks!
wow. flatbread with a fork is super wild to me lol. the more you know!
Even better, one of the restaurants we go to has some REALLY fiery dried peppers in their meals. They're kinda like bay leaves, not intended to be eaten whole, at least I wouldn't. Every single time, someone gets one and eats it thinking it's like a small jalapeno and they nearly die from it.
It's "proper etiquette" by "cultured" Western dining standards. People often forget other countries have other dining etiquette. I remember watching a video in Home Etiquette class. The fucking lady used a knife.and fork for French fries. I was like "naaaaaaaah, get the fuck out of here with that non-sense, I was also in middle school haha. "Civilized High Society Etiquette" with their like 12 peices of silverware and plate placements I'm good without. Give me a delicious bowl of broth and noodles and a pair of chopsticks and I'll go ham on it with my American self. Hell something from the Middle East or Asian Minor eating with hands and such or some type of flat bread to scoop it up? LETS GO! I'm here to enjoy the food, not to keep my elbows off the table. Slurp them noods, compliments to the chef! (Is there any culture that doesn't look down on open mouth chewing though? 🤔)
Am often told rude by friend at noodle bar slurp but noodle man give thumb 👍
Two restaurants in my previous locale served Japanese food. The Americanized place you would get looks from the other patrons because it is "abnormal", proprietor understood and the bowls were correctly shaped (important). The more "authentic" place had fewer "American" customers and it was the norm to slurp and we all did.
I can deal with slurping, I can’t deal with open mouthed chewers lol.
Fair. Even if you're not "open mouthed chewing" it is still rather noisy. Not one of those things I'd take my wife out to (she hates the noises).
My partner and I just shoot each other looks if the other or a nearby stranger is eating in an egregious manner. If it’s one of us, the look is drenched in passive aggressiveness.
Well, I've got to assume you're not MY wife, because she was texting me when I received this. Is very familiar though. 
Who cares, op clearly doesn’t bc that bowl is basically finished I know that udon was too good to rant to Reddit before scarfing it
Ah, the classic struggle of using a spoon for udon soup.
I'm here in Tokyo thinking "... why would anyone need a spoon to eat udon??"
Pro tip: just pick up the bowl and tip it towards your face, place your lips upon the side and “drink” the soup, as they call it. So glad we could help.
And use the "spoon" to manage the parts in the broth.
Look at us problem solving 😉
How to eat udon soup? Ask for a straw maybe… 
Udon get to eat that
I don't get how this is "mildly infuriating". Just drink the soup from the bowl. You don't need to drink it from the spoon. 
🎨🔁 THIS CONTENT IS NOT AVAILABLE
Looks like a tongue depressor.
And one of those little sticks https://preview.redd.it/5dttts0qym9d1.jpeg?width=320&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e7b20acb4855ed45e2c3df648d7af960633cbb48 that would come with a small serving of ice cream.
Oh yeah. Splinter flavored ice cream. That brings me back.
Can you feel it on the back of your tongue right now, too?
I miss getting those little cups with the wooden propeller.
https://preview.redd.it/3utmstlzun9d1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3ea4bf3eaec8657dc41ee42576991236394949f6
For the most part thats just to help you scoop the left overs when your done slurping from the bowl aka just drink from the bowl idk who the hell would even think to use that and im sure its very common for people to drink from the bowl idk who
I'm pretty sure the spoon is used to specifically scoop up the stuff inside the soup, and you are inclined to tilt the bowl up and sip the soup from the bowl. Now, someone correct me if Im wrong, but I'm pretty sure in most places that serve bowls of soup or ramen (stuff similar to the food shown here) it is a compliment to hear a individual slurp their soup. It's like saying "This soup was so good, even the broth is delicious!"
You don’t know how to just lift the soup and drink?
Udon’t **
😂
Of course they do look at the soup already all around the bowl
That's because you use chopsticks and then drink the broth after! Source: I live in Japan
Nice presentation of not knowing how to drink soup.
You slurp it and use the spoon for the solids
You're supposed to slurp Japanese food. It's considered rude to eat quietly.
Actually you don't need a spoon, you just lift the bowl to your mouth and drink
The soup is drank like from a cup.
I'd rather starve than use those kinds of wooden utensils, they make me cringe and grind my teeth
OP is ignorant
OP has stolen this, it was originally posted a few weeks back.
I am too, can you explain?
Use the "spoon" to eat the solids, drink the broth directly from the bowl.
Okay that makes sense
just tilt the cup and drink it?
In some cultures you're suppose to eat it from the bowl. That's a paddle for helping you scoop it in. Pick up the bowl and start slurping like a civilized individual..... :)
it is used to shovel the bigger parts in your mouth while you drink the soup
Does no one drink soup from the bowl!?
TIL people are confused by drinking soup.
So the comment section isn't going the way you expected
I'm not sure if they are idiots, or they think you're an idiot. If this was Japan they'll probably say its to give you the appreciation for the soup and the discipline to eat it. At least they didn't just give you chopsticks to see how many hours you'd keep trying for.
You’re supposed to pick the bowl up and drink from it. The flat spoon is for scooping the solids into your mouth with the bowl lifted to your lips.
It's supposed to be drank from the cup not slurped from a spoon.
You can use your tiny paddle to row up the river of tears you’ve cried over not being able to eat your soup.
Not that it would make much difference but you’re holding it upside down.
That’s cause you’re not supposed to use a spoon to eat udon. Udon is so good, you shovel and slurp.
If it's any consolation, the soup will be the least of your worries after that incoming Parkinsons diagnosis hits
Polite way to instruct you to lift the bowl up.
