Cafe and restaurant in Cantonese
A table, the menu, what you cannot eat, and a compliment to the kitchen. Play the ten Cantonese words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 Cantonese phrases in this lesson
- 兩位LEUNG-wai
- A table for two
- 菜單，唔該CHOI-dan, m-GOY
- The menu, please
- 有乜嘢推介？YAU MAT-yeh TUI-gaai
- What do you recommend?
- 我唔食...NGO m-SIK
- I don't eat...
- 我對...敏感NGO DUI ... MAN-gam
- I'm allergic to...
- 肉YUK
- Meat
- 雞GAI
- Chicken
- 魚YU
- Fish
- 好好食HO-ho-sik
- It's delicious
- 乾杯！GON-bui
- Cheers
Literally "two seats/people". Hold up two fingers as you say it. Staff will often just ask 幾多位 (how many people?) as you walk in, and you answer with the number.
At dim sum restaurants you may get a check-box order sheet (點心紙) instead. Point at what you want and tick the boxes, it is completely normal and requires no language.
Literally "what do you recommend?".
我唔食牛 (NGO m-SIK NGAU), I don't eat beef.
Literally "I am sensitive to ...".
On its own usually means pork. Beef is 牛肉 (NGAU-yuk).
Soy sauce chicken and white-cut chicken are Cantonese classics.
Steamed whole fish with ginger and spring onion is the banquet standard.
Literally "very good to eat". Say it to the staff and watch the service warm up noticeably. 好正 (HO-jeng) is a more slang-y, enthusiastic way to say something is great.
Literally "dry cup", the same concept as bottoms up. Make eye contact when clinking. In Hong Kong it is also common to just say "Cheers!" in English, which is perfectly normal at any table.