Unwritten Rules for Ordering Food: 14 Tips You Must Know
In our busy modern lives, many people want to escape the greasy kitchen and enjoy the lively atmosphere of gathering with friends, which has made dining out a regular part of life. In fact, "ordering food" is a true art form. How can you make sure your meal is delicious, nutritious, and affordable at the same time?
1. It's best to drink less soup
Typically, restaurant soup contains 1.2 to 2 grams of salt per 100 milliliters. Two bowls of soup can mean you've consumed 5 grams of salt. Soups made with meat, like pork rib soup or chicken soup, are high in fat and cholesterol. If you must have soup, it's best to have it before your meal to reduce your overall food intake and avoid extra salt. Alternatively, opt for家常 (homestyle) soups like tofu soup or tomato and egg soup. For banquets, you can order tremella soup.
2. Try to have the main courses served early
At the dinner table, the order of "cold dishes - hot dishes - soup - main course" seems to be a fixed pattern. Many people only remember to order the main course after they've had enough to eat and drink. This means you consume a large amount of animal-based foods when you are most hungry and have the biggest appetite. Therefore, eating your main course early can lighten the burden on your digestive system, help protect your blood lipid levels, and maintain nutritional balance. If you're drinking alcohol, you can substitute the main course with other starchy foods when ordering, such as cold dishes containing buckwheat flour, naked oats, or other coarse grains, or dishes that include potatoes, taro, and are served with lotus leaf pancakes or corn cakes.
3. Order fewer of three "fake" vegetarian dishes
Usually, the dishes left on the table are mostly meat dishes, as the vegetables are often gone first. This is because some commonly ordered "vegetarian" dishes aren't truly vegetarian. Among them, three are the least healthy: Di San Xian (three stir-fried potatoes, green peppers, and eggplant), deep-fried eggplant, and dry-fried green beans. These dishes have all been "bathed in hot oil." Although their ingredients are vegetarian, the calories can be higher than those in meat dishes. Therefore, it's better to order more lightly prepared vegetables, like stir-fried water spinach or garlic-mixed crown daisy.
4. Lighter dishes often use fresher ingredients
Many people at restaurants prefer "rice-pairing" dishes with strong flavors, sometimes choosing the right ingredients but overlooking the cooking method. In reality, a meal should have only one or two richly flavored dishes; the rest should be paired with lighter, refreshing dishes to avoid overwhelming your taste buds. Moreover, heavy cooking methods often mask the smell of less fresh ingredients and a lower quality texture. So, for fish, opt for steaming; for vegetables, choose cold salads or stir-frying; for meat, choose braising; and for seafood, choose quick-boiling (poaching).
5. Don't be too attracted by colorful dishes
Normally, meat dishes coming from the kitchen shouldn't be beautifully colored. Stir-fried shredded beef is brown, and stir-fried pork tenderloin is off-white. Even if soy sauce is used to make the meat red, it will only be a reddish-brown sauce. However, restaurants often "enhance" the color of meat dishes before cooking by using color additives like sodium nitrate. This makes the meat look tender and appetizing. Therefore, it's best to avoid dishes that look overly vibrant.
6. Cold dishes shouldn't be dominated by meat
Many people habitually order cold appetizers like marinated beef or crispy pig ears to whet their appetite. In fact, choosing light vegetarian cold dishes can balance out the excess fat and protein from the main courses. Options like raw vegetable platters with dipping sauce, or cold dishes high in starch like fern root noodles or yams, are excellent choices. These refreshing foods ensure adequate intake of dietary fiber, potassium, and magnesium for the meal, and also prevent protein from being used as energy.
7. When browsing the menu, pay attention to four cooking methods: steaming, boiling, stewing, and mixing
These cooking methods not only preserve nutrients but are also much lower in fat and calories. Try to avoid dishes with words like "deep-fried," "pan-fried," or "dry pot" on the menu. This is especially true for dry-braised dishes. The traditional method uses a small amount of oil and long stir-frying, but most restaurants now use a large amount of oil to fry them for convenience. This not only destroys all the vitamins but also degrades other nutrients like protein, starch, and fat, and can even produce carcinogens.
8. One dish per person
Generally, for four people, ordering three hot dishes and one cold dish is just right. For five to seven people, order five hot and one cold. For eight or more people, order a number of dishes equal to the number of people minus two, which should be sufficient. For unfamiliar dishes, ask about the portion size when ordering to avoid overeating.
9. Don't go to a restaurant when you're too hungry
When you order food on an empty stomach, your eyes will ignore your stomach's capacity and immediately gravitate towards the high-fat, high-calorie, greasy foods on the menu. So before heading to a restaurant, it's better to have a snack like some fruit, a few soda crackers, or a small cup of yogurt to tide you over.
10. Don't just look at the pictures when browsing the menu
When looking at the menu, don't just stare at the pictures; also look at the dishes without pictures. Dishes with photos are often more expensive meat dishes that may look very different from what is actually served. If the ingredients are listed on the menu, pay close attention to them.
11. Scan the neighboring tables
When you first enter a restaurant, many people are in a hurry to find a seat or start ordering. In fact, the best thing to do at that moment is to glance at the tables around you. Observe what others have ordered, the portion sizes, the appearance of the food, and how much they've eaten. Then, choose dishes that appear frequently on neighboring tables—their value for money is sure to be good, which is especially helpful when dining at an unfamiliar restaurant. Additionally, if the restaurant is crowded and most tables haven't received all their dishes yet, it means the service will be slow. In this case, it's best to order more cold dishes and fewer dishes that require long cooking times to avoid a long wait.
12. The more "homestyle" a dish, the lower its value for money
Many middle-aged and elderly people like to order homestyle dishes like scrambled eggs with tomatoes or vinegar-fried shredded potatoes when dining out, thinking they are cheaper. In reality, these dishes have the largest profit margins. For example, a plate of vinegar-fried shredded potatoes for 12 yuan in a restaurant might use two medium-sized potatoes, weighing about half a kilogram. At the current market price of around 2 yuan per kilogram for potatoes, and factoring in cooking oil and seasonings, the cost of the dish is only about 2.5 yuan. Therefore, choosing mid-priced dishes at a restaurant offers the best value for money.
13. Don't enter a restaurant to dine within 15 minutes of closing time
By then, the chefs are very tired and will likely rush to prepare your food, resulting in a significant drop in quality. Some restaurants may have already started "cleaning up" before closing, forcing you to finish your dinner in a dusty environment.
14. Don't order dishes that aren't on the menu
Almost no restaurant is willing to cook dishes that aren't on the menu. First, the chefs are not familiar with the cooking methods for such dishes. Second, the ingredients are definitely not prepared in advance, and the preparation method might be far from what you expect. Therefore, it's best to order the restaurant's signature dishes.