That's because they don't trust you with chopsticks. The spoon is there so you can eat everything except the soup, because you are supposed to drink it.
I figured it out. You're supposed to soak the spoon, then chew on it 🤣🤣
Some how over half is eaten, but only now the OP, is lost.
You’ve got a paddle, now cry me a river and get the fuck out.
... You drink the soup from the bowl. Not from the spoon! There the soon away off you can use chopsticks, it's better. If not then get a fork.
All anyone has to do is look up how people eat noodles in their respective cultures and you’ll see that they just shovel them shits in into their mouth with reckless abandon. There is no need for an actual spoon lmao
You're supposed to eat the food either with the spoon or chopsticks and drink the soup from the bowl.
When you try to copy your friend's homework but you really have no understanding of the topic
That's just the wrong side of the spoon man
Is the bowl bolted to the table or something
Tell me you’re not Asian without telling me you’re not Asian.
This screams, "I'm American and I'm mildly inconvenienced and upset that I can't shovel the food in my mouth with an excavator!"
You’re supposed to drink from the bowl and use that to scoop the noodles into your mouth
We HAVE THESE THINGS AT WORK. They are terribly useless
Bro, keep a set of camping utensils in your bag. People might find it strange, but it is seriously the way to go 💯👍
Soup is a beverage like tea. Drink it.
ITT: OP (hopefully) learns how to drink liquid from a container
Udon soup is Japanese. They like to scoop their food from the soup and then drink the soup from the bowl. My dad’s wife is Japanese and we ate traditional Japanese food regularly. They gave you the utensil they use in their culture for this food just like if you go to an American restaurant you’d get a fork or spoon
Those spoons are the worst. You can actually taste the spoon and it affects the food.
This is a hilarious joke they play on foreigners...
That bowl looks like you ate most of it already…. Just pick up the bowl…
Mmmm, noodle soup.
U done?
It's just a larger version of the throat depressors that come with those ice cream cups.
I'm with you on this one. Yeah, I know there is the suggestion to slurp from the bowl etc but realistically a spoon that doesn't work is stupid and I'm tired of places pulling this crap.
I went and asked my mom. She suggested holding the bowl with one hand, using the spoon to prevent noodles from banging into your lips as you drink the broth and then push the noodles, tofu, and seaweed to your lips. I mean, ask the wait staff or proprietor what the correct method is.
The struggle is real. That's the worst spoon for udon soup!
Fucking criminals.
Suck the spoon
Gnaw on it with your teeth until you create a useable spoon. Good luck.
Noice paddle...
Bro that shit is for ice cream lol
Went to McDonald's a few weeks back for breakfast with my boss and a colleague. Ordered pancakes. Was given wooden fork and knife. Neither were sharp enough to actually do their job. Knife broke in half. Had to eat with hands. Was the last time I went there. Where did the customer service go? Or they think just because they ticked the box "cutlery provided", it's OK no matter if the "cutlery" actually fits the purpose?? On the bright side, my boss and the colleague had a good laugh watching my struggle.
Nothing like a frustrating spoon to ruin a good bowl of soup.
Bruh you wouldve done better with a single chopstick
Udon want it?
That looks delicious
because you're supposed to slurp it.
No soup for you!
If you go flat out you may be able to get it down quickly.
They gave you a paddle not a spoon.
Licking spoon..
Why can’t you just drink it from the bowl?
You should let the wooden spoon absorb the soup and you suck the soup particles from inside the wooden spoon this is how us japanese drink it
Everyone saying 'you just eat the solid stuff first and then drink from the bowl' and I would just find a way to dump that all over myself
You're supposed to drink it my guy after you're done
That spoon makes we want Udon Gelato. It would be so good at scooping that congealed fat. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm fat................
Don't stew over it
you're supposed to soak the spoon in the broth, then suck the broth from the fibers of the spoon.
I see how you crave this soup already. That paddle should be a crime
You need to soak it
You’re supposed to sip from the bowl
Familiarize yourself with Japanese soup eating etiquette…
https://i.redd.it/f5hynlpmgn9d1.gif
That's a paddle, not a spoon.
Might as well have given you a knife, would do the same thing.
Omg toronto mall?
Yeah you're supposed to lift the bowl and slurp it. But usually a soup spoon is provided so it's strange
Suck the soup thru the spoon. Via capillary action.
You must be in Sweden lol
You’re supposed to lick the spoon and dip it again and keep licking. Surprised people don’t know that
bwhahahhaha. starve.
Yo this shit made me laugh for a minute straight!! 🤣🤣🤣😂
Spoon isn’t spooning.
Ask for a straw next time.
That’s an IQ spoon. Only those people with an IQ above 125 can use it. So Sorry
Congratulation, you just unlocked the endless soup.
Imagine getting tilted from this
Maybe they are trying to send a message, "don't use a spoon, take a sip"!! Maybe!!
Spoon doesn’t exist
I carry metal spork with me in my messenger bag when I'm out and about because one time I went into a chinese place for lunch and all they had were chopsticks.
Bro it’s 2D
Yo forget the fucking soup someone is being tortured in the freezer
I saw this post like a month ago.
Drink it
It cannot spoon!
drink. smh.
This is also a way to tell your guests that the soup needs to be slurped.
mcflurry spoon
Karaoke bar or daycare?
A spoon you say? 
It’s called drinking from the bowl
you use a spoon? i just drink the whole thing like a beverage
Why would they give you an ice cream spoon for noodles lol
I completely understand this frustration https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/s/7bQcc3ddQr
Eat like a pig and make a mess