Ordering Decoded — read any Chinese menu
Updated September 2026 · Allergen facts verified against GB 7718-2025 & GB/T 18186
A camera translator gives you the characters. This page teaches you to read any menu yourself.
Reading a Chinese menu with a translation app
1 · Read the dish name
Most dish names follow [style] + [main] + [cut].
Once you see the pattern, any name yields its ingredients and rough flavor.
2 · Flavor-axis cheat-sheet
Spice, taste, and method → texture.
Sweet-and-sour is sweet; 清淡 is light, not flavorless; 凉拌 may be raw.
3 · Ingredient keywords
The characters that name the animal or plant.
猪
pork
牛
beef
羊
lamb
鸡
chicken
鱼
fish
虾
shrimp
蟹
crab
豆腐
tofu
蛋
egg
蔬菜
vegetables
米饭
rice
面
noodles
4 · Allergens & hidden risks
Restaurants: not required
GB 7718-2025 covers pre-packaged food only; cooked-to-order dishes are exempt.
Soy sauce = soy + wheat
Brewed soy sauce (GB/T 18186) = soybeans AND wheat.
8 mandatory (packaged)
Peanut, shellfish, fish, egg, soy, milk, nuts, gluten grains.
Sesame = voluntary
Sesame is not in the 8 mandatory classes; labelling is optional.
Restaurants are not required to warn you — show the card and ask.
MSG is not an allergen but a common sensitivity; ask for 不要味精.
Sources: GB 7718-2025; GB/T 18186.
5 · Show-them ordering cards
Point at the card — the kitchen reads it, not just hears you.
不要辣 / 微辣就好
Not spicy / mild, please
不要香菜
No cilantro, please
不要味精
No MSG, please
这个有猪肉吗？
Does this have pork?
我对[花生]过敏
I am allergic to [peanut]
我吃素
I am vegetarian
少油少盐
Less oil and salt
这个辣吗？
Is this spicy?
These 8 cards are part of the $9.99 offline kit.
⚠ What actually goes wrong at the table
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- Ordered 不辣 and still got chili — say 微辣 / 少辣
- Ate 鱼香肉丝 thinking it had fish
- Did not realise 麻辣 means numb, not just hot
- Reaction to hidden peanut / sesame in a sauce
- Assumed the menu listed allergens — it legally need not
The offline kit carries the cards.
Everything on this page stays free.
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