Here, a salad is usually a side dish with the main course rather than a separate course, but I'd expect to finish any other starter (soup or what we call an entrée) before the main was brought to the table. In Asian restaurants where dishes are generally shared, I've found that they will pace the dishes according to the number of diners, and whether a set menu was ordered or the guests chose their own combination of dishes.
We don't have the history the US has of a diner culture, where, I understand, people ate out because a lot of them didn't have cooking facilities in their lodgings. That could have brought about the 'bring it all out so I can slam it down' approach.