Helpful phrases:
fu wu yuan (fuh woo yoo-en) waitress
ping shui (ping shu-way) bottle water
pi jiu (pee jee-you) beer
ye zi zhi (yeh zuh zhih) coconut juice
cha (cha) tea
re shui (zhe shu-way) hot water
yi ping (yee ping) one bottle
liang ping (lee-ahng ping) two bottles
zhi (zhih) napkin
xi zao jian (shee zhao jee-an) bathroom
ce suo (tseh suwoa) bathroom (toilet)
la (lah) spicy
bu la (boo lah) not spicy
jie zhang (jee-ay zhahng) to settle payment
mai dan (my dahn) pay the bill
The most common thing you will say or hear in a restaurant is "fu wu yuan". Most restraunts will have bottled water. If you are going to a cafe or regular restaurant, it is OK to bring a bottle of water in. If
a restaurant does not have bottle water and you don't drink tea, they always have hot water, so just ask for "re shui".
You can also order beer "pi jiu" or coconut juice "ye zi zhe", which is very good. Many restaurants have
canned and bottled beverages visible in a stand up cooler, worse case scenario you can point to what you want.
When you need to go to the restroom it is polite to say "xi zao jian" which means washroom, if they do not understand you, rub your hands together and repeat "xi zao jian", they almost ways understand, but if they still do not, tell them "ce suo" which means toilet and they will certainly know what you mean.
Paper is not used as freely in China as it is in the US, many cafes will not have napkins on the table. When the waitress arrives rub your fingers together and say "zhi" or "wo yao zhi".
If you do not like spicy food a very common expression you should be using is "la bu la?", which means "Is it spicy or not?" They will usually give you one of four answers. 1- They will nod their head and say la. 2- They will say "yi dian la", which means a little spicy. 3- They will shake their head and say bu la. 4- They will say something like "ke yi bu la", which means they can make it to order, not spicy.
If the fu wu yuan is saying more than you understand, just tell them "wo yao bu la" and they will be sure not to give you a spicy dish.
When you are ready to pay, call over the fu wu yuan and say
"mai dan".
Cafes (Meal for two: 20-50y)
There are hundreds of small restaurants all over Haikou, too many to list on a map because they are everywhere. If you see a hostess out front, many customers inside and photos of the food either on the wall or a mock menu out front, then you should have pretty good luck.
Western Food Chains
There are several familiar restaurants like KFC, McDonalds and Pizza Hut. The Pizza Hut menus have pictures and every KFC and McDonalds has a single page menu with pictures that the employee will put
on the counter as soon as they see you walk in. Please
see the map at the bottom of the page for locations.
Fine Dining (Meal for two: 30-80y)
There are hundreds of
fine dining restaurants in Haikou with pictures on their menus,
private rooms for easy conversation, and
wait staff familiar with foreign patrons for easy
ordering. A few are listed below. Please see the map at the bottom of the
page for locations.
Chinese/Western
restaurants make
an effort to sell western style cuisine like steaks, shakes,
burgers, french toast, ice cream, cappuccino, western
beer, wine, etc. They also have many
excellent Chinese dishes.
Traditional Chinese
restaurants do not have many western choices but they offer
familiar selections of dumplings, egg rolls, fried rice,
noodles, etc.
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