Eat with fewer surprises
Browse what you want to eat (coffee, hotpot, steak…), then use diet/faith listings and format guides. Amap cannot prove allergens or true vegan safety — confirm at the counter.
What Amap can and cannot do
We search official Amap Place Search for Chinese keywords (素食 / 清真 / etc.). That is a listing signal only — Chinese “vegetarian” often still uses stock, lard, or oyster sauce. We never invent EU allergen labels from map data.
I want to eat…
Coffee, hotpot, steak, noodles — pick a chip or type your own keyword. Separate from diet/faith filters further down this page.
Drinks
Chinese
Western
Other Asian
Other
Amap keywords only. English names for famous hotels/brands are a curated gloss (not a full translation). Confirm at the counter.
Diet & faith (Amap listings)
Pick a diet filter and city. Separate from “I want to eat” cuisine browse. Chinese names for staff; English labels for you.
Amap “素食” ≠ Western vegetarian. Hidden animal stock, lard, oyster sauce, and fish sauce are common. Always ask the Chinese questions below.
How the meal works
Shared plates, bones/shells (spit bones/shells onto a side plate), hotpot flow, buffet waste fees, queues, tipping — different from “is it spicy / gluten-free.” First-time visitors often stumble here before the food arrives.
Format tips (shared plates, hotpot flow, queues) are separate from payment tags and diet/allergen guides.
Chinese table service is usually shared dishes for the whole table — not the Western habit of each person ordering their own main. First-timers often under-order or over-order, then clash with leftover rules. Order for the table, share with chopsticks (ask for serving chopsticks if you want).
Useful Chinese: 我们合菜一起吃。请帮忙看够不够人吃。
Many popular Chinese dishes are meant to be eaten by picking meat off bones, cracking shells, or discreetly spitting out bones/shell bits onto a side plate — crayfish, crab, whole fish, chicken feet, spare ribs, shellfish. US/EU diners are often used to boneless fillets and find this slow, sticky, or socially awkward. It is normal at the table here; ask for boneless / easy-to-eat options (去骨、不带骨、好咬的) if you prefer.
Useful Chinese: 有没有去骨、不带壳、比较好咬的菜？我不想吐骨头或剥壳。
You usually tick ingredients yourself (paper or QR), not wait for plated courses. Raw meat goes in a shared pot — ask for separate tongs/chopsticks for raw vs cooked. Thin slices cook in seconds; if unsure, ask staff. Shared broth felt more sensitive after COVID — some tables pick split pots (鸳鸯).
Useful Chinese: 请给公筷/生熟分开的夹子。这个涮多久可以吃？
Same family of confusion as hotpot: priced by skewer or weight, who grills, and who decides “done.” Clarify whether staff grill for you or you cook at the table.
Useful Chinese: 是你们烤还是我们自己烤？烤好了请告诉我们。
Many mainland buffets charge for excessive leftovers — rare in US/EU buffet culture and feels like a gotcha. Time limits (e.g. 2 hours) are also more common. Take less per round; finish what you take.
Useful Chinese: 吃不完会不会罚款？有没有用餐时间限制？
Western guests usually already know the format. The China-specific anxiety is freshness/authenticity trust, plus omakase’s opaque final bill. Prefer clear price ranges; treat map listings as leads, not quality certificates.
In mainland China, tipping is generally not expected — a relief for US visitors used to 15–20% math. Don’t tip-shame staff; if a service charge is already on the bill, that is different from a voluntary tip.
Popular restaurants often use paper tickets or WeChat/Alipay QR queues. If you can’t read Chinese, ask staff to help you get a queue number (取号), or watch the screen for your number — missing the call is common.
Tap what matched your meal. Counts are last-30-day reports — not verification. Hidden animal products and allergen issues matter most.
Anonymous weak signals only. Always reconfirm for diet and allergens.
Highest cost of error. Western vegetarian/vegan definitions diverge from Chinese “素”: many vegetable dishes use meat stock, lard, oyster sauce, or fish sauce. Halal concerns include pork/lard, shared equipment, and cooking wine. Kosher options are rare — label clearly and never overclaim.
Ask staff (Chinese)
EU law highlights 14 allergen classes; travelers often expect menus to declare them. Chinese restaurants rarely do. Amap has no allergen fields — use the ask scripts, do not trust map tags for gluten, nuts, shellfish, egg, dairy, or soy.
Show staff these allergen questions
Gluten / wheat
这道菜有没有面粉、小麦、麸质？
Nuts / peanuts
这道菜有没有花生或坚果？
Shellfish / crustaceans
这道菜有没有虾、蟹、贝类或甲壳类？
Egg
这道菜有没有鸡蛋？
Dairy
这道菜有没有牛奶、奶油或奶酪？
Soy
这道菜有没有大豆或酱油？
Not a faith limit, but a frequent anxiety. “Mild” in one region can be “nuclear” in another. Use a simple four-step ask (none / mild / medium / hot) in Chinese — high value, low maintenance.
Baseline by cuisine type (typical menus — not every dish). Always say your spice level in Chinese at the table.
Northwest / Lanzhou noodles
Mixed — some dishes mild, some hot
Sichuan (川菜)
Typically hot (chili/mala culture) — confirm 不辣
Hunan (湘菜)
Typically hot (chili/mala culture) — confirm 不辣
Guizhou (黔菜)
Typically hot (chili/mala culture) — confirm 不辣
Jiangxi (赣菜)
Often spicy — ask for 不辣 if unsure
Yunnan (滇菜)
Mixed — some dishes mild, some hot
Shaanxi
Often spicy — ask for 不辣 if unsure
Xinjiang
Often spicy — ask for 不辣 if unsure
Hotpot / mala
Typically hot (chili/mala culture) — confirm 不辣
Chinese BBQ
Often spicy — ask for 不辣 if unsure
Cantonese (粤菜)
Usually mild / low chili
Shanghai / benbang
Usually mild / low chili
Jiangsu–Zhejiang
Usually mild / low chili
Fujian (闽菜)
Usually mild / low chili
Northeast Chinese
Mixed — some dishes mild, some hot
Shandong (鲁菜)
Mixed — some dishes mild, some hot
Japanese
Usually mild / low chili
Korean
Mixed — some dishes mild, some hot
Steakhouse
Usually mild / low chili
Burger
Usually mild / low chili
Pizza
Usually mild / low chili
Italian
Usually mild / low chili
French
Usually mild / low chili
Spanish / tapas
Usually mild / low chili
Mexican
Mixed — some dishes mild, some hot
American
Usually mild / low chili
Western (other)
Usually mild / low chili
Vegetarian restaurant
Usually mild / low chili
Ask for a spice level
No chili
不要辣 / 不放辣椒
Mild
微辣
Medium
中辣
Hot / very hot
很辣 / 特辣
Offal, unusual cuts, unfamiliar greens, or live seafood often cause hesitation from missing information, not rejection. Clear English names (and photos when you have them) reduce panic more than moralizing about the dish.
Street-food hygiene worries are common travel anxiety and vary shop by shop. Prefer objective, checkable facts (license posted, busy kitchen) over subjective cleanliness scores that shame merchants or reinforce stereotypes.
We only point to objective facts you can check (business license posted on the wall, busy turnover). We do NOT classify hygiene by décor or “looks fancy” — that is subjective, unfair to merchants, and often wrong. Fancy interiors are not a food-safety certificate.
A Western historical anxiety (“Chinese restaurant syndrome”) that nutrition science has largely walked back — MSG risk is in the same ballpark as ordinary salt for most people. Mention it objectively if asked; do not amplify the scare.
If you want to ask about MSG: 这道菜有没有味精？