If you always order the same thing in a Chinese Restaurant because you don't understand the menu - this guide is for you.
Certainly not all inclusive, it lists many of the common words and descriptions you will find on a Chinese Restaurant Menu to help you make your selection.
For example - if you order Moo Goo Gai Pan you can expect white mushrooms and sliced chicken.
Bird's Nest Soup(Authentic)
Made using the nests of the swiftlet, a tiny bird found throughout southeast Asia. Instead of twigs and straw, the swiftlet makes its nest from strands of gummy saliva, which harden when exposed to air. Once the nests are harvested, they are cleaned and sold to restaurants, where they are served simmered in chicken broth.
Bok Choy
Chinese Cabbage. Sometimes known as Nappa Cabbage.
Cellophane Noodles
Fine strands made from Mung Beans
Cha
Tea
Char Shew
Roast Pork
Char Su
Roast Pork
Ching
Steamed
Dim Sum
Assorted steamed dumplings and hot snacks
Ding
Diced
Don
Egg
Dou Fu
Bean Curd (Known as Tofu in Japanese)
Dow Food
Soybean Curd
Fan
Rice
Five Spice
Combination of cinnamon, star anise, cloves, fennel and Szechuan pepper
Foo Gwa
Bitter melon
Gai
Chicken
Har
Shrimp
Hoisin Sauce
Sauce with combination of sweet and spicy flavors. Mae from soybean paste and flavored with garlic, sugar, chilies, and other spices and ingredients.
Jah
Fried
Jing Chow
Braised
Kamote
Sweet Potato
Kangkong
Green leafy vegetable also know as water spinach
Kew
Chunks
Kung Pao
Spice hot with peanuts
Lar Choy
Bean sprouts
Lo Bak
White radish
Lo Mein
Soft Noodles
Loong Har
Lobster
Lop Cheong
Sausage (usually pork or liver)
Mangetout
Snow Peas
Mein
Noodle
Mo Gwa
Also known as Fuzzy Melon. Similar to winter melon
Moo Goo
White Mushrooms
Ngow Yuk
Beef
Opp
Duck
Oyster Sauce
Sauce made from boiled oysters and seasonings
Pan
Sliced
Plum Sauce
Made from Chinese plums, chili peppers, ginger, vinegar and sugar
Sambal Oelek
Hot pepper sauce
See
Shred
Soong
Mince
Sub Gum
Mixture
Tong
Soup
Won-ton
Dumplings
Wor
Boneless
Ying
Wet Steam
Yu
Fish