First date dinner: Choosing dishes from the menu together

💬 辣 (là) on its own means "spicy", and 不吃辣 is the set way to say you avoid spicy food. Swap the end for other foods, like 我不吃牛 "I don't eat beef".

🇹🇼 This is a very common, easygoing reply in Taiwan. On a date, though, saying it every time can come across as leaving all the decisions to the other person, so it helps to follow up with a suggestion.

💬 好吃 (hǎo chī) is literally "good to eat", meaning "tasty". Swap the verb to get 好喝 "tasty" for drinks, or 好看 "good-looking".

💬 An adjective like 好吃 works as the whole sentence by itself, with no 是 needed. Here 很 is said with an excited tone, so it really does mean "really"; without that emphasis, it would just be there to round out the sentence.

💬 一 changes to (yí) before 個, which is said (gè), so this is (diǎn yí ge). 點 (diǎn) is the everyday verb for ordering food.

💬 Add 好不好 to the end of any suggestion to make it a soft "okay?" check, as in 我們走，好不好 "let's go, okay?".

🇹🇼 In Taiwan, it's normal to order dishes for the table and share them rather than each getting your own plate. Suggesting this is a friendly, natural move on a date.

🇹🇼 On a Taiwanese menu, 青菜 means a plate of leafy greens, usually stir-fried. Adding one to balance out the meat dishes is a very common habit.

💬 再 (zài) before the verb means "another" or "one more": 再點一個 is "order one more". 要不要 at the front turns the whole thing into a gentle suggestion.

💬 In Taiwan, 高麗菜 (gāo lí cài) is the usual word for cabbage. In mainland China people more often say 卷心菜 or 包菜.

💬 Taiwanese menus often name a dish with the cooking method first and the ingredient after. Swap the ingredient to build others, like 炒青菜 "stir-fried greens" or 炒飯 "fried rice".

💬 Putting 好了 at the end of a choice means "let's just go with that", which settles a decision. For example, 喝茶好了 means "let's just have tea".

💬 Add 呢 to the end of a word to ask "what about...?". 喝的 means "things to drink", the same way 吃的 means "things to eat".

💬 Question words stay in the same spot the answer would go, so 什麼 (shén me) sits after 喝 just like the drink would: 我想喝茶 "I'd like to drink tea".

💬 The second 謝 is said lightly, without its own tone: (xiè xie).

💬 Putting 就好 after an item means "just that is fine", which keeps your request modest. For example, 一個就好 means "just one is fine".

🇹🇼 In Taiwan, 服務生 (fú wù shēng) is the standard word for a server. To call one over, people usually say 不好意思 "excuse me" rather than using the title.

💬 來 (lái) between two actions links them, showing what the person is being called over to do. The same pattern works elsewhere, like 叫他來吃飯 "call him over to eat".

🇹🇼 Many Taiwanese restaurants have you order with a paper menu and pencil instead. When there's a server, it's common for one person to take charge of calling them over.