Chongqing hotpot
A pot of broth kept bubbling at the table; each person cooks their own meat, tripe, tofu and greens in it. Chongqing's is made with beef tallow, chillies and Sichuan pepper, and a split pot keeps a mild broth beside the fiery one.
Life in Mainland China
At the table: a Chinese conversation with pinyin and English
Dishes are shared: where to sit, what to do with your chopsticks, how a toast goes and who pays.
The conversation
Speakers: Xiaoyu and Haoran.
- Xiaoyu
今晚去我家吃饭，咱俩先对对台词。
Come over to my place for dinner tonight. Let's go over the ground rules first.
- Haoran
我也不是没吃过中餐，至于嘛。
It's not like I've never had Chinese food before. Is all this really necessary?
- Xiaoyu
大圆桌加个玻璃转盘，菜全是一上来大家一起夹着吃。
It's a big round table with a glass lazy Susan, and all the dishes are served family-style so everyone shares.
- Haoran
那我直接上手转就行了？
So I can just spin it myself?
- Xiaoyu
顺时针转，别人夹菜时可别动。我大伯最盯着这个了。
Always clockwise, and don't touch it while someone else is reaching for food. My uncle is super strict about that.
- Xiaoyu
你是今天的主宾，你猜你坐哪儿？
You're the guest of honor tonight. Where do you think you're sitting?
- 正对大门，主人坐旁边 Facing the front door, with the host right next to me
- 坐在离门最近的背角 Way back in the corner nearest the door
- 随便哪儿有空位就坐哪儿 Wherever there's an empty seat
Answer
正对大门，主人坐旁边 Facing the front door, with the host right next to me
- Haoran
正对大门？那谁坐靠门的地方？
Facing the door? Then who sits by the door?
- Xiaoyu
谁点菜谁坐那儿照看上菜。我哥会去，还得假装这活儿多累似的。
Whoever's ordering sits there to keep an eye on the food coming out. My cousin will be there, and he'll make a big deal out of how exhausting it is.
- Haoran
那我筷子怎么放？
Where should I put my chopsticks?
- Xiaoyu
千万别插在米饭碗中间，跟上香似的。
Whatever you do, don't stick them straight up in your rice bowl. It looks like you're offering incense to the dead.
- Haoran
桌上有条整鱼，我能给它翻个面吗？
There's a whole fish on the table. Can I flip it over?
- Xiaoyu
我海边来的小姨在呢，可别翻。把鱼骨头撤了接着吃。
My aunt is here from the coast, so definitely don't flip it. You just take the bones out and keep eating.
- Haoran
那结账呢？
What about the bill?
- Xiaoyu
一般请客的人买单，朋友之间还得抢着付。不过你抢不过，别试了。
Whoever invited you pays, though among friends people always fight to pick up the tab. But you won't win, so don't even try.
Words in the conversation
Notes
The round table
Groups sit at round tables, often with a glass turntable in the middle. Dishes arrive one by one and are shared; you take a little at a time onto your own small plate or into your rice bowl. Turn the table clockwise, and wait while someone is serving.
Who sits where
At a formal meal the guest of honour sits facing the door, with the host beside them; the seat nearest the door is for whoever orders and looks after the table.
Serving yourself
Many families and restaurants now put serving chopsticks or spoons with each dish. Where there are none, people use their own chopsticks, sometimes turned round to the clean end.
Chopsticks
Chopsticks are not stood upright in a bowl of rice, which looks like the incense sticks at a funeral, and are not tapped on the bowl, which is what beggars once did. Rest them across your bowl or on the rest.
The fish
In coastal Guangdong and Fujian, a whole fish is not turned over to reach the underside, because it suggests a boat capsizing. Lift the bone away instead.
How much to leave
Traditionally a host orders more than the table can finish, and a little food left shows that there was plenty. Since 2013 a national campaign against food waste has encouraged ordering less and taking leftovers home.
The bill
The person who invited usually pays, and friends may compete to pay, sometimes by slipping away to settle it before the end. Among younger friends splitting the bill is common, called going AA.