Living in China

How to Order Food in China: Delivery Apps & QR Menus (2026)

By the 17Talk teaching team - certified Mandarin teachers, 8+ years of classroom experience, 3,500+ students in 40 countries
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Quick answer

There are two ways to eat in China: in a restaurant, where you usually scan a QR code at the table to see the menu and order; or through a delivery app, where Meituan and Ele.me bring food to your hotel. At the table, scanning is normal but not compulsory - the consumer protection rules say a business may not use technical means to force or effectively force you to buy, so you can ask for a paper menu or order with a member of staff, and 12315 is the hotline if a restaurant refuses. For delivery, you need a working phone number because the rider will call, an address the app understands, and a payment method inside Alipay or WeChat. Since 1 June 2026 the rules on delivery kitchens are stricter: the platform must verify each restaurant's food licence against government records and may not carry restaurants without one, the shop's online name must match the sign on its door, it must display its licence, shopfront and address, and kitchens that do not serve dine-in customers must be labelled as such.

Two ways to eat, two different skills

Dining in China splits into two habits, and each has its own friction. In a restaurant the menu is usually a QR code on the table: you scan, the menu opens in WeChat or a mini-program, you order and pay in the app. Delivered food comes through Meituan or Ele.me, the two dominant platforms, and arrives with a rider who telephones you on arrival.

Both routes depend on the same two things - a phone number that can receive calls or messages, and a payment app linked to a card. Sort those out on day one and food stops being a problem.

The QR menu, and your right not to use it

Scanning at the table is the default and it is genuinely faster: pictures, prices, spice levels and a payment screen in one place. Most menus can be displayed in English, or at least translated by your phone's camera.

It is not compulsory, though. China's consumer protection regulations say consumers have the right to choose, and a business may not use technical means to force or effectively force you to buy a product or accept a service. In plain terms: a restaurant cannot make scanning the only way to order, and it cannot require you to follow an account or hand over your phone number before it will serve you. If a place insists, ask for a paper menu or to order through a member of staff; if they refuse, 12315 is the national hotline for market-regulation complaints.

One practical wrinkle: some QR menus open only inside WeChat or Alipay. If you have set up only one of the two, ask - most restaurants can take your order another way.

Delivery: how an order actually goes

1. Open Meituan or Ele.me and let it read your location, or search the restaurant by name. 2. Check the two numbers before you order: the minimum spend and the delivery fee, both of which must be shown to you before payment. 3. Add items, then use the notes field (备注) for anything specific - 不要辣 for not spicy, 不要香菜 for no coriander, 无需餐具 for no disposable cutlery. 4. Pay inside the app with Alipay or WeChat Pay. 5. Watch the map: the rider normally calls when they arrive, and in-app chat translates both directions if you cannot take a call.

For hotel delivery, put the hotel's name in Chinese plus your room number, and add a note asking the rider to leave it at the reception desk (放在前台) if you would rather not be called. Reception accepting a delivery is routine; ask once at check-in and you will know how that hotel handles it.

How to tell a real kitchen from a rented one

Delivery in China includes a large number of kitchens that exist only to cook for apps - no tables, no sign on the street, sometimes several brands run out of one address. The 2026 rules on platform responsibility changed what you can check, and the checks are worth thirty seconds.

Under the rules in force since 1 June 2026, the platform must verify each restaurant's food business licence against the data held by the provincial market regulator, and must not carry a restaurant that does not hold the right qualification. The restaurant's online name must match the sign on its physical shopfront, and it must display its licence, a photo of its shopfront and its actual address on its page. Kitchens that do not serve dine-in customers or offer pickup must be labelled as having no dine-in service. Restaurants that broadcast their kitchen under the open-kitchen programme carry a link to the live feed, and the platform labels which shops do and do not.

So: open the shop page, look for the licence and the shopfront photo, and treat the no-dine-in label as information rather than a warning - the good delivery-only kitchens are labelled too. What you are looking for is that the label and the licence exist at all.

Ordering what you actually want

Two habits cover most of the gap between what you order and what arrives. First, order rice or noodles separately - a table of dishes in a Chinese restaurant is food without a carbohydrate until you ask for 米饭 (rice) or 面 (noodles). Second, use the notes field for spice and coriander: 不要辣 (not spicy), 微辣 (mildly spicy), 不要香菜 (no coriander). In Sichuan, Hunan and Guizhou, assume dishes are spicy unless the menu says otherwise.

Other phrases that earn their keep: 打包 (to pack it up - takeaway), 素食 (vegetarian food) and 清真 (halal). Halal restaurants are common and clearly signed, particularly in the north-west and in cities with large Muslim communities. Portion sizes in China are usually built for sharing, so two dishes between two people is often enough to start with, and you can always add more.

If something goes wrong with an order

Start in the app: both platforms have refund and complaint flows attached to the specific order, and photos of what arrived are what make them work. Riders are not the restaurant and are not responsible for the food, so keep the complaint at the order level.

If the platform does not resolve it, 12315 is the national hotline for market-regulation complaints, covering food safety, prices and consumer rights, and it accepts reports online as well as by phone. For a food-safety problem rather than a billing problem, that is the channel that has teeth.

Common questions

Do I need a Chinese phone number for delivery apps?

You need a number that can receive calls or messages, because the rider will normally call on arrival. An overseas number works for registration; a local SIM makes the whole process smoother.

Can I pay for delivery with a foreign card?

Not directly - the payment goes through Alipay or WeChat Pay, which you link to your international card. Set those up first and the food apps work.

Must I scan a QR code to order in a restaurant?

No. Consumer protection rules say a business may not use technical means to force you to buy, so you can ask for a paper menu or order with staff. 12315 is the complaint hotline if a restaurant refuses to serve you any other way.

Can delivery reach my hotel room?

Usually it reaches the hotel, and often the room. Put the hotel name in Chinese plus your room number, and add a note to leave it at reception if you prefer not to be called.

How do I avoid spicy food?

Use the notes field: 不要辣 for not spicy, 微辣 for mildly spicy, 不要香菜 for no coriander. In Sichuan, Hunan and Guizhou assume spicy unless stated otherwise.

Is tipping expected for delivery?

No. Delivery fees are set by the platform and shown before you pay, and tipping is not part of the culture for riders or restaurant staff.

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