Dishes will be served from the left and removed from the right, so do not unintentionally block the server’s path. When eating at a home, foods may be brought to the table on serving dishes. Guests should serve themselves, then pass the dish to the next person. If the dish is heavy, it is courteous to hold it while the next person on your right is serving himself. Whatever you do, do not help yourself and then just put the serving dish on the table in front of you. While it may be acceptable in Japan, the use of a toothpick at the table is forbidden. If you must remove something from your teeth, go to the restroom to tend to it, otherwise you will be looked upon by the other patrons, and perhaps your own family members, as entirely unsophisticated. One final taboo: do not slurp your soup as you would in Japan. In most cases there will be nothing on the table that is so hot that you need to make a noise as you drink it.