Reading a Chinese menu: regions, not just dishes

"Chinese food" covers several of the world's great regional cuisines, and Australian cities have kitchens cooking most of them. Working out which one you are looking at makes ordering dramatically better.

Cantonese

Southern, subtle, steam and stock-driven. Live seafood tanks, roast meats hanging in the window, yum cha at lunch. Freshness over spice. The tell is a menu that names the fish and offers it steamed with ginger and shallot.

Sichuan

Numbing and hot, the famous combination of chilli and Sichuan peppercorn. Mapo tofu, dry-fried beans, fish in chilli oil, cold appetisers with a slick of red oil. If the chilli oil arrives before you order, you are in the right place.

Hunan

Hotter than Sichuan in raw chilli terms but without the numbing element. Smoked and cured meats, steamed fish head with chopped chilli, plenty of preserved vegetable.

Shanghainese and Jiangnan

Sweeter, richer, soy-braised. Xiao long bao, red-braised pork, drunken chicken and a lot of careful knife work.

Northern

Wheat rather than rice. Hand-pulled noodles, dumplings, lamb skewers, vinegar and garlic on the table as standard.

How to order well

Ask what the kitchen is known for and order that. Look at what the tables around you are eating. And read the Chinese-language specials on the wall if you can, because that is usually where the kitchen is showing off rather than playing safe.

Browse the Chinese listings in the directory and filter by state or suburb.