Eating in China: Ordering Food, Allergies and Dietary Requirements
How to order from paper and QR menus, communicate allergies, and ask precise questions about vegetarian, vegan, halal, gluten-free and non-spicy food.
Eating well in China does not require reading a whole menu. It does require being specific. “No meat” may not exclude stock, lard, oyster sauce, or a few pieces of pork used as seasoning. “Not spicy” may still leave chili oil in a prepared sauce. A severe allergy needs a clearer conversation than a translation app can provide.
Menus, ingredients, and kitchen practice vary enormously across China. Use this guide to ask better questions, then let the restaurant tell you what it can prepare safely.
How ordering usually works
You may order from a paper menu, a picture menu, a wall display, a table QR code, or a Mini Program. In a casual restaurant, staff may take the order on a handheld device. At a food court, you may pay each stall separately and collect a number.
For a table QR code:
- Confirm that it belongs to the restaurant and shows the correct table.
- Check whether submitting the order also charges the bill.
- Review quantities; “1” may mean one large shared plate.
- Look for optional extras, service charges, tea, or disposable tableware.
- Save the order page until every dish arrives.
If the QR flow rejects a foreign card or phone number, ask for a paper menu or staff ordering. A digital menu is a convenience, not the only legitimate way to eat.
Chinese meals are often shared. A useful first order for two people is one substantial dish, one vegetable dish, and rice or noodles, then add more if needed. Rice is not always served automatically with every regional cuisine.
Translate the menu, then confirm the dish
Camera translation is good at identifying the main ingredient. It is less reliable with poetic dish names, regional vocabulary, cooking techniques, and negation.
After translating, ask three simple questions:
- What is the main ingredient?
- Does it contain the ingredient I cannot eat?
- Can it be cooked without that ingredient?
For an allergy, show the Chinese text and the exact ingredient rather than relying on a spoken English brand name. Keep the original menu visible so staff can point to the right dish.
The Shanghai government visitor guide recommends staff assistance and provides a menu-translation route through Alipay's Easy Go service. WeChat and other translation apps can also scan text. For anything medically important, a human-checked card is safer.
Food allergies: say more than “I don't eat it”
The Chinese term 过敏 (guòmǐn) means allergy. 忌口 (jìkǒu) can mean a dietary restriction or food to avoid, but it does not always communicate the risk of a serious reaction.
Carry a card that says:
我对 ______ 严重过敏。
Wǒ duì ______ yánzhòng guòmǐn.
I have a severe allergy to ______.
不能吃含有 ______ 的食物，也不能用接触过它的锅、油或餐具。
I cannot eat food containing ______, or food prepared with cookware, oil, or utensils that have touched it.
如果不能确保安全，请直接告诉我。
If you cannot make it safely, please tell me directly.
Have the final card checked by a fluent speaker, especially for a child or a life-threatening allergy. Include the exact foods, not only a category. “Nuts,” for example, may need separate entries for peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, and the oils made from them.
Ask about:
- cooking oil;
- stock or broth;
- sauces and marinades;
- garnishes and crushed toppings;
- shared woks, grills, steamers, fryers, knives, and ladles;
- factory-made dumplings, noodles, desserts, or hot-pot bases.
A cook may be willing to omit an ingredient but unable to prevent cross-contact in a small kitchen. If staff are uncertain, choose a simpler packaged item with a readable label or another restaurant. Do not pressure someone into promising safety they cannot verify.
Carry prescribed emergency medication as directed by your clinician and know how to call 120 for an ambulance.
Vegetarian and vegan food
我吃素 (wǒ chī sù) means “I eat vegetarian food,” but the practical interpretation can vary. Some people use it to exclude visible meat while accepting broth, egg, dairy, or animal seasoning.
For vegetarian food, specify what is acceptable:
我不吃肉、禽、鱼和海鲜。
I do not eat meat, poultry, fish, or seafood.
鸡蛋和奶制品可以。
Eggs and dairy are okay.
For vegan food:
我吃纯素。
Wǒ chī chún sù.
I am vegan.
不要肉、禽、鱼、海鲜、蛋、奶、蜂蜜、动物油和动物高汤。
No meat, poultry, fish, seafood, eggs, dairy, honey, animal fat, or animal stock.
Vegetable dishes may contain minced pork, oyster sauce, chicken powder, or lard. Tofu is an ingredient, not proof that a dish is vegetarian. Buddhist vegetarian restaurants can be easier, but still ask about egg, dairy, alcohol, and the restaurant's own definition.
Halal food
清真 (qīngzhēn) is the term used for halal. Look for a clearly identified halal restaurant and confirm the practice that matters to you. “No pork” is not the same as halal: meat sourcing, alcohol, cooking oil, and shared preparation can all be relevant.
Common Muslim food traditions in China include Lanzhou beef noodles, Xinjiang cuisine, and restaurants associated with Hui communities, but a cuisine name alone is not certification. Ask the restaurant rather than treating an online tag as conclusive.
Useful questions include:
这是清真餐厅吗？
Is this a halal restaurant?
肉是清真的吗？
Is the meat halal?
厨房里用猪肉或酒吗？
Does the kitchen use pork or alcohol?
Gluten-free and coeliac travel
Gluten-free dining can be difficult because wheat appears beyond bread and noodles. Soy sauce may contain wheat. Dumplings, buns, many noodles, battered foods, and some processed sauces are obvious risks; shared woks, fryers, and utensils add cross-contact.
The phrase 我不能吃含麸质的食物 means “I cannot eat food containing gluten,” but “gluten-free” is not understood uniformly. List wheat, barley, rye, ordinary soy sauce, malt, and cross-contact according to your medical needs.
Plain rice, simply cooked vegetables, eggs, meat, fish, or tofu may look suitable, but the seasoning and preparation still need checking. For coeliac disease or a severe wheat allergy, choose a kitchen that can explain ingredients and separation. A visually simple dish is not automatically safe.
Spice levels
“Not spicy” is:
不要辣。完全不放辣椒和辣椒油。
Bú yào là. Wánquán bù fàng làjiāo hé làjiāoyóu.
Not spicy. Please do not add chili or chili oil at all.
“A little spicy” is 微辣 (wēilà). Regional baselines differ, and a prepared hot-pot base or sauce may not be adjustable. Ask whether the dish can truly be made without chili rather than only requesting a lower level.
Sichuan pepper, 花椒 (huājiāo), creates a numbing sensation and is not the same as chili heat. Ask about both if either is a problem.
Labels and delivery apps
Packaged-food labels can help, but translation may miss small ingredient text or advisory statements. Check the manufacturer label rather than a reseller's short description. If an allergy is severe, do not assume a product is safe because the front says “milk flavor,” “vegetable,” or “healthy.”
Delivery apps add distance between you and the kitchen. Put the restriction in the order note, then call or message the restaurant to confirm. If a meal arrives without a clear response, the note alone is not proof that staff saw or understood it.
A compact dining card
Keep one screen or printed card with:
- the condition in plain Chinese;
- every prohibited ingredient;
- whether traces or shared equipment are unsafe;
- acceptable substitutions;
- the instruction to say no if the kitchen cannot guarantee it;
- the local emergency number, 120.
Do not put a long explanation of your whole diet at the top. Lead with the risk and the ingredient.
Official and authoritative sources
- Shanghai government allergy and vegetarian phrase guide: https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-LearnChinese/20240408/233e22b629f64bf1bfe06d155a3109c7.html
- Shanghai government guide to menu translation and staff ordering: https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-CIIE2025/20251016/a8cde7a821ae4df5a957b6014f7c3814.html
- Shanghai government beginner's food-ordering language guide: https://english.shanghai.gov.cn/en-LearnChinese/20240516/3410e17a9855459eaaca8abc89ab9f8f.html
- UK government China health advice, including emergency care and medication planning: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/china/health
Last reviewed: 24 July 2026. Restaurant ingredients and preparation practices must be confirmed at the individual kitchen.