How to order food in a Chinese restaurant

How do you order food in a Chinese restaurant?

At a sit-down restaurant, staff ask how many people you are (几位, jǐ wèi), seat you, and then you order for the whole table at once, either by scanning the QR code on the table or from a paper menu. Dishes arrive as soon as the kitchen finishes them, not in courses, and everyone shares. You call staff over when you need something and pay at the end. At noodle shops and fast-casual places it is the other way round: you order and pay first at the counter, a kiosk or a QR code, then wait for your food.

Popular restaurants often give out queue numbers instead of taking reservations: you take a ticket or scan a code at the door and wait to be called. The table and queue lesson covers what staff say at the door.

How does QR code ordering work?

Scan-to-order (扫码点餐, sǎomǎ diǎncān) is common in cities. A sticker on the table opens the restaurant’s menu as a mini program inside WeChat or Alipay, already linked to your table number. Some menus have an English switch; many don’t.

1. Scan inside the appOpen the scanner in WeChat or Alipay rather than your phone camera; the camera app often can’t open the menu.
2. Allow or skip the loginSome menus ask to use your phone number or account. If the menu demands a Chinese phone number or won’t load, stop here and ask staff to order for you.
3. Choose dishes and optionsTap the dishes you want. Look for option pop-ups for portion size and spice level before you add them to the cart.
4. Enter the number of dinersMany menus ask how many people are eating; tableware, rice or tea may be charged per person.
5. Submit, then pay now or laterSome restaurants take payment when you submit; others send the order to the kitchen and you pay before you leave.

To read a Chinese-only menu, a camera translation app helps. In October 2025 Shanghai’s city government pointed visitors to the menu translation tool in Alipay’s Easy Go service. If none of this works, a server will take your order the old way.

What if there’s no English menu?

Many menus in China have photos, so pointing works well: point at the picture and say 我要这个 (wǒ yào zhège, “I’d like this”). If you like the look of a dish at the next table, it’s fine to point it out to the server. Learning a handful of cooking and ingredient words lets you read the dish names themselves; our Chinese menu words page lists the common ones, and the ordering lesson has them with audio.

How much food should you order in China?

Dishes are served on shared plates in the middle of the table, and everyone takes from them with their own chopsticks or a serving pair. A useful starting point is one dish per person plus rice or another staple, then add more if you’re still hungry. Portions vary a lot, so ask 这个菜大概几个人吃 (“About how many people is this dish for?”). Many menus also offer a small portion (小份, xiǎofèn).

Don’t worry if staff suggest you’ve ordered enough. Under China’s 2021 anti-food-waste law, restaurants must remind diners to avoid waste, and they may charge a fee for excessive leftovers as long as the rate is clearly displayed (Xinhua report on the law).

Rice (米饭, mǐfàn) usually has to be ordered separately and is often charged per bowl. Staples such as rice, noodles and dumplings sometimes arrive last, so ask for the rice to come with the dishes if you want it early.

How do you ask for mild or no spice in Chinese?

Many menus mark spicy dishes with chili icons, and QR menus often make you choose a spice level. The words below are the ones you will see and hear. Sichuan food also uses 麻 (má), the tingling, numbing feeling from Sichuan pepper, which is separate from chili heat; 麻辣 (málà) means both.

Spice scales are relative to the local cuisine: mild in a Sichuan or Hunan restaurant can be hotter than medium elsewhere. If you don’t eat chili at all, say so clearly when you order rather than relying on the option button. For allergies and diets, see the food allergy and vegetarian guide.

Do restaurants in China serve free tea and water?

Many restaurants pour tea or hot water when you sit down, often at no charge. Tap water in China isn’t safe to drink (CDC), so drinking water in restaurants is boiled and usually served hot or warm; ask for bottled water or ice water if you prefer it cold.

Some places add small extras to the bill. Cantonese dim sum restaurants commonly charge a per-person tea charge (茶位费, cháwèifèi), and in December 2025 Guangdong’s market regulator published draft rules requiring restaurants to disclose such charges before you order (Eye Shenzhen). Some restaurants also put shrink-wrapped tableware sets on the table and charge a small amount for them. If you’re unsure what a line on the bill is, ask.

How do you call the waiter in China?

Staff in busy Chinese restaurants won’t usually come by to check on you, so you call them. Raise your hand and say 服务员 (fúwùyuán) clearly; calling out across the room is normal and not rude. Some tables have a call button. The same goes for adding dishes, asking for more napkins, or chasing a dish that hasn’t come. If something is wrong with a dish, the food problems lesson has what to say.

How do you pay at a restaurant in China?

Ask for the bill with 买单 (mǎidān) or 结账 (jiézhàng). Depending on the restaurant, you scan the QR code on your table, scan the restaurant’s code at the counter (收银台, shōuyíntái), or show your own payment code. Alipay and WeChat Pay linked to a foreign card work in most restaurants; see the Alipay and WeChat Pay guide to set them up before you go. Larger restaurants may take foreign cards, and a March 2024 State Council guideline calls on dining businesses to accept cash and keep change (Shanghai government summary), so carry some yuan as a backup.

There is no tipping. Shanghai’s tourism authority notes that restaurants and bars in hotels, and some outside them, may add a 10–15% service charge, and that tips aren’t expected in most restaurants (Shanghai FAQ). More on this in the etiquette and tipping guide.

Packing leftovers (打包, dǎbāo) is completely normal, including at nice restaurants. Staff bring a box, sometimes for a small fee. If you need an official receipt for work, ask for a 发票 (fāpiào) before you pay. The bill and leftovers lesson covers splitting the bill too.