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.