Read a dim sum order sheet: dishes, portions and quantities

蝦餃, haa1 gaau2, identifies shrimp dumplings; 燒賣, siu1 maai2, is siu mai; 叉燒包, caa1 siu1 baau1, is a barbecue-pork bun. 腸粉, coeng4 fan2, names rice noodle rolls, which may have different fillings. Read words around the name rather than assuming that every version contains the same ingredients.

EdUHK’s dining lesson introduces these familiar dish names. Here the purpose is recognition on a menu. Knowing the name of a broad type is not a complete ingredient list, and a photograph may not show what is inside. Ask about a filling when it changes your choice.

籠, lung4, refers to a steamer basket in this setting; 碟, dip6, counts a plate or dish. A menu may instead sell something by the piece or use a portion label. Follow the printed unit rather than imposing one counting word on the whole page. There is no universal basket size you can safely infer from the dish name alone.

This fictional sheet makes the unit explicit. If you write 2 beside the first row, you order two baskets of four dumplings each, which is eight dumplings. The example is arithmetic practice, not a claim that every restaurant serves four in a basket.

Before handing in the sheet, let one person read the chosen dishes and quantities aloud. This catches duplicate orders when two friends both marked the same favourite. It also separates “I want to try that” from “I want a whole extra portion of that.” Sharing the sheet gives everyone the same reference.

If the portion size is unclear, ask rather than calculate from the picture. 呢碟夠幾個人食呀 asks how many people a dish serves. The answer is guidance, not a guarantee about how hungry everyone will be. Order a manageable first round and keep the sheet so you can recognise what arrives.

Look for crossed-out choices, a quantity written in the wrong row and any item that has a choice of filling. If the form uses ticks rather than numbers, follow its instructions or ask staff how to request more than one. Copying a familiar ordering method onto a different form can turn a small misunderstanding into several extra dishes.

Once the order is accepted, retain the customer copy or remember your short list. A missing dish is easier to describe when you know its name and quantity. For a home exercise, draw four rows, make a group order, then deliberately change one quantity and explain the difference in English before reading the Cantonese names again.