Eating in a Chinese Restaurant

January 2014 

Rory and I eat out all the time and while these events aren’t especially noteworthy, I thought it might be worth describing the experience, for posterity and all that. As with all restaurants you walk in, explain that you need a table for two (we just stick up two fingers, politely of course) and then you are seated. Here’s where things go a little differently. If you are lucky enough to find a restaurant with a picture menu, then you spend a few seconds frantically flicking though until you find something that looks tasty/doesn’t have a head or feet still attached. Normally this would be a leisurely experience but in China the waiter waits at your table while you have the menu and doesn’t leave until you’ve ordered. Maybe they’re being hospitable, maybe they think I’m going to steal the A3 size menu, who knows but it can be a pretty stressful experience. 

Doesn't he look stressed...

You then wait for your meal to arrive. We usually order one or two dishes and then two portions of white rice (which is like 20p, amazing). The food comes out at different times and they serve the rice at the end of the meal which might be fine for Chinese people but I like to have a bit of rice with my dinner and not as dessert so we usually have to frantically signal for this as soon as our mains touch down. 

All food is eaten with chopsticks and you don’t get a dinner plate, rather you have a little side plate. It really is little, it’s like a saucer which I suppose is great for portion control. They also serve all meals family style, which basically means the food is in the middle and you have to stretch or starve. This works well when Rory and I are out together, I get all the good stuff and he finishes everything, even the decorative bits that I don’t think you’re supposed to eat. If you are out as a group then it’s great as you can try lots of different dishes but I won’t lie, I have felt anxious when eating as a group, there’s a constant inner monologue that is saying; I ordered that dish because I wanted to eat that dish, I’m not eating your food so don’t eat mine!

  

If you are hoping for a smoke free environment you will be sorely disappointed. Of course there are no smoking signs all over each restaurant but beneath each sign there will be someone puffing away without a care in the world! Another thing that I have noticed is that Chinese people order an obscene amount of food and leave most of it. Rory and I order a little and eat everything. Waste not want not and all that. We also have never spent more than £10 when eating in a Chinese restaurant. We did spend £20 in a western restaurant but we got 3 burgers, 2 beers and some water so it was actually quite the bargain. Another thing that makes eating in China a bargain is that you don’t have to tip. Adding the extra 10-15% to a cheap meal really wouldn’t bother me but they just don’t do it here and I’ve even heard that if you do they will chase you down the road to return the change! 

While we have had some questionable meals, more often than not they have been delicious and cheap! The food in China is not exactly what I expected but I absolutely love it and it will definitely be one of the many things that I will really miss about living in Beijing!