Top 50 phrases to get by Taiwan: Dining out

💬 In Taiwan, [菜單] is the standard word for a restaurant menu. You may also hear [menu] in casual speech, but [菜單] is the normal safe choice.

💬 [珍珠奶茶] is literally [pearl milk tea]: [珍珠] means the chewy tapioca balls, not actual pearls. You can swap the drink part too, like [珍珠紅茶] for bubble black tea.

💬 [要] in [我要這個] means 'want' or 'would like,' and it's the key verb you can reuse with other things: [我要水], [我要一杯茶].

🇹🇼 Pointing and saying [我要這個] is very normal in busy restaurants, lunch shops, and night markets in Taiwan. If you want to sound a bit softer, locals also often add [謝謝] at the end.

💬 [好吃] is the natural way to say food tastes good in Chinese; it's not just 'good' plus 'eat.' You can use the same pattern with [好喝] for drinks.

💬 [不要 + noun/adjective] is a very common way to say you don't want something: [不要辣], [不要冰], [不要香菜].

🇹🇼 In Taiwan, spice level and toppings are often adjustable, so [不要辣] is something staff hear all the time. It sounds direct but completely normal when ordering.

💬 [買單] literally uses the verb 'buy,' but the whole expression means to pay the bill. Another common Taiwan phrase is [結帳], which works in restaurants and shops too.

🇹🇼 To ask for the bill in a sit-down place, people often just say [買單] or [結帳] to staff as they pass by. In many casual places in Taiwan, though, you pay first at the counter instead of asking at the table.