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Hi there, and welcome to Wall Street’s “Two-Minute English”.
We all love food, and Hong Kong has no shortage of places to try out. Today, I’ll teach you some useful English phrases you can use in restaurants.
When you first arrive at a restaurant, the staff at the front would ask: “Do you have a reservation?” If you don’t have a reservation, you can simply say: “No, I don’t,” and the staff would ask: “How many people?” If there are only two of you, you could say: “Table for 2 please.” If you do have a reservation, simply say the name that you’ve booked under and the time. For example: “Yes, I have a reservation under Mr Chan at 7:30pm for 4 people.”
When you sit down, it is common for the waiter to offer you a menu and ask: “Would you like to order any drinks?” If you want water that is free, simply say: “Tap water please.” Or if you prefer sparkling or bottled mineral water, then order: “Sparkling water please.”
After looking at the menu, and when you are ready to order, signal the waiter and say: “We’d like to order please.” The waiter would say: “What would you like to have?” or “What can I get for you?” You can reply by saying: “I’ll have the fish and chips. “ You can also order for your friend. “And she’ll have the burger.” If you are not sure what to order, you can ask the waiter: “What would you recommend?” Sometimes, when you order food like steak, the waiter would ask you how you’d like your steak cooked: “How would you like your steak, sir?” I usually order my steak 50% cooked, which is medium. 75% cooked would be medium-well done. And 100% cooked would be well done. Some people prefer a steak around 40% cooked, and that’s called medium-rare. Anything under 30% is called rare.
And finally, when the meal is over and you want to get the bill or check, simply signal the waiter and say: “Could we get the bill please?” Or “Could we get the check please?”
Well, that’s all for this week’s “Two-Minute English”. Bye-bye.
