Ordering Food in Chinese: Menu Words, Flavours and Restaurant Phrases

Food is central to Chinese culture, and greeting people with 你吃饭了吗？ (Nǐ chī fàn le ma?, "Have you eaten?") is a common way to show care. Here is what you need to order confidently.

Staples and dishes

• 米饭 (mǐfàn) — cooked rice
• 面条 (miàntiáo) — noodles
• 饺子 (jiǎozi) — dumplings
• 包子 (bāozi) — steamed stuffed buns
• 炒饭 (chǎofàn) — fried rice
• 汤 (tāng) — soup
• 菜 (cài) — dish, vegetables
• 豆腐 (dòufu) — tofu

Meat, fish and vegetables

• 肉 (ròu) — meat
• 猪肉 (zhūròu) — pork
• 牛肉 (niúròu) — beef
• 鸡肉 (jīròu) — chicken
• 鱼 (yú) — fish
• 虾 (xiā) — shrimp
• 蔬菜 (shūcài) — vegetables
• 鸡蛋 (jīdàn) — egg

Flavours

• 辣 (là) — spicy
• 甜 (tián) — sweet
• 咸 (xián) — salty
• 酸 (suān) — sour
• 苦 (kǔ) — bitter
• 好吃 (hǎochī) — delicious

At the restaurant

• 服务员！ (Fúwùyuán!) — Waiter! (to get attention)
• 菜单 (càidān) — menu
• 我要这个。 (Wǒ yào zhège.) — I'll have this (pointing).
• 来一份… (Lái yí fèn…) — Bring one portion of…
• 不要辣。 (Búyào là.) — No spice, please.
• 少放盐。 (Shǎo fàng yán.) — Less salt.
• 买单！/ 结账！ (Mǎidān! / Jiézhàng!) — The bill, please!

Dietary needs

• 我吃素。 (Wǒ chī sù.) — I'm vegetarian.
• 我对花生过敏。 (Wǒ duì huāshēng guòmǐn.) — I'm allergic to peanuts.
• 不要放肉。 (Búyào fàng ròu.) — No meat, please.

Tableware and drinks

• 筷子 (kuàizi) — chopsticks
• 勺子 (sháozi) — spoon
• 碗 (wǎn) — bowl
• 茶 (chá) — tea
• 啤酒 (píjiǔ) — beer
• 干杯！ (Gānbēi!) — Cheers!

Regional cuisines

China has many regional cuisines. The traditional list of "eight cuisines" includes Sichuan, Cantonese, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan and Anhui. Sichuan food is known for its numbing and spicy flavours, Cantonese for its delicate flavours and dim sum, and Hunan for its heat.

Table manners

• Don't stick chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice, since it resembles incense offerings for the dead.
• Dishes are usually shared, and the host often orders for the table.
• It is polite to try a bit of everything.
• Leaving a little food on the plate can signal that you've been well fed.

Ordering tips

Pictures on menus, and point-and-order, work well. In many places, ordering and payment are done through QR codes on the table using a phone app.