The moment you set foot on the Taiwanese soil, you’d immediately notice that there’s no shortage of street food vendors on the streets. These stalls are a common sight in the beautiful urban landscape. The street foods are generally really cheap, too, so you can enjoy the culinary delights without any worry about breaking your bank. Now, let’s look at how we order foods at a food stall.

Hi, 我想要一份…	Hi, 來一份 …
Hi, wǒ xiǎng yào yí fèn …	Hi, lái yí fèn …

For example,

嗨, 老闆，我想要一份涼麵

Hi, lǎo bǎn, wǒ xiǎng yào yí fèn liáng miàn

Hi, lǎo bǎn, I’d like one (serving of) cold noodles.

嗨, 老闆，來一份鹽酥雞

Hi, lǎo bǎn, lái yí fèn yán sū jī

Hi, lǎo bǎn, I’d like one (serving of) popcorn chicken

fèn: measure word for foods, dishes, items on a menu

lǎo bǎn: boss, store owner (term of address)

lǎo bǎn niáng: female

Other things you might hear:

• 需要等…分鐘，可以嗎？

xū yào děng … fēn zhōng, kě yǐ ma?

(Need to wait for … minutes, is that okay?)

• 你要塑膠袋嗎？

nǐ yào sù jiāo dài ma?

(Would you like a plastic bag?)

• 要不要辣？

yào bú yào là?

(Would you like spicy?)

• 要不要加…

yào bú yào jiā …

(Would you like to add…?)

For example,

要不要加胡椒粉?

yào bú yào jiā hú jiāo fěn?

Would you like to add some black pepper?

胡椒粉hú jiāo fěn, black pepper