The five things to know#
- Dishes are shared. A menu is designed for a table ordering several plates to the middle. Order roughly one dish per person plus one, and a rice or noodle to share.
- You order everything at once, at the start. There is no starter–main sequence; food arrives as it is ready, often with the "starter" last.
- Rice usually comes separately and is ordered by the bowl. It is not automatic.
- You pay at the end, usually by scanning a QR code with Alipay or WeChat, or at the counter. Say 买单 (mǎi dān) to ask for the bill.
- No tipping. None.
Ordering without Chinese#
In descending order of reliability:
Point at photographs. Most mid-range and cheap Chinese restaurants have photo menus, or photos on the wall, or a display case. Say 这个 (zhè ge, "this one") and point. This is exactly what Chinese customers do.
Point at another table. Entirely normal and not rude. If something looks good, point at it and say 这个.
Use the camera translator. Pleco's OCR or Google Translate's camera mode reads a menu in real time. Neither is perfect with regional dish names — many are poetic rather than descriptive — but you will get the main ingredient.
Scan the QR menu. Increasingly the default: a QR code on the table opens a mini-program inside WeChat or Alipay where you browse, order and pay. Some have an English toggle; most do not, but the translate function in your browser or a screenshot into a translation app works.
Learn ten dish names. Knowing that 面 is noodles, 饭 is rice, 汤 is soup, 牛肉 is beef, 猪肉 is pork, 鸡 is chicken, 鱼 is fish, 虾 is prawn, 豆腐 is tofu and 青菜 is green vegetables lets you read half of most menus.
Reading a menu#
Menus are usually grouped by category:
| Chinese | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 凉菜 | Cold dishes (served first) |
| 热菜 | Hot dishes |
| 汤 | Soups |
| 主食 | Staples — rice, noodles, buns |
| 小吃 | Small eats / snacks |
| 素菜 | Vegetable dishes |
| 招牌菜 | House specialities — order from here |
| 饮料 | Drinks |
Prices are per dish. A ¥38 dish feeds two to three people as part of a shared meal.
Common restaurant types#
街边小吃 street stalls and small-eats shops. One or two dishes done well, ¥8–25, single portions. The best value and often the best food in a neighbourhood.
Neighbourhood restaurants (家常菜). Home-style cooking, shared dishes, ¥15–50 each. The default.
Chains. Xiao Long Kan, Haidilao, Green Tea, Grandma's Home. Photo menus, tablet ordering, consistent, often with some English. A safe first meal.
Hotpot. You cook it yourself in a shared boiling broth. See our hotpot guide.
Malatang (麻辣烫). You take a basket, select raw skewers and ingredients from a fridge, and they are cooked in spicy broth and priced by weight. Excellent for solo diners because you control the quantity precisely, and no language is needed at all.
Food courts in shopping malls. Photo menus, individual portions, cheap, and a good fallback.
Breakfast shops. Congee, youtiao, soy milk, baozi, noodles, jianbing. ¥8–20. Open 06:00–10:00 and then closed.
Portions and eating alone#
Chinese restaurant portions assume a table. A solo diner ordering two dishes will receive food for three people.
For eating alone, order from the noodle, rice-bowl, dumpling and small-eats sections, which are single-serving by design. Malatang and food courts are ideal. Say 一个人 (yí ge rén, "one person") at the door and you will be seated appropriately.
Asking for leftovers to be boxed — 打包 (dǎ bāo) — is completely normal.
Dietary requirements#
- Vegetarian: 我吃素 (wǒ chī sù) is the clearest phrase and is understood as Buddhist vegetarianism. Even then, chicken stock and oyster sauce are common; see vegetarian and vegan travel in China.
- No chilli: 不要辣 (bú yào là). In Sichuan and Hunan this may be interpreted generously; 一点辣都不要 ("not even a little spice") is more emphatic.
- No coriander: 不要香菜 (bú yào xiāng cài). Worth knowing — it appears in a great deal.
- Allergies: serious ones need a written card in Chinese naming the allergen and the consequence. Peanut oil is used widely, sesame and soy are everywhere, and shellfish appears in sauces. Do not rely on verbal explanation.
- Halal: look for the 清真 (qīngzhēn) sign, common in Xi'an, Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia and near any mosque.
Drinks#
- Tea is often free or a small per-person charge. Hot water is always free.
- Cold drinks are less standard. Many Chinese people drink water hot, including in summer. Ask for 冰水 (bīng shuǐ) if you want it cold — it may not exist.
- Beer is cheap (¥8–20) and usually served at room temperature unless you ask for cold (冰的, bīng de).
- Baijiu — the grain spirit, 40–60% ABV, served in small glasses at banquets. Extremely strong and an acquired taste.
Paying#
Scan the QR code on the table or at the counter with Alipay or WeChat, enter the amount, confirm. Or say 买单 and a card machine or QR will appear. Cash works but change may be a problem. See money and payments in China.
Frequently asked questions#
How do I order food in China without speaking Chinese?#
Point at a photo menu, a display case or another table and say 这个 (zhè ge, "this one"). Use Pleco's camera OCR or Google Translate's camera mode on a text-only menu. Many restaurants now use QR-code menus inside WeChat or Alipay, some with an English toggle.
How much food should I order in a Chinese restaurant?#
Roughly one dish per person plus one extra, shared in the middle, with rice ordered separately by the bowl. Portions assume a table rather than an individual, so a solo diner should order from the noodle, dumpling or small-eats sections instead.
Do you tip in Chinese restaurants?#
No. Tipping is not customary anywhere in mainland China and can cause confusion — staff may chase you to return the money. The bill is the bill.
How do I say I am vegetarian in Chinese?#
我吃素 (wǒ chī sù). It is understood as Buddhist vegetarianism and is the clearest formulation. Be aware that chicken stock, lard and oyster sauce still appear in nominally vegetable dishes, so specify 不要肉 (no meat) and consider eating at Buddhist temple restaurants.
What is malatang?#
A self-serve style where you fill a basket with raw skewers and ingredients from a fridge, hand it over, and they are cooked in spicy broth and priced by weight. It requires no language at all and is ideal for solo diners because you control the portion exactly.
Is it rude to point at food in China?#
No. Pointing at a photo, a display case or a dish on another table and saying 这个 is completely normal behaviour and is what Chinese diners do themselves.