How to read a Chinese menu

How a Chinese menu is laid out

If you want to know how to read a Chinese menu, start with the sections: dishes are grouped by temperature and type, not by starter and main. A typical sit-down menu runs cold dishes (凉菜 liángcài), hot dishes (热菜 rècài), soups (汤 tāng), staples like rice, noodles and dumplings (主食 zhǔshí), then drinks (酒水 jiǔshuǐ). The house specialities (招牌菜 zhāopáicài) often fill the first pages, with photos.

Things that work differently from Western menus:

• Dishes are shared. You order for the table, roughly one dish per person plus rice or noodles, and everyone eats from the middle.
• Staples come last. Rice may arrive at the end unless you ask for it with the meal.
• Weight pricing. Live fish and seafood are priced per 斤 jīn (500 g on the mainland, about 600 g in Hong Kong and Taiwan). In northern dumpling shops you may order by 两 liǎng, a 50 g measure of dough.
• Market price. 时价 shíjià (時價) means the price changes daily. Ask first.
• QR ordering. On the mainland many restaurants have you scan a table QR code to order and pay (扫码点餐 sǎomǎ diǎncān), usually through WeChat or Alipay. Ask for a paper menu if you can't use them.
• Dim sum sheets. At Cantonese dim sum (点心 diǎnxīn) you tick quantities on a paper order sheet, and dishes are often priced by size band.
• Tax. Menu prices include tax. Service charges, where added, are printed on the menu.

Reading the script

Chinese characters each carry meaning, and a dish name is usually built from a few of them: method, main ingredient, cut, sauce. 宫保鸡丁 gōngbǎo jīdīng is "Gongbao chicken, diced"; 红烧肉 hóngshāo ròu is "red-braised meat". Mainland China writes in simplified characters; Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau use traditional ones. The table gives both where they differ (simplified first). Pinyin with tone marks shows Mandarin pronunciation. Hong Kong menus are read in Cantonese, which sounds different, but the characters mean the same thing.

Cooking methods

The method usually comes first in the dish name.

Meat, seafood and key ingredients

On its own, 肉 ròu (meat) almost always means pork.

Allergy and diet watch-outs

Soy sauce, oyster sauce, peanuts and sesame are the big four in Chinese cooking, and they turn up in dishes that don't name them.

• Wheat. Chinese soy sauce is brewed with wheat, so gluten is in most stir-fries, braises and dipping sauces. Noodles, dumpling wrappers and buns are wheat, and Cantonese wonton and egg noodles also contain eggs. Broad bean chilli paste and hoisin often contain wheat flour. Buddhist mock meats are frequently made from wheat gluten (面筋 miànjīn).
• Oyster sauce. Oyster sauce (molluscs) finishes many Cantonese greens, beef stir-fries and noodle dishes. "Vegetarian oyster sauce" made from mushrooms exists, but don't assume a kitchen uses it.
• Peanuts and tree nuts. Peanuts are in kung pao dishes, cold appetisers, some dan dan noodles and sweet fillings, and peanut oil is a common frying oil. Cashews (tree nuts) appear in stir-fries such as 腰果鸡丁 (cashew chicken).
• Sesame. Sesame oil is a finishing oil in cold dishes and dumpling dips, sesame paste (芝麻酱 zhīmajiàng) goes into cold noodles and hot-pot sauces, and seeds coat many sweets.
• Seafood where you don't expect it. Dried shrimp (crustaceans) flavour XO sauce, turnip cake, fried rice and some vegetable dishes, and XO sauce also contains dried scallop (molluscs). 鱼香 yúxiāng ("fish-fragrant") sauce usually contains no fish at all, but fish and shellfish stock can appear in soups.
• Soy and egg. Soy is in soy sauce, tofu and bean pastes everywhere. Egg goes into fried rice, batters and many soups.
• Meat in "vegetable" dishes. Mapo tofu contains minced pork or beef, and vegetables may be cooked in lard or chicken stock. Lard is also used in some Cantonese pastries.
• MSG. 味精 wèijīng is common. It isn't an allergen, but you can ask for it to be left out.

Woks are often only rinsed or wiped between dishes, so cross-contact with peanuts or shellfish is a real risk. A written card in the right script (simplified for the mainland, traditional for Taiwan and Hong Kong) is clearer than speaking. Carry any medication you have been prescribed, following your doctor's plan.

Useful phrases

These are in Mandarin, which is understood across the mainland and Taiwan; traditional characters are in brackets where they differ. Chinese has no gendered forms. Adding 请 qǐng (please) at the start makes a request more polite.

In Hong Kong, Cantonese speakers say 唔該 (m4 goi1 in Jyutping, roughly "mm goy") to get attention and 埋單 (maai4 daan1) for the bill.

Ordering and paying

Tipping isn't expected in mainland China or Taiwan, while Hong Kong restaurants usually add a 10% service charge instead. By region:

• Mainland China. No tip. Hotel restaurants and some upscale places add a service charge, shown on the menu. Some restaurants charge a yuan or two for the shrink-wrapped tableware set; leave it sealed and ask if you'd rather not pay. Payment is overwhelmingly by phone (Alipay or WeChat Pay), and both now accept many foreign cards; cash is legal tender, but small places may struggle with change.
• Hong Kong. Most sit-down restaurants add 10% service; cha chaan teng (茶餐廳, local cafes) usually don't. Cantonese restaurants charge per person for tea (茶位, cha wai in Cantonese). Leaving small change is a courtesy. Octopus cards, credit cards and cash are all common.
• Taiwan. Ordinary restaurants and night markets don't add service or expect tips; many sit-down and hotel restaurants add 10% service. Small shops are often cash only.
• Calling staff. Wave and call "fúwùyuán" on the mainland, "bù hǎoyìsi" (excuse me) in Taiwan, or "m4 goi1" in Hong Kong. Calling out is normal, not rude.
• Sharing. Serving chopsticks (公筷 gōngkuài) or spoons may be provided for the shared plates. At a round table with a lazy Susan, turn it gently and let others serve first.
• Splitting bills. The host often pays for everyone. Splitting (AA制 AA zhì on the mainland) is fine among friends.

Dishes to know

• Mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐 mápó dòufu): tofu in chilli bean sauce with minced meat and Sichuan pepper.
• Kung pao chicken (宫保鸡丁 gōngbǎo jīdīng): diced chicken with dried chillies and peanuts.
• Xiaolongbao (小笼包 xiǎolóngbāo): soup-filled pork dumplings from Shanghai.
• Char siu (叉烧 chāshāo): Cantonese barbecued pork with a sweet glaze.
• Dan dan noodles (担担面 dàndàn miàn): Sichuan wheat noodles with chilli oil, minced pork and often sesame paste or peanuts.
• Peking duck (北京烤鸭 Běijīng kǎoyā): roast duck wrapped in pancakes with sweet bean sauce.
• Jiaozi (饺子 jiǎozi): boiled or pan-fried wheat dumplings, often pork and cabbage.
• Fried rice (炒饭 chǎofàn): usually with egg and spring onion (scallion), plus meat or prawns.
• Wonton noodles (云吞面 yúntūn miàn): Cantonese egg noodles with prawn wontons in broth.
• Yuxiang pork (鱼香肉丝 yúxiāng ròusī): shredded pork in garlicky "fish-fragrant" sauce.

Questions

What is the difference between simplified and traditional Chinese on a menu?

Mainland China uses simplified characters, while Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau use traditional ones. Many food characters are identical in both (牛 beef, 炒 stir-fried, 豆腐 tofu), but some common ones differ, such as 鸡 and 雞 (chicken), 鱼 and 魚 (fish) and 面 and 麵 (noodles). The meaning and the pinyin are the same.

Do you tip in Chinese restaurants?

Not in mainland China or at ordinary restaurants in Taiwan. In Hong Kong most sit-down restaurants add a 10% service charge, and Taiwanese and mainland hotel restaurants and upscale places often add one too, so an extra tip isn't expected. Leaving small change in Hong Kong is a courtesy, not a rule.

Why is 'vegetable dish' not the same as vegetarian in China?

素菜 sùcài means a vegetable dish, and it can still be cooked in lard or chicken stock or finished with oyster sauce. For strictly meat-free food, look for Buddhist vegetarian restaurants marked 素食 sùshí or 斋 zhāi (齋 in traditional characters), and say 我吃素 (wǒ chī sù), I'm vegetarian.

What does 斤 mean on a Chinese seafood menu?

斤 jīn is a unit of weight, and live seafood is often priced per jīn. On the mainland a jīn is 500 g, while in Hong Kong and Taiwan it is about 600 g. Confirm the weight and the total before the kitchen starts cooking.

Sources

1. Centre for Food Safety, Hong Kong: Common allergens with food safety risk
2. Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia: Translated chef cards for travelling
3. ASCIA: Travel checklist for people at risk of anaphylaxis
4. Allergy UK: Travelling with allergies

Last checked 1 November 2026. Spotted something wrong? Email support@inventum.com.au.