For travelers, students, and expats in China, once in a while you crave a bit of comfort food. Just because you want a taste of home, though, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still try to order in Chinese. Here’s a list of Western food (西餐 – xī cān) vocabulary in Chinese to help you out:

Breakfast

• cereal (谷类 – gǔ lèi)

• bacon (培根 – péi gēn)

• omelette (煎蛋卷 – jiān dàn juǎn)

• donuts (甜甜圈 – tián tián quān)

• pancakes (薄煎饼 – báo jiān bing)

Lunch & Dinner

🍔🍟

• hamburger (汉堡包 – hàn bǎo bāo)

• hot dog (热狗 – rè gǒu)

• french fries (薯条 – shǔ tiáo)

• sandwich (三明治 – sān míng zhì)

• pasta (意大利面 – yì dà lì miàn)

• steak (牛排 – niú pái)

• salad (沙拉 – shā lā)

• soup (汤 – tāng)

• pizza (比萨 – bǐ sà)

• barbecue (烧烤 – shāo kǎo)

Drinks

Slow Boat Beer in Beijing

• coffee (咖啡 – kā fēi)

• Coca-Cola (可口可乐 – kě kǒu kě lè)

• Sprite (雪碧 – xuě bì)

• milk (牛奶 – niú nǎi)

• beer (啤酒 – pí jiǔ)

• wine (葡萄酒 – pú táo jiǔ)

• cocktails (鸡尾酒 – jī wěi jiǔ)

Snacks & Desert

• chicken wings (鸡翅 – jī chì)

• cheese (奶酪 – nǎi lào)

• potato chips (薯片－ shǔ piàn)

• popcorn (爆米花 – bào mǐ huā)

• apple pie (苹果派 – píng guǒ pài)

• cake (蛋糕 – dàn gāo)

• ice cream (冰淇淋 – bīng qí lín)

Popular Western Places

The Golden Arches – very well-known even in China.

• McDonald’s (麦当劳 – mài dāng láo)

• KFC (肯德基 – kěn dé jī)

• Pizza Hut (必胜客 – bì shèng kè)

• Burger King (汉堡王 – hàn bǎo wáng)

• Subway (赛百味 – sài bǎi wèi)

• Starbucks (星巴克 – xīng bā kè)

While those places are all pretty ubiquitous in China, it’s better to find a local joint run by expats to score some real good comfort food. Having spent almost five years living in Beijing, here are a few of my personal favorite places there that I can highly recommend for some quality Western food:

• Home Plate – American style BBQ

• Kro’s Nest – New York style Pizza

• Blue Frog – great burgers (buy one get one on Mondays!)

• Lush – student hangout with a big menu

• Annie’s – easy, affordable, delicious Italian