Works offline once downloaded
The menu has no pictures and you cannot read it
You have an unfamiliar text-only menu. Ask staff to narrow it to a few dishes you can understand, then confirm ingredients, portion and price; you do not need to translate every item.
- Show the Chinese card and ask staff to introduce two or three dishes, pointing to their names on the original menu.
- Show any allergy or dietary card before choosing; otherwise tell staff your preferred main ingredient and chilli level. The 12 shared cards are choices, not a list of your own requirements. Read each card’s scope and show only those that match what you actually need; show multiple selected cards together when necessary. Vegetarian allows eggs/dairy; vegan is separate, and the broad seafood card differs from the shellfish-only card.
- Before ordering, point to the original menu item and confirm ingredients, portion size, quantities and the total price. If staff quote a price by weight, ask for its unit and estimated total before agreeing. Use the confirmation card; if the total or dish is unclear, ask staff to clarify before submitting.
What help is available?
- Ask what the main ingredients and cooking style are and whether it suits the people eating.
Choose a small first round and add more if needed; this is a practical suggestion, not a fixed dish-per-person rule.
- For an allergy, obtain a specific kitchen answer on ingredients, sauces and cross-contact; an appealing description is not enough.
- Apple documents opening Translate → Camera, pointing at text and freezing the image; it also supports translating a photo from the library.
Availability depends on supported languages/devices.
- Use the result to identify a candidate dish, then point to its original Chinese name and confirm ingredients, size and price with staff.
- Google documents choosing source/target languages and using Camera or an existing image.
It warns that unclear, small or stylized text may be inaccurate.
- Google documents offline camera translation after downloading the languages.
This is not a test of your phone or mainland connection; use it only if already set up and working.
- Keep the original item visible and confirm the result with staff, especially ingredients and price.
Translation does not establish allergen safety.
- Use the offline Chinese staff-help card, ask for a menu explanation or another menu format, and point to the item staff identifies.
Do not guess a dish from an unrelated photograph.
- If the kitchen cannot confirm a strict dietary requirement, choose an alternative meal source that can, rather than testing the dish by tasting it.
If that does not resolve it
- The translation sounds implausible or ambiguous. Show the original Chinese item and ask staff about the ingredients and preparation; do not turn an uncertain translation into a dietary claim.
- The full menu remains hard to use. Ask staff for a small set of choices they can explain, including the portion size; no menu translation database is needed.
- A critical ingredient or preparation cannot be established. For allergy or strict gluten-free needs, do not rely on an uncertain dish. Choose a meal source whose ingredients and preparation you can confirm.