Mandarin: Eating out

Chinese food (中国菜Zhōng Guó cài) is popular in the Western world. There are many Chinese restaurants in the UK.

Some authentic Chinese dishes include:

Did you know?

‘Peking’ is the old name for the Chinese capital city of Beijing.

It is now only used for a few things, like Peking duck.

When you are in a Chinese restaurant, the waiter will ask you:

• 您想吃点什么?Nín xiǎng chī diǎn shén me? – What do you want to eat?

• 您想喝点什么?Nín xiǎng hē diǎn shén me? – What do you want to drink?

These translate more literally to ‘You want to eat/drink a little what?’

You can respond in Mandarin using 我要Wǒ yào (I want), along with:

• 一个yī gè – for one at a time, eg a steamed bun

• 一碗yī wǎn – for a bowl, eg of wontons

• 一盘yī pán – for a plate, eg of dumplings

• 一份 yī fèn – for a portion, eg of vegetable stir fry and most other dishes

So, to order different foods in Mandarin you could say:

• 我要一个包子Wǒ yào yī gè bāo zi – I want a bun

• 我要一碗馄饨Wǒ yào yī wǎn hún tun – I want a bowl of wontons

• 我要一盘饺子Wǒ yào yī pán jiǎo zi – I want a plate of dumplings

• 我要一份炒青菜Wǒ yào yī fèn chǎo qīng cài – I want a portion of vegetable stir fry