TABLE MANNERS
Dining etiquette for utensils. Chopsticks are not traditionally used in Thailand, except when eating Chinese dishes in a Chinese restaurant. In Thailand, spoons and forks are used (never knives). If you need to cut things, use the side of your spoon first, then move on to the fork if necessary. If you are right-handed, keep the spoon in your right hand and the fork in your left.
Dining etiquette for eating rice. Rice is generally served in separate bowls, not on the same plate with your food. While rice is a staple, it is not necessary to eat every grain in your bowl; leaving some over is fine. In fact, if you eat everything in your rice bowl or on your plate, it means you want more. Do not take the last bit of food from a central serving plate; that means there will be none left in case someone else wants some. Also, a sauce may be mixed with the rice, and the main dish may be eaten with the rice, unlike the practice in Japan. You are expected to hold the rice bowl by your mouth, take a bit of food and sauce from the plate below, hold it over the rice bowl and shovel it all in together. If you're eating noodles or broth, it is not appropriate to slurp the food; however hot tea may be slurped quietly to cool it off as it enters the mouth.
Dining etiquette for toothpicks. Toothpicks are generally used at the end of the meal. The best way to handle a toothpick is to work away with one hand, while keeping the other hand in front of it over the mouth, as a sort of mask.