Read the flow.
Then order the food.
A visual guide to the four restaurant systems foreign visitors meet most often in China—and the confirmation step that prevents wrong tables, duplicate orders and double payments.
- 01DISHItem matched
- 02QUANTITYCount confirmed
- 03HANDOFFTable or pickup saved
Illustration only — always use the restaurant’s live menu and confirmation.
First ask: Where do I order? Where do I pay? Where do I receive it? Then confirm the dish, quantity, options, table or pickup number, total and payment result before leaving the screen or counter.
“Scan to order” is only one possibility. The same restaurant can use table service for one room, a QR menu for another and counter payment for takeaway. Read the handoff before choosing the dish.
Delivery is a different task: you need a reachable number, exact Chinese address, hotel or gate handoff and a clear payment state. Open the food-delivery guide for foreign visitors →
Camera translation can help identify categories and choices, but it cannot prove ingredients, substitutions or cross-contact. Serious allergies and medically important dietary restrictions need a separate staff-confirmed safety route.
Find the owner of each step
Staff takes the order
Receive a paper, tablet or spoken menu. Confirm whether staff returns to take the order and whether payment happens at the table or cashier.
LOOK FORMenu + server + table numberYour phone sends the order
Confirm the code belongs to the restaurant and table. Opening a menu, submitting an order and paying can be three separate actions.
LOOK FORRestaurant name + table + order listOrder and usually pay first
Choose at a board, kiosk or counter. Keep the receipt or order number and learn whether food is called, displayed or brought to you.
LOOK FOROrder number + pickup counterStall and seating are separate
Each stall may own its ordering and payment. Confirm where to collect the dish and whether trays or dishes must be returned.
LOOK FORStall number + collection pointDo not confuse opening, ordering and paying
- 01扫码
Verify the physical code
Check that the QR is fixed to the restaurant’s menu, table or official sign. Avoid loose replacement stickers and codes supplied by strangers.
- 02桌号
Match restaurant and table
Read the merchant name and any table number shown. If it is wrong or missing, ask staff before adding food.
- 03选菜
Choose dish and options
Check size, temperature, spice level, additions and quantity. A translated dish title may omit important option labels.
- 04确认
Read the cart before submit
Compare every line, quantity and price. Remove accidental extras before pressing the final order button.
- 05付款
Identify the payment step
The order may ask for immediate payment or may remain payable at the cashier. Use only the method shown by the official restaurant flow.
- 06订单
Save the result
Look for an order number, submitted status, table number and payment result. Do not resubmit because one screen closed.
Six facts make an order complete
Exact item or photo
One, two or set count
Size, spice, additions
Table or pickup number
Final RMB amount shown
Submitted and paid?
If the status is unclear: check the order list and payment history, then ask staff to confirm the same table and total. Do not press the final button again until you know what happened.
Ordering is not the same as receiving
Keep the table identifier visible
Staff may deliver by table number, stand or order record. If you move seats, tell staff before the dish is dispatched.
Keep the receipt or screen
Watch the pickup display and compare the whole order number, not only the last digit when the venue is busy.
Return to the correct merchant
Food courts can have a shared seating area but separate collection points. Save the stall name and number.
Check the bag before leaving
Match item count, drinks, utensils requested and order number while the restaurant can still correct a missing item.
When the flow breaks, return to the last confirmed state
Ask for another ordering route
Try reliable data only once, then ask for a paper menu, staff ordering or the counter. Do not install an unknown app just to access a menu.
Translate, point, then confirm
Use camera translation or photos to narrow the choice. Show the exact line to staff and confirm quantity and options.
Stop before submitting again
Check the order list and payment history. Ask staff whether the table already has an active order for that total.
Preserve the order record
Show staff the merchant, time, order number and table or pickup field. Do not edit or crop away the identifying context.
Separate order status from money status
Confirm whether the kitchen received the order before changing payment method. Then use the verified payment recovery sequence.
Open payment recovery →Do not rely on the translated dish name
Pause the order and communicate the ingredient or cross-contact risk directly. The dedicated allergy guide is the next safety module.
Six useful ordering phrases
Where do I order?
Where do I pay?
I would like this, one portion.
What table number is this?
Was my order submitted successfully?
Where do I collect the food?
Show the current menu or order with the phrase. Hide unrelated payment history, card numbers and verification codes.
Ordering food in China FAQ
How can I order food in China without speaking Chinese?
First identify the restaurant flow: staff at the table, a table QR menu, order-and-pay at a counter, or separate stalls in a food court. Use photos or translation to narrow the choice, then confirm the exact dish, quantity, options, table or pickup number and final total before submitting.
Do I have to scan a QR code to order?
No universal rule requires one ordering method. If a table QR will not open or requests a setup you cannot complete, ask for a paper menu, staff ordering or a counter route. Confirm that a QR belongs to the restaurant and your table before opening it.
Is the QR ordering code the same as a payment code?
Not necessarily. A restaurant QR may open a menu or mini program, while payment may happen inside the order, at the cashier, by scanning a merchant collection code or by showing your payment code. Read the confirmation screen instead of assuming that scanning placed or paid for the order.
What if I do not know whether the order was submitted?
Do not submit again immediately. Check the cart or order list, look for an order number or table status, and check payment history. Ask staff to confirm the same table and total before retrying.
Can a translated menu confirm that a dish is safe for an allergy?
No. A dish name, photo or automatic translation cannot prove ingredients, cross-contact or preparation method. For a medically serious allergy or dietary restriction, use a separate verified allergy communication route and ask staff directly before ordering.
Is this guide for ordering food delivery in China?
No. This page covers ordering while you are at a restaurant. Delivery adds a foreign-phone-number route, exact Chinese address, hotel or gate handoff, rider contact and remote payment status. Use the separate food-delivery guide for that workflow.
Official pages checked for this guide
Reviewed 27 August 2026. The restaurant’s current menu, order record and staff control the actual dish, options, service and payment flow. We deliberately do not promise an English menu, automatic translation accuracy, QR availability, card acceptance or ingredient safety.
- State Council / Ministry of Commerce — 2025 visitor guideMerchant-scan and customer-payment-code directions, foreign-card linking boundaries and cash backup.
- State Council — payment service guide for overseas visitorsMobile payment, bank-card and RMB-cash options, with acceptance differences at smaller venues.
- Shanghai International Services / CIIE — dining solutionsOfficial city example of menu translation and asking venue staff for ordering help.
- State Council — 2026 digital-service guidanceMultilingual, translation, dining-service and personal-information protection direction.