{"id":9192,"date":"2013-07-17T09:29:24","date_gmt":"2013-07-17T13:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=9192"},"modified":"2013-07-17T09:29:24","modified_gmt":"2013-07-17T13:29:24","slug":"in-a-chinese-restaurant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/in-a-chinese-restaurant\/","title":{"rendered":"In a Chinese Restaurant"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Inside one of the many great restaurants in China.<\/p><\/div>\n

For anyone planning a trip to China, perhaps the most important language related topic to study is \u201cin the restaurant.\u201d\u00a0 China is home to a vast array of different cuisines, and it would be a shame if you came all the way here and ended up eating McDonald\u2019s and KFC simply because you cannot communicate with restaurant staff or understand a menu. In order to help you out in your quest to eat all of the delicious food that this great country has to offer, here is some useful vocabulary and sentences that you can practice:<\/p>\n

First of all, you need to choose a restaurant<\/strong>. You may hear any of the following words used in Chinese \u2013 \u9910\u5385 \u2013 c\u0101n t\u012bng, \u996d\u5e97 \u2013 f\u00e0n di\u00e0n, or \u83dc\u9986 \u2013 c\u00e0i gu\u01cen. In my experiences here, you really can\u2019t go wrong when it comes to choosing a Chinese restaurant. In my humble opinion, the best places are the small, grimy, hole-in-the-wall spots that you\u2019d probably never take your mother too (mine would cry if she saw a selection of my favorite places to eat here). These spots usually have the word snack<\/strong> (\u5c0f\u5403 \u2013 xi\u01ceo ch\u012b) in their name, they are always cheap <\/strong>(\u4fbf\u5b9c\u7684 \u2013 pi\u00e1n yi de), and of course, the food is always delicious<\/strong> (\u597d\u5403 \u2013 h\u01ceo ch\u012b).<\/p>\n

Arriving in the restaurant, you\u2019ll probably be greeted as follows:<\/p>\n

Welcome! How many people are in your group?<\/strong> (\u6b22\u8fce\u5149\u4e34\uff0c\u4f60\u4eec\u51e0\u4f4d\uff1f- hu\u0101n y\u00edng gu\u0101ng l\u00edn, n\u01d0 men j\u01d0 w\u00e8i?)<\/p>\n

You should respond with \u6211\u4eec (number of people) + \u4f4d. For example, We have 4 people<\/strong> (\u6211\u4eec\u56db\u4f4d \u2013 w\u01d2 men s\u00ec w\u00e8i).<\/p>\n

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Understanding the menu can be tricky...<\/p><\/div>\n

Next up, take a look at the menu<\/strong> (\u83dc\u5355- c\u00e0i d\u0101n). If the menu is all in Chinese, you can always give it a shot and ask them, \u201cDo you have an English menu?<\/strong>\u201d (\u4f60\u6709\u82f1\u6587\u83dc\u5355\u5417\uff1f \u2013 N\u01d0 y\u01d2u y\u012bng w\u00e9n c\u00e0i d\u0101n ma?). If they do, you can get a little bit of help, but this will only happen in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai. Either way, you\u2019ll eventually need to call out, \u201cWaiter! We\u2019d like to order!<\/strong>\u201d (\u670d\u52a1\u5458\uff01\u70b9\u83dc\uff01- f\u00fa w\u00f9 yu\u00e1n! Di\u01cen c\u00e0i!). In China, it is perfectly acceptable to yell across the restaurant at the top of your lungs to alert your waiter or waitress. Don\u2019t worry, you won\u2019t be offending anybody, and if you pull the polite, quiet Western food order, you might not get noticed!<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019re ready to order, here are a few phrases that can help you out:<\/p>\n

What is your specialty? <\/strong>(\u4f60\u4eec\u6709\u4ec0\u4e48\u7279\u8272\u83dc\uff1f \u2013 n\u01d0 men y\u01d2u sh\u00e9n me t\u00e8 s\u00e8 c\u00e0i?)<\/p>\n

Can you recommend something?<\/strong> (\u4f60\u53ef\u4ee5\u7ed9\u6211\u63a8\u8350\u4e00\u4e2a\u5417\uff1f \u2013 n\u01d0 k\u011b y\u01d0 g\u011bi w\u01d2 tu\u012b ji\u00e0n y\u012b g\u00e8 ma?)<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t eat meat.<\/strong> (\u6211\u4e0d\u5403\u8089 \u2013 w\u01d2 b\u00f9 ch\u012b r\u00f2u)<\/p>\n

As there is a lot of spicy food in China, your waiter might ask you, \u201cCan you eat spicy food?<\/strong>\u201d (\u4f60\u80fd\u5403\u8fa3\u7684\u5417\uff1f \u2013 n\u01d0 n\u00e9ng ch\u012b l\u00e0 de ma?). You can answer with \u201cYes, I can<\/strong>\u201d \uff08\u80fd\u5403\u8fa3\u7684 \u2013 n\u00e9ng ch\u012b l\u00e0 de\uff09 or \u201cNo, I can\u2019t<\/strong>\u201d (\u4e0d\u80fd\u5403\u8fa3\u7684 \u2013 b\u00f9 n\u00e9ng ch\u012b l\u00e0 de).<\/p>\n

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Hot pot (\u706b\u9505) can be pretty spicy.<\/p><\/div>\n

When deciding on a dish, here are some Chinese staple dishes<\/strong> (\u4e3b\u98df \u2013 zh\u01d4 sh\u00ed) that you should learn:<\/p>\n