Eat and drink, Vietnam

Generally Vietnamese people would not leave a completely cleared plate. However, since Vietnamese people are increasingly aware of the Western ways, it is ok to leave a completely cleared plate, especially when you are dining with close friends, family members, and close acquaintances.

You should not belch or cough or sneeze when you are eating. In case you do, make an excuse. Generally you should not make noises (gulping, etc) when you are eating or drinking. Making noises while eathing or drinking is considered as low class, lack of education, and implolite.

Vietnamese people generally use chopsticks to eat, but spoons are also used, especially for soups, and forks and knives are used quite commonly in restaurants, especially Western style restaurants. You should not put your chopsticks on your bow or disks while you are eating. There is not a rule here, but most of the time your chopsticks if put on the bowl or disk would roll off onto the table/floor (b/c they are usally rounded), which is not very hygenic and not convenient as you would need to ask for a new pair of chopsticks. Usually chopsticks would be put onto a chopstick holder if you are in a high-end restaurant. Family meals usually do not provide chopstick holder, so you can try to put your chopsticks on to your disk (a very flat one) or you could put the eating ends onto a napkin to be sure of the hygene issue.