Successful Entertaining in Singapore

Successful Entertaining in Singapore

Business entertaining is very important in Singapore and don’t be surprised if business dinners are scheduled for every night of the week. (Dinner is the most common form of business entertainment, but lunches are often given as well)

Consider these events as a time to socialize and build relationships rather than discuss business. Most entertainment is done in restaurants – it would be fairly unusual to be invited to someone’s home.

It is customary to allow the host to order all the dishes, after which the food is usually put on the table with all dishes served at once and to be shared by all. Pre-meal drinks and appetizers are uncommon, though they are commonly available in Western restaurants.

The Chinese will use chopsticks for most food and spoons for the soup. Western style utensils will usually be available if you are unused to the use of chopsticks. When using chopsticks, never leave then sticking upright in the rice bowl. When not in use they should be placed on the table, resting on the chopstick rest. (Setting them on your plate means you are not finished).
It is polite to leave some food on your plate — finishing everything could imply that you have not been served enough and are still hungry.

Malays and Indians use a spoon along with their hands to eat. Never use your left hand to eat which is considered to be unclean. If given a spoon and fork, hold the spoon in your right hand and use your fork in your left hand to push food onto the spoon.

Tipping is a far less common practice in Singapore than in many other countries. If the bill does not include a service charge (very unusual), leave a tip of around 10%.

Author

This country-specific business culture profile was written by Keith Warburton who is the founder of the cultural awareness training consultancy Global Business Culture. 

Global Business culture is a leading training provider in the fields of cross-cultural communication and global virtual team working.  We provide training to global corporations in live classroom-based formats, through webinars and also through our cultural awareness digital learning hub, Global Business Compass.

This World Business Culture profile is designed as an introduction to business culture in Singapore only and a more detailed understanding needs a more in-depth exploration which we can provide through our training and consultancy services.