At Ricky's

"ALISTAIR DARLING doesn't like me," complains Ricky. "He's definitely unhappy with me."

I cluck sympathetically.

We're out at Ricky's restaurant for our last-Monday-of-the-month dinner, which turns out to be excellent as usual.

I indulge in a spicy sweet-and-sour soup starter and then plonk for the roast pork and duck Cantonese style with Singapore vermicelli (very thin pasta strands mixed with prawn, ham, onion, green pepper and so on).

All cooked to perfection and served with efficiency and good humour.

One of the things I really like about this place is that Ricky always talks about "the team", with all the staff pulling together - the sure sign of a happy ship.

Anyhow, we're tucking into our meals when my technique with chopsticks is commented on - not long ago I was rank amateur with these things; now, after some practice at home on my own, I'm quite a dab hand.

I was actually shamed into using chopsticks in a Japanese restaurant in Sydney. I asked the waiter for a fork and he visibly stiffened at the idea. He informed me that, while of course I could have a fork, it was only respectful to Asian food to eat it in the Asian way - with sticks.

I pointed out that I was unfamiliar with the use of sticks and being of a somewhat cack-handed disposition I feared I might not be able to actually get the food into my mouth with them.

He had an answer for that, though. He put a wedge of paper between the two sticks, then wrapped a rubber band around the ends, turning the sticks in effect into long wooden tweezers.

He pointed out that this was the way children in Japan learned to use them and I'm pretty certain I heard some snickering in the background as tried to pick up rice grains with less than dexterous proficiency.

Nevertheless, I persevered.

I was still using the rubber band method when we first came to Ricky's, and here too I received some amused glances from the staff.

But it was at Ricky's that the secret of using chopsticks dawned on me - bring the bowl right up to your mouth, in the Oriental way, and just scoop the food out.

Success!

One of the waiters at Ricky's told me with approval that now I would no longer need the rubber bands. He was right.

Of course I still use a fork at home, but I can now show due respect to Chinese food by eating it in the Chinese way.