Actually, your situation is similar for mine too. I didn't realize this until I started going over to my mom's more often. At home, they have their own dish in their own spot. At my mom's, it's different dishes. Occasionally, they'd just stare at the food and wait until I fed the kibble to them. But it depends on how hungry they are. Sometimes they didn't care and just ate anyway.
At home, Scottie *must* have a visual on me while he's eating, otherwise he freaks out and goes around looking for me.
I also notice they definitely prefer ceramic water/food dishes over stainless steel dishes.