How to Order Food in China as a Foreigner: Restaurants, Delivery & Dietary Needs

Short answer: Ordering food in China as a foreigner is mostly a translation problem, not a language problem. In restaurants, point at photos, use your phone’s camera translation on the menu, and pay with Alipay or WeChat Pay. For delivery, use Meituan or Ele.me (Ele.me is now also sold as Taobao Shangou) with your hotel address written in Chinese characters — and note that full delivery-app registration is often easiest with a Chinese phone number, so the mini-program inside Alipay is a good first try. Learn five dietary phrases before you go, and you can eat well anywhere.

Last updated: 29 October 2026. App menus, English options and registration rules change between versions — check the app on the day, and treat version-specific steps as approximate. Real-device screenshots will be added later; this guide is text-only for now.

Ordering in a restaurant, step by step

1. Look before you sit down. Many restaurants display photo menus outside or on the wall. If the menu has no photos and no English, that is still fine — see step 3.
2. Scan or point. Many tables have a QR code: scanning it with Alipay or WeChat usually opens the menu on your phone, where you can use your phone’s translation feature. If there is no QR code, ask for the menu (“菜单”, càidān) and point.
3. Use camera translation. Point your phone’s camera translation at the menu (Google Translate’s camera, your phone’s built-in translator, or a similar tool — download the Chinese language pack before you fly). It is imperfect but good enough to spot noodles, dumplings, chicken, beef and vegetables.
4. Order by pointing and numbers. Point at the dish, hold up fingers for quantity, and confirm with the waiter by pointing again. A smile and a gesture go a long way.
5. Pay at the table or counter. Most restaurants accept Alipay or WeChat Pay QR payment; some smaller ones take cash. There is usually no tip line and no tipping expectation — see money in China.

Menu survival: what the words mean

Dietary restrictions: phrases that actually work

Show the waiter the written Chinese phrase on your phone — written characters beat pronunciation for this. Save these before you go:

Honest warnings. “Vegetarian” in China sometimes still includes egg, dairy, or dishes cooked in meat stock — if you are strict, add “请不要放肉，也不要用肉汤” (no meat, and no meat stock). Soy sauce contains wheat, so coeliac travellers should treat soy-sauce dishes as unsafe unless confirmed. Cross-contamination is common in small kitchens; if an allergy is severe, choose larger restaurants, show the allergy card clearly, and carry your medication.

Food delivery: Meituan and Ele.me basics

China’s two big delivery platforms are Meituan Waimai (yellow logo, the largest) and Ele.me (blue logo, owned by Alibaba; now also branded Taobao Shangou). Delivery typically takes about 30–45 minutes in cities, costs only a small delivery fee for nearby restaurants, and covers cooked meals, drinks, fruit, supermarket items and some over-the-counter medicine.

The easiest route for a first-timer: the Alipay mini-program

1. Open Alipay and search for “饿了么” (Ele.me).
2. Open the mini-program — no separate registration is needed beyond your existing Alipay account.
3. Set the delivery address in Chinese characters: hotel name, address, and room number. Ask the front desk to write it for you, then copy and paste it. Riders do not read English addresses.
4. Pick dishes from photos, check the price and delivery time, and pay inside Alipay.
5. Track the rider in the app. Riders usually leave food at the hotel lobby or a delivery shelf — check the app’s note for where yours was left.

The full apps: more choice, more friction

The standalone Meituan and Ele.me apps offer the full restaurant range, but registration commonly requires a Chinese phone number for SMS verification, which many short-trip visitors do not have. Meituan has added an English language option in recent versions (Me → Settings → Language → English), but restaurant names, menus and reviews remain mostly Chinese even then, so photos and camera translation still do most of the work. App versions differ — if a menu path in this guide does not match your screen, look for the same words in a nearby menu rather than assuming the app is broken.

Delivery to your hotel: getting it right

• Address in Chinese, always. Hotel name + room number as the primary identifier; add the hotel front-desk phone number if the app asks for a contact number you do not have.
• Write a note in Chinese: “请放前台” (qǐng fàng qiántái — “please leave at the front desk”) or “请放门口” (“please leave at the door”).
• Answer the rider’s call or message if you can — they may need a gate code. The app’s chat translation helps if you do not speak Chinese.
• Peak times (roughly 11:30–13:00 and 17:30–19:30) add waiting time. Order a little early on your first try.
• Check the lobby shelf. Many hotels have a delivery shelf near the entrance; your food may be there even if nobody called you.

Paying for food

Pay for restaurants and delivery with Alipay or WeChat Pay — the same apps you use for everything else. See how to set up Alipay and how to set up WeChat Pay. Cash works in most restaurants but not inside delivery apps. If a delivery order fails at payment, try the other payment app before assuming the restaurant is the problem.

First-week food plan: a gentle start

• Day 1: Hotel breakfast, then a dumpling or noodle shop with photo menus for lunch. Delivery for dinner if you are tired.
• Day 2–3: Try one local speciality per day, using Dianping (the review app locals use) to find busy, well-reviewed places near you — a queue out the door is usually a good sign.
• Later in the week: A hotpot or a market food street, where you point at ingredients and cook or watch them cooked.
• Any day you feel unwell: Plain rice porridge (粥, zhōu) and steamed dishes are the gentlest options; pharmacies (药店, yàodiàn) are easy to find for basic stomach remedies.

Frequently asked questions

Can I order delivery without a Chinese phone number?

The Alipay Ele.me mini-program route works with your existing Alipay account and is the easiest first try. The standalone Meituan app commonly requires a Chinese number for SMS verification, so it may not be available to short-trip visitors.

Do delivery riders speak English?

Usually not. Use the in-app chat (which translates), the Chinese address note, and the hotel front desk as your communication tools.

Is street food safe?

Busy stalls with high turnover are generally the safest bet — food is cooked fresh and often. Avoid pre-cooked food that has been sitting out, and carry basic stomach remedies just in case.

How do I ask for the bill?

Say “买单” (mǎidān) or catch the waiter’s eye and mime signing. In QR-order restaurants, the bill and payment are usually inside the same phone menu.

What if I order the wrong dish?

It happens to everyone, and it is rarely a disaster: most dishes are cheap, and pointing at a photo of what you actually wanted usually fixes the next order. Treat the first wrong dish as tuition, not a failure.

Related guides

• How to Set Up Alipay for Foreigners
• Money in China: Cash, Cards, ATMs & Daily Costs
• How to Get Around Chinese Cities: Metro, DiDi, Taxis
• First Time in China — homepage