Hi everyone, I’m trying to understand pain points people might have while dining in China. Thinking of create a software to solve these problems.
A lot of discussion around food in China focuses on menus, ordering, or translation in general. But I’m more curious about something narrower: the actual back-and-forth with restaurant staff after you sit down.
For example:
asking whether a dish contains a certain ingredient
explaining allergies or dietary restrictions
requesting less spicy / no cilantro / no peanuts / etc.
asking for water, utensils, napkins, takeaway boxes
checking on an order
asking how to pay or split the bill
handling small misunderstandings during the meal
I’d really like to know:
Did you run into communication problems with restaurant staff, even if you could more or less handle the menu?
What kinds of situations were the most frustrating or awkward?
How did you solve it at the time? Gestures, translation apps, screenshots, a friend helping, staff using basic English, something else?
Did this happen often enough that you think a dedicated solution would actually be useful, or was it too occasional to matter?
Are there any dining situations where you would especially want help, like allergies, custom requests, paying, or asking follow-up questions about dishes?
Any detailed experiences would be super helpful!