I had wanted a pair of traveling chopsticks for a while.
Why, might you ask?
Because I have sturdy plastic forks, spoons and knives when I travel, but it just doesn’t taste or feel the same if you have to fork a piece of sushi instead of picking it up with chopsticks.
Call me a food snob if you want.
Anyhoo, this was what I was enamoured by:
$12 from We Jet Set
It was going for $14.95 CAD in a local store (found them in Yorkville, in a little shop upstairs from Yamato), and all I could think was: Ugh! $15 plus tax for two STICKS?
Mind you, they’re very cool and very slim, but.. that’s just too pricey for chopsticks.
Now I had a couple of other options to choose from:
- Pack those cheap wooden chopsticks and just deal with them being dirty (ick)
- Pack a real pair of chopsticks that will NOT fit in the little pouches for my purse
- Eat with a fork
In the end, the solution was neither of the above, but to think outside the box.
When I was in J-Town in Toronto (near Steeles), I saw a pair of CHILDREN’S CHOPSTICKS.
16.5 cm, and a perfect fit into my pouch.
And the price? $2.50 for a pair.
Sold!
The chopsticks are not long enough to be considered adult-sized, but it makes no difference to me for picking up something as light as sushi.
Besides, I have little hands.
They even have little grooves at the end of the sticks (if you look closely at the picture above you can see the grooves) to help children grip the food better.
Sometimes, you just need to wait
All it takes is a little ingenuity, thinking or just plain ol’ dumb luck and sooner or later the solution will pop up.
This is why when people call me cheap for not wanting to buy something, even for $15, I just think to myself: children’s chopsticks.
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about 
I have kids one that came with a cute bento box I ordered that I take with me on occasion, too. They came with a little case. When I bust them out at a sushi restaurant the waitress says something like, “Wow…you’re serious. And they match your shirt!” (shirt matching, a coincidence!) $2.50 beats $14+ any day! I need to be more patient!
Or use a pair of knitting needles 🙂
My friend has traveling chopsticks that can unscrew in half. That’s pretty cool!
I don’t think you’re a food snob at all. I might’ve fallen for the $15 ones, so good for you for finding them for $2.50!
I need to get myself a pair of chopsticks. I’m thoroughly grossed out by all the dirty ones i’ve seen in restaurants here! They’ve probably been re-used dozens of times, yuck!
I agree. Certain foods definitely need chopsticks. And I’m proud to say that my chopstick skills are better than some of my Korean students’! lol
Great find! I’ve definitely gotten in the habit of waiting on purchases that aren’t urgent if I can’t find exactly what I’m looking for. We did this recently when we were looking for a coffee maker. All of the ones we saw in the stores were enormous and felt really cheap or were very expensive. Two weeks later a neighbor was getting rid of hers and we got pretty much exactly what we were looking for and for free! A little patience can help the right solution find you 😉