Chongqing TripsFOR TRAVELLERS

Food

How to Order Hotpot Without Speaking Chinese

A practical guide to choosing broth, ordering ingredients, handling raw food and paying for a Chongqing hotpot meal.

By Chongqing Trips teamLast updated 3 Oct 2026
Planning guidance

Choose your broth, order in rounds and ask staff for help cooking unfamiliar ingredients.

  • Most hotpot menus are tick-sheets with pictures. Pointing is a completely normal way to order.
  • Ask whether sauce, broth and tableware have separate charges before ordering.
  • There is no universal safe cooking time in seconds: ingredient thickness and temperature matter.
  • Pay at the end at the counter, or from your phone. Tipping is not expected.

This is a description of how the meal works generally, not a specific restaurant's process.

Chongqing hotpot with chili broth and a stainless-steel ladle

The meal, step by step

  1. Choose your pot

    You will be asked about the broth before anything else. "Yuanyang" gives you a divided pot with a plain half and a spicy half. If you are unsure, choose this.

  2. Tick the menu

    Order in waves rather than all at once. Start with two or three meats and a couple of vegetables, then add more once you know how fast you are eating. Over-ordering is the common first-timer mistake.

  3. Build your sauce

    Go to the sauce station while the pot heats. A good starting bowl: sesame oil, garlic, coriander, a little soy, and a spoon of chilli oil only if you want it. The oil is the point — it cools the food and carries flavour.

  4. Cook in the right order

    Ask staff how to cook each ingredient. Keep raw-food utensils separate from eating utensils, avoid overcrowding the pot, and do not rely on meat changing colour to judge whether it is safe.

  5. Finish with starch

    Noodles or rice at the end, cooked in what is left of the broth. This is the traditional finish and it is the best part for many people.

  6. Pay at the counter

    Payment is at the till on the way out, usually by phone. If you can read the total on the screen, you can pay it; if not, show the number to the staff.

Cooking safely

A fixed seconds-per-item chart cannot establish that meat is safely cooked. Colour and texture alone are not reliable indicators. Food safety guidance uses internal temperature, measured with a food thermometer.

Ask staff to help with unfamiliar meat, offal and seafood. Use separate utensils for raw ingredients and cooked food. If you cannot confirm how an item should be cooked, choose a dish prepared by the kitchen instead.

If you do not read Chinese

Menus generally have photographs. Point at three or four, then add more once you see the portion sizes.

For spice, the useful phrase is the same one used for any dish: be clear about the broth before the pot arrives, because it cannot be changed afterwards.

Camera translation works well on hotpot menus because the items are short and the pictures give context.

Common questions

How much should I order for two people?
Start with three meat items and two vegetables, then add. Portions are smaller than they look because the meal is long and paced.
What if I order too much?
It happens constantly and it is not embarrassing. Uneaten raw items are usually charged for, so order in rounds rather than all at once.
Is the sauce station extra?
Usually included in a per-person charge, sometimes as a small fixed fee. It is not an upsell in the way a sauce menu would be elsewhere.
Can I get a non-spicy pot?
A plain broth half or a fully plain pot is available in most restaurants, particularly those that serve mixed groups.

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Useful sources

Primary source

About this information
  • Food Thermometers: Supports thermometer use and the limits of colour as an indicator of safe cooking; does not verify restaurant customs or individual dishes